Generic list post: R.I.P Jacka edition

Why does it ALWAYS have to be the important rappers who die? Why can't it be the kiddie fiddlers like South Park Mexican or the psychopaths like Big Lurch instead of the promising upstarts like Speaker Knockerzs and Lil' Snupe, or the legends like Pimp C and Jacka? The erstwhile Shaheed Akbar AKA Dominick Newton earned his own place on rap's Mount Olympus by releasing one of the 10 best albums of the noughties with The Jack Artist and by fathering an entire sub-genre of gangsta-rap which sprawled from Oakland and Sacramento to Ohio and Indiana, so you'd have thought he'd have earned himself enough good karma from this senselessly fucked-up universe which presumably keeps Suge Knight alive because he was partially responsible for the Death Row back-catalogue to live a long and healthy life as an Oakland rap legend in which he could get keep getting fatter and fatter by the year as he'd been doing since most of us first became aware of him after Barney (More Crime) appeared on Cormega's Legal Hustle compilation in 2004.

As someone who grew up loving Slick Rick and Too $hort equally, Jacka's music was catnip to me: melodic but never at the expense of a bassline you could feel in your molars, and vividly written but never at the expense of a catchy tune that'd worm its way into your head. Fuck being hard, Jacka was complicated, which is why immersing one's self in his mammoth catalogue was such a rewarding experience. This was a man who not only wrestled with the contradictory impulses of human psychology on record, he also brought the best out of an otherwise useless pudding like Berner on the two separate albums they recorded together. Thus, the best way I can pay tribute to Jack' today is by gorging myself on a steak this lunchtime and delving deep into his catalogue once again in order to come up with a generic list post of my favourite Jacka tracks. Never blink, never forgotten:

1. The Jacka ft. Husalah - Blind World (2005)
2. The Jacka - Heavy Rain (2005)
3. The Jacka - Murder Somebody (2006)
4. The Jacka & Husalah - N*ggas Out There Mine (2006)
5. The Jacka - Barney (More Crime) (2004)
6. The Jacka ft. Husalah - Pigeon On A T-Shirt (2005)
7. The Jacka - Kuran (2005)
8. The Jacka ft. J Stalin & Dub 20 - Never Blink (2005)
9. The Jacka & Ampichino ft. T-Nutty & Husalah - Hustle In The Rain (2010)
10. The Jacka - Iller Clip (2005)
11. The Jacka ft. Too $hort & Husalah - Die Young (2001)
12. The Jacka ft. Cormega - Storm (2009)
13. The Jacka - Feel This Clip (2005)
14. The Jacka & Ampichino - I Try (2006)
15. The Jacka ft. Lil' Ric - Won't Break Me (2005)
16. The Jacka ft. Kazi & Husalah - 1, 2, 3 (2001)
17. The Jacka & Ampichino ft. Nate Da Nut - Family First (2006)
18. The Jacka ft. Fed-X - Standing By Starz (2005)
19. The Jacka, Ap.9 & Fed-X - Hood In Me (2008)
20. The Jacka ft. Cellski - Won't Be Right (2009)
21. The Jacka - A Real Feeling (2008)
22. The Jacka ft. Andre Nickatina - Glamourous Lifestyle (2009)
23. The Jacka - Dopest Foreal (2009)
24. The Jacka & 12 Gauge Shottie - Dope (2009)
25. The Jacka & Ampichino ft. Husalah & Lil' Rue - Death To My Enemies (2010)
26. The Jacka ft. Dru Down & Joe Blow - The President's Face (2014)
27. The Jacka - Million Miles (2001)
28. The Jacka - Ask God (2014)
29. Freeway & The Jacka - Uh Huh (2013)
30. The Jacka & Berner ft. Lee Majors & Fed X - Trafficking (2009)

EDIT - an anonymous person came through in the comments with a 32 song Jacka compilation. Download that shit here.