Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life is the third studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 29, 1998, on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. The album propelled Jay-Z into superstar status and cemented him as a household name in the post Biggie/Tupac Shakur era of hip hop. This album also won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1999. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, and also went to #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. (This marks the first of nine consecutive chart-topping albums on both charts to date from Jay-Z, not counting the collaboration albums with R. Kelly or Kanye West.) Upon its release, the album received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics, while hip hop purists felt his aims to be a crossover success had compromised the quality and complexity of his music.

In the liner notes of the album, Jay-Z gives his thoughts on various tracks. The lyrics to the fast paced "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)" are also included.

Background[link]

Speaking in December 1998 to noted UK urban writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Jay described the background to the album's lyrical themes: "Primarily I see myself as so much more than a rapper. I really believe I'm the voice for a lot of people who don't have that microphone or who can't rap. So I wanted to represent and tell the story of everybody who's been through what I've been through, or knows somebody that has. I also wanted to speak about our lifestyle to people who - though they may live, say, in the suburbs and not be part of that world - still want to know about it and understand it."^[1]

Music[link]

Several tracks on this album feature a rougher sound than the glossier Bad Boy production on In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, most notably the three tracks produced by Ruff Ryders beatmaker Swizz Beatz. With the exception of Stevie J on "Ride or Die," Bad Boy producers play no role in Vol. 2, though Jay-Z enlisted Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland and Irv Gotti for a more pop-oriented sound on three of the albums' singles. This would also be Jay-Z's last album to feature his mentor Big Jaz.

Track listing[link]

All lyrics written by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and featured rappers. 

^* indicates co-producer
^** Ghost produced by Rockwilder

Sample credits[link]

Intro (Hand It Down)

• "Are You Man Enough" by The Four Tops
• "Contains lyrics from "Coming Of Age" by Jay-Z ft Memphis Bleek

Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)

• "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie

A Week Ago

• "Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" by The Isley Brothers

Reservoir Dogs

• "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes
• "24- Carat Black (Theme)" by 24 Carat Black
• "Know How" by Young MC

It's Like That

• "Beggar's Song" by Wet Willie

It's Alright

• "The Hall of Mirrors" by Kraftwerk
• "Once In a Lifetime" by Talking Heads

Money Ain't a Thang

• "Weak at the Knees" by Steve Arrington

Chart history[link]

Chart procession and succession

Reception[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
The A.V. Club	(favorable) link
Robert Christgau	link
IGN	(8.3/10) link
Los Angeles Times	link
NME	(6/10) link
Rolling Stone	link
RapReviews.com	link
The Source link	Washington Post (favorable) link
Yahoo! Music	(favorable) link

See also[link]

• List of number-one albums of 1998 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Samplin' Annie at Vibe
• Jay-Z interview at Blues & Soul
• Cipha Sounds interview at Complex

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Vol is also the abbreviation for the constellation Volans.

Vol is also the colloquial term for volatility.

Vol is also the name of a shell command.

A vol (French for "flight") is a once-obscure heraldic symbol consisting of a pair of outstretched, usually plumed bird's wings, which are connected together at their shoulders without having any bird's body in the middle.

All derivatives of this symbol in the twentieth century ultimately derive from its use by the French Armée de l'Air, one of the first Air forces in the world.^{[citation needed]} A vol was selected for its cap badge, instead of the eagle which was selected by many of the world's other air forces. The reason why the French Air Force chose to differ is that the eagle in France is associated with the Napoleonic empire.

Cap badges[link]

Many European countries have an eagle as the main charge of the heraldic shields of their respective monarchies: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and pre-revolutionary Russia all used some derivative of this bird in their badge. Poland did too, and even kept its badge under Communist rule, because Poland did not have a king since the partition of Poland late in the eighteenth century, so the symbol was merely nominal. In America, the cap badge of the US Air Force is the Great Seal of the United States, which also includes an eagle. But its use for the US Air Force derives from that service's derivation from the US Army, which also had the same badge.

Another source for putting an eagle on the cap badge is that it stands for royalty in general. Thus the Royal Air Force includes a complete eagle, even though the coat of arms of the United Kingdom does not. The air forces of various Arab countries do as well. And the air force of Egypt, although not a monarchy, uses "Saladin's Eagle" as well; formerly, they used a hawk. During the Second World War, the air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, and Yugoslavia also used a bird of prey as their cap badge. Over a decade after the Second World War, Japan formed the Air Self-Defense Force. This too had a bird other than an eagle as an emblem; probably it's the sort of bird-of-prey called a "Kite" because this was a reference to a battle involving the Emperor during which a Kite was seen in a tree against the rising sun.

Other countries use the vol as their main emblem. Israel Air Force is notable in that its emblem, not being a complete bird, avoids idolatry. The countries of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War generally rejected the use of the eagle in the list of state seals above. For example, the Soviet air force used a vol very similar to the French, but supporting a conventional, five-pointed star, so as to distinguish themselves from having anything to do with Imperial Russia. Hungary had nearly the same symbol, while Romania had a different one. The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte, or East German Air Force, used a particularly modernistic vol as its cap badge. This had extra significance, because the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany used an eagle carrying a swastika. Currently, the Russians have returned to their heraldic past, while the Germans use a symbol different from that of the Luftwaffe.

Insignia of branch of service[link]

Air services which are not independent from their country's armies have used a vol as the insignia of their branch of service. The US Army Air Forces, during the Second World War, used a winged, two-bladed propeller on the lapels of their tunics. The same sort of insigne was used by the Soviets before they had an independent air force. Warsaw Pact armed forces often had a red, five-pointed star superimposed upon the juncture point of this symbol.

