Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the 1999 release by East Coast hip hop artist Jay-Z. It is, for the most part, his return to a more street-oriented sound. However, it did manage to produce some very successful radio-friendly singles. Vol. 3 topped the billboard charts with nearly half a million sold in its first few days of release. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies, the most successful single from the album and arguably Jay-Z's career is the now-infamous Big Pimpin'. This album is also noted for insulting the rapper 50 Cent (before his rise to fame) on the song "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)". It was a response to "How To Rob", a song from 50 Cent's unreleased first LP "Power of the Dollar" where he comically explains robbing numerous mainstream rappers, including Jay-Z. In the song, Jay-Z raps "I'm about a dollar/What the fuck is 50 cents."

Track listing
(*) Indicates bonus tracks

Bonus tracks
The regular album includes two bonus tracks at the end, "Jigga My Nigga" and "Girl's Best Friend". Both tracks are inserted following a minute of silence at the end of "Hova Song (Outro)". The track "Girl's Best Friend" was the lead single from the movie Blue Streak. The bonus tracks are unlisted and do not have track numbers.

Both the European and Japanese release of the album also contained another additional bonus track at the end (as track 16) called Anything. The Japanese version also came with a bonus CD that had two tracks, a "Mr. Drunk Mix" and an "Instrumental Remix" of the above track "Anything".

Samples
Hova Song (Intro) Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up) So Ghetto Big Pimpin' There's Been A Murder NYMP Girl's Best Friend
 * "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
 * "Overnight Scenario" by Rare Essence (DC Go-Go Band)
 * "Crop Dustin'" by Steve Cropper
 * "Library" by Bossey and Hawkes
 * "Sporco Ma Distinto" by Ennio Morricone
 * "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" by Korgis
 * "Khusara Khusara" by Hossam Ramzy*
 * "Murder" by Alana Davis
 * "Life Can Be So Grand" by Brian and Brenda Russell
 * "Keep It Comin' Love" by KC & The Sunshine Band

* Due to legal reason's a re-recording and not an actual sample was used.