Early version of album tracklist suggests Jay’s 1996 debut could have been very different.

Recently acknowledged by Jay Z as his finest work, Reasonable Doubt is one of those classic records that you can’t imagine being any other way, from the opening bars to the order of the tracks.

Almost 18 years after its release, art director Adrien Vargas has unearthed an early version of the album’s tracklist which reveals three unknown songs – ‘The Hurt’, ‘Tell Me’ and ‘Hot’. As 2DopeBoyz reports, unless they were later released under different names, these tracks have never surfaced.

Listed under the heading ‘album song titles’, it’s hard to be sure if the tracks are written in sequence, but if they are it suggests a pretty different version of the album to the one we know. Front-loaded with commercial picks, including the discarded original version of single ‘Dead Presidents’, it peters out with ’22 Two’s’ and ‘Friend Or Foe’ before adding ‘Dead Presidents II’ as a bonus track. Have a look below.

Shawn Carter’s come a long way since 1996, of course – this Sunday he’s performing at the Grammys alongside Beyoncé. See which of his albums Jay rates as best – and worst.