Pilot's insigne[link]

It is as the symbol of "wings" given to trained aircraft operators for which the vol is primarily used. All of the pilot's badges of the USAF, as well as the various Naval Aviator's badges of the USN, employ vols with a shield standing for Congress in the middle. These are of different design, and the USAF used silver while the USN uses gold, and has an anchor behind the shield. The US Army uses "wings" with an open parachute in the middle for paratroopers.

During the Second World War, the uniforms of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France, Nationalist China, and even the RAF used a form of the vol as their pilot's insigne. The air forces of Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Yugoslavia used an entire bird. The Japanese had quite a different emblem; its wings are recognisably those of an aircraft.

Rank insigne[link]

For the Luftwaffe, a vol was used to replace the chevron on the sleeves of enlisted men's uniforms. And the Romanian Air Force before 1945 used a vol for the shoulder rank insignia for warrant officers. UBS investment bank currently operates shoulder rank insignia amongst its Volatility Trading Department.

Collar tab insigne[link]

The uniforms of British Army officers have "gorget patches" of a color different from the rest of the uniform sewn on their lapels, and so did many arms of the German military. Specifically, the uniforms of both enlisted ranks and officers in the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (or East German Air Force) did too. These had embroidered symbols on them which were rather similar to the vols used for rank insignia.

Heraldic Use[link]

'Vol' is term used in both Anglophone and Francophone heraldries - as in the bearings of Ripstein, Canada. Both the terms 'vol' and 'demi vol' (half a vol, i.e. a single wing) have been turning up every so often in Scots heraldry since the late 17th century - Sir Thomas Brand's crest, 'a volle with the baton of his office [Knight Usher of the Green Rod] in pale', in the Scottish Public Register volume 1, page 123, and the crest of Richard Graham, Viscount of Prestoun, volume 1, page 84

Hard Knock Life may refer to:

• "It's the Hard Knock Life", a song from the musical Annie
• "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", a single by rapper Jay-Z which samples the showtune from Annie
• Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, an album by Jay-Z featuring the song "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Volume Two, Volume 2, or Volume II may refer to:

• Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, a 1998 album by rapper Jay-Z
• Volume 2 (Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album), a 1963 album by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass
• Vol. 2 (Breaking Through), by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
• Volume Two (The Soft Machine album), a 1969 album by The Soft Machine
• Volume Two (Volume magazine album), a 1991 album released by Volume magazine
• Volume Two (She & Him album), a 2010 album by She & Him
• Volume 2 (CKY album), a 1999 album by CKY
• Volume 2 (Chuck Berry album)
• Volume 2 (Billy Bragg album)
• Volume 2 (Reagan Youth album)
• Volume 2 (Incubus DVD)
• Volume 2: Release, a 1999 album by Afro Celt Sound System
• Vol. II (Hurt album), a 2007 album by Hurt
• Vol.2 (Goo Goo Dolls album), a 2008 compilation album
• Volume II (Kamchatka album)
• Joan Baez, Vol. 2
• Kill Bill Vol.2
• Glee: The Music, Volume 2

See also[link]

• Volume Three (disambiguation)
• Volume One (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin at Northeastern University on April 11, 2007
Born	(1973-05-25) May 25, 1973 (age 39) New York City, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Years active	Since 2002
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal humor, musical comedy, wit/wordplay, sketch comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday Life, American Culture, Random Subjects
Influences	Steven Wright, Eddie Izzard, Emo Philips, Mitch Hedberg, Socrates
Notable works and roles	· Demetri Martin. Person.  · Correspondent on The Daily Show  · Himself/Various on Important Things with Demetri Martin  · Elliot Tiber in Taking Woodstock (2009)
Website	www.demetrimartin.com

Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on The Daily Show and for his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Early life[link]

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family^[1] in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, now deceased, a Greek Orthodox priest.^[2] Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship.^[3]

Career[link]

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase Premium Blend. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show If I....^[4] The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[5] In 2004, Martin had his own Comedy Central Presents stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while alternating between playing harmonica and talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on The Daily Show, on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace.^[6] On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on The Daily Show, talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled These Are Jokes, which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features Saturday Night Live member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to The Daily Show on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series Flight of the Conchords. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.^[7]

He also had a part in the movie The Rocker (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called Important Things With Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season.^[8] The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that Important Things will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film Taking Woodstock (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled This Is a Book by Demetri Martin.

Martin was slated to portray Paul DePodesta as Oakland Athletics assistant GM to Billy Beane in the 2011 movie Moneyball, however was dropped and Jonah Hill took his place in the movie.

Plans[link]

Martin sold his movie concept Will to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role.^[9] He will play the lead in the film Moon People, a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.^[10]

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.^[11]

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] If I

If I is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.^[12] It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.^[13]

Comedic style[link]

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses one-liners and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once.^[14] He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.^[15]

Personal life[link]

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage when his stand-up career began.^[3]

He is extremely allergic to nuts and peanuts.^[16]

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.^[17]

Filmography[link]

• Invite Them Up (2005)
• These Are Jokes (2006)
• Demetri Martin. Person. (2007)
• Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009–2010)

Filmography and television work[link]

Written works[link]

• This Is a Book, April 2011, ISBN 978-0446539708.

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (May 2012)

• Official website
• Demetri Martin on Myspace
• Demetri Martin at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club
• Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia
• Article, in The Scotsman
• Article, in Gelf Magazine
• Interview by Brian M. Palmer
• MP3 Audio Interview on The Sound of Young America public radio show and podcast
• Interview Believer Mag
• New Jersey Monthly Magazine
• Fresh Air, NPR.org