Vol. 3... Life And Times Of S. Carter

3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on December 28, 1999, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. According to USA Today critic Steve Jones, the record marked a return to the street-oriented sound of Jay-Z's 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Vol. 3... featured production from Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, K-Rob, DJ Clue, Rockwilder, DJ Premier, and Irv Gotti, among others.

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released	December 28, 1999
Recorded	1999
Studio	Baseline Studios (New York City) The Hit Factory (New York City) D&D Studios (New York City) Sony Music Studios (New York City) Manhattan Center Studio (New York City) Quad Studios (New York City)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	71:05
Label	Roc-A-Fella Def Jam
Producer	Darrell "Digga" Branch Clue DJ Premier DURO Irv Gotti K Rob Lil Rob Chauncey Mahan P. Skam Rockwilder Russell "Russ" Howard Sean "SAF" Francis Sam Sneed Swizz Beatz Timbaland Lance Rivera
Jay-Z chronology
Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
Singles from Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
"Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" Released: December 14, 1999 "Things That U Do" Released: January 11, 2000 "Anything" Released: February 15, 2000 "Big Pimpin'" Released: April 11, 2000

The album was well received by critics and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 462,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold over three million copies and been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Los Angeles Times
NME	7/10
Rolling Stone
The Source	4/5
USA Today
The Village Voice	A

Vol. 3... was released on December 28, 1999, and sold 462,000 copies in its first week, while debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. The sales week was thirty-percent more than the first-week sales of Jay-Z's previous album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998). On February 14, 2001, it was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2009, the album reached sales of 3,093,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone critic Kris Ex wrote that Jay-Z "has become a better architect of songs" while hailing Vol. 3... as "his strongest album to date, with music that's filled with catchy hooks, rump-shaking beats and lyrics fueled by Jay's hustler's vigilance". Richard Harrington from The Washington Post found the record to be "full of reputation-building swagger, cataloguing of lyrical skills and autobiographical perspective". Reviewing the album in Entertainment Weekly, Anthony DeCurtis said it reconnects with Jay-Z's urban demographic, "with flair", while Steve Jones of USA Today was particularly impressed by his lyrics and flow, finding both to be "razor-sharp as ever". In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau argued that Jay-Z has too much at stake commercially to depart from "playing the now-a-rapper-now-a-thug 'reality' game with his customers, thugs and fantasists both", but he impresses with "a rugged, expansive vigor, nailing both come-fly-with-me cosmopolitanism and the hunger for excitement that's turned gangster hangouts into musical hotbeds from Buenos Aires to Kansas City". Fellow Voice critic Miles Marshall Lewis called Jay-Z "the best MC in hip hop" and Vol. 3… "the quintessential 2000-model hip hop album". Soren Baker was less impressed in the Los Angeles Times, writing that the record lacks the "biting humor and spectacular wordplay" of his previous albums.

In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Jon Caramanica later wrote, "Life & Times of S. Carter took [Vol. 2's] combination of style and substance to its apotheosis. In addition to maintaining a strong lyrical presence, Jay also showcased his talents as a master of flow, changing cadences and rhyme patterns with impressive regularity and flexibility ... Nearly every track on this album was sonically unique, and Jay rode each one with aplomb and skill". AllMusic's John Bush wrote in a retrospective review that a couple of overwrought productions ("Dope Man", "Things That U Do") keep it from being among Jay-Z's best albums.

Notes

• ^{^[a]} indicates a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} indicates an additional producer

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.

• Amil – performer
• Darrell Branch – producer
• Mariah Carey – performer
• Drawing Board – art direction
• Fingaz – keyboards
• Kyledidthis – design
• Jay-Z – performer
• Jonathan Mannion – photography
• Memphis Bleek – performer
• Tatsuya Sato – assistant engineer
• Beanie Sigel – performer
• UGK – performer
• Dr. Dre – performer, mixing

• List of number-one albums of 2000 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 2000 (U.S.)