The album features guest contributions byLil' Kim,Foxy Brown,Babyface,Blackstreet,Teddy Riley,Too $hort,Sauce Money andPuff Daddy.[5][6] Producers forReasonable Doubt such asDJ Premier andSki contribute to a limited number of beats on this album, though the majority of the production is handled by Puff Daddy's production teamThe Hitmen from the Bad Boy label, giving the album a generally glossier sound than its predecessor. It displayed a shift from themafioso rap themes ofReasonable Doubt to the so-called "jiggy" era of late 90s hip-hop, often credited to videos and albums fromPuff Daddy and hisBad Boy record label's roster of artists includingThe Notorious B.I.G. (the first two singles from his second album were both huge pop hits) andMase. "Reasonable Doubt was like an introduction," Jay-Z toldMTV News. "Like, you know, meeting somebody out on the street... Everything, your whole conversation is very general, not too much detail and things like that. Its just that 'In My Lifetime' is more detailed, more in-depth. Much more personal".
In a 1998 interview withMTV News, Jay-Z explained how the death of fellowBrooklyn rapper and collaboratorThe Notorious B.I.G. shaped parts ofIn My Lifetime, Vol. 1. In the interview, he explained how the album was not as fun to record as his debut, (Reasonable Doubt (1996)), and that certain tracks, such as "The City is Mine", were influenced by the rapper's death.[7]
A lot of different songs were influenced by what was happening. 'City Is Mine', the first verse, you could just hear it. I think two hooks on there came from songs that he (The Notorious B.I.G.) had previously recorded...The album to me — this album wasn't fun to me likeReasonable Doubt, because it was like, it seemed really slow to me, and I didn't set out to do that, just looking back now and listening to it now.
In a contemporary review, Steve Jones ofUSA Today calledIn My Lifetime "a rock-solid set with both street and pop appeal".[17]Chicago Tribune criticSoren Baker believed Jay-Z's lyrics "contain a finesse and insight few can articulate as succinctly", while writing that "his use of pop producers Teddy Riley and Sean 'Puffy' Combs will alienate listeners, even as Jay-Z establishes himself as that rare underground rhymer with commercial appeal".[9]Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention in his 2000Consumer Guide book,[10] indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy".[18] He named "(Always Be My) Sunshine" and "Real Niggaz" as highlights while calling Jay-Z "arrogant yet diffident, ruthless yet cute—a scary original".[10] Chris Norris ofSpin said Jay-Z's raps are often "in search of meaty ideas or distinctive charm—skills without pleasure", and was also critical of the production. "Without one sure, guiding vision," Norris wrote, "theCombs blueprint comes off as either mundane or embarrassing".[16]
AllMusic editor John Bush wrote in a retrospective review, "Though the productions are just a bit flashier and more commercial than on his debut, Jay-Z remained the tough street rapper, and even improved a bit on his flow". According to Bush, he "struts the line betweenproject poet and up-and-coming player" while balancing "both personas with the best rapping heard in the rap game since the deaths of2Pac andNotorious B.I.G.".[8]
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