Sure diss tracks and harsh words towards Hov have come from Jaz, Game (The Game), Dame (Damon Dash), and Jimmy (Jim Jones), but at this point in Jay’s career and the success he’s seeing it’s rather pointless to even acknowledge the fact. It’s kind of contradictory though as by even mentioning you’re not talking about insert name here, you’re ultimately still talking about them by referencing their names. Most people are familiar with some of the lyrics on this track from the acapella “freestyles” Jay had been performing at shows in the past two months, which garnered some hate and ruffled the feathers of The Game and Jaz-O ( “Talking ‘bout gossip, I ain’t talking ‘bout Game…Even Jaz made some scraps, he could’ve made more but he ain’t sign his contract”). The song initially grabs the listener’s attention but soon wears thin in terms of production value becoming dull and boring after a while. Immediately you notice the change with the lush, advanced sounding production provided by duo of Kanye West and No ID who handle a majority of the album’s production and set the tone. He seemingly understands the importance of making a good first impression in knowing that it’s important to catch the listener’s attention at the start, which will hopefully encourage them to listen until the end. Jay-Z has always been known for having strong opening tracks (“The Prelude”, “Can’t Knock The Hustle”, “A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More”, “The Ruler’s Back”) that set the tone for the rest of the album and the rest of the tracks that follow. The Blueprint displayed his life foundation and development from soul music being present in his childhood, The Blueprint 2 showed his exploration of various genres and musical taste… So where does The Blueprint 3 stand?įeaturing Luke Steele (of Empire of the Sun) Produced by Kanye West & No ID Over the years his superior and classic status albums have served as models and sources of inspiration for countless artists (both up-and-coming and established). In terms of Jay-Z as an artist, few could argue that his career doesn’t meet the criteria of said definition. The world “blueprint” as defined by Webster’s dictionary is something serving as a model or providing guidance. It shouldn’t be compared or viewed in the same light as the original Blueprint album, which is labeled the “old classic” but viewed in the perspective of the digital, Auto-Tune heavy music industry we reside in during today’s times. Being the final album in the Blueprint trilogy, Jay-Z has gone on record in saying this album is the definition or blueprint of the “new classic” and should be viewed as such in being the new model for rap’s younger generation of rookies and stars, and being focused on the music and instrumentation side of things. It’s easy to understand the reasons for such anticipation, as it has been almost two years since Jay-Z’s previous release ( American Gangster) and this album follows undoubtedly one of the best albums in his catalog ( The Blueprint). I had to go into this album review with a fresh mindset clean of all of Jay-Z’s successes and shortcomings, and view this album on its own terms without comparison to any previous albums.Įnter The Blueprint 3, an album that has recently been the most anticipated by listeners since Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III and Eminem’s Relapse. Distancing myself as a Jay-Z fan in being able to properly review this album, which meant forgetting my adoration for classic albums ( Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, The Black Album) and overlooking my distaste for disappointing albums ( The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse, Kingdom Come, Vol. Even though the initial review I composed offered a detailed view of the album, I needed to further distance myself as a Jay-Z fan before I would really be able to fairly judge its value and significance. Having previously written this album review in full with what I thought was an unbiased view led me to revisit it and start anew. This was probably the most difficult album review that I’ve had to write during my tenure at nappyafro.
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