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"I write the songs that the whole world sings," rapper Jay-Z claims in the middle of "Money Ain't a Thang," from producer-rapper Jermaine Dupri's first solo album, Life in 1472. Solo? Only in name; as Dupri grabs his Puffy moment to make a gangsta party album sure to dominate MTV and radio for months, it seems he's indeed pulled the better part of the hip-hop planet into the booth. Besides Jay-Z, there are guest shots by Snoop Dogg, Nas, DMX, Mase, Lil' Kim--even Mariah Carey and Keith Sweat. But not even those mainstream singers can turn the record's tone away from the boasting that dominates the other cuts. And Dupri's performance? Tracks: catchy. Rapping: slightly better than Puffy's. --Rickey Wright