Album: The Blueprint
Artist: Jay-Z
Born: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York
Released: September 2001
Artist: Jay-Z
Born: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York
Released: September 2001
Genre: Hip Hop
Jay-Z is one of hip hop's true superstars, and this is the album that confirmed his status. The Blueprint reflects on life at the top and also his early days in Brooklyn's projects, growing up with Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes and others. There's a great verse at the end of Izzo (H.O.V.A.) that distills that experience ("I was raised in the projects, roaches and rats / smokers out back selling their mama's sofa / lookouts on the corner focused on the ave / ladies in the window, focused on the kinfolk / me under a lamppost, why I got my hand closed? / crack's in my palm, watching the long arm of the law"). This panoramic street poetry and Jay-Z's easy, commanding delivery are just two reasons why he escaped this existence to set up his own successful label, Roc-A-Fella Records, and hook up with one of the most beautiful and talented women on earth, Beyoncé. This pre-eminence initiated an intense rivalry with Nas for the title "King of New York", and the sniping between the two intensified over the first half of the decade, from 2000 to 2005. This "beef" came to dominate hip hop, replacing the East Coast / West Coast feud that dominated the genre during the 90s. For me, Jay-Z never released an album as essential as Illmatic, but he's been a more consistent performer, from debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) to the Black Album (2003) and Watch The Throne (2011). The Blueprint remains his masterpiece though.
Jay-Z benefited from his working arrangement with the more experimental Kanye West, and on this album some of the best tracks feature Kanye as producer, including Izzo (H.O.V.A.) and "dis track" Takeover, the latter featuring a Doors sample and comments targeted at Nas ("Had a spark when you started but now you're just garbage / fell from Top 10 to not mentioned at all"). This sniping aside, what I do like about Jay-Z is that (for the main) he avoids the misogyny peddled by most rappers. Girls, Girls, Girls is actually quite an original and funny take on touring the world and meeting women from various cultures, and features contributions from Q-Tip, Biz Markie and Slick Rick. There's the inevitable song about material worth, U Don't Know, in which Jay-Z boasts of his entrepreneurial spirit ("Put me anywhere on God's green earth, I'll triple my worth"). Personally, I think he underestimates his good fortune at being born in America. Timbaland produces the Latin-inspired Hola Hovito, which has same of the best beats on the record. Heart Of The City is one of my favourite tracks, featuring a brilliant sample from Ain't No Love from Bobby "Blue" Bland, as Jay-Z raps about feeling the competition from people seeking his downfall. The record gets more reflective and sentimental near the end, with Never Change featuring a soulful sample from David Ruffin's Common Man. On Renegade, Jay-Z duets with Eminem, one of the world's few MCs that could compete with him in terms of fame, while Song Cry is a rare ballad. After the swagger of All I Need, Jay-Z closes the album with another highlight, Blueprint (Momma Loves Me), as he reminisces on his upbringing over an Al Green sample. Vulnerability amid the chest-thumping.
Jay-Z is one of hip hop's true superstars, and this is the album that confirmed his status. The Blueprint reflects on life at the top and also his early days in Brooklyn's projects, growing up with Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes and others. There's a great verse at the end of Izzo (H.O.V.A.) that distills that experience ("I was raised in the projects, roaches and rats / smokers out back selling their mama's sofa / lookouts on the corner focused on the ave / ladies in the window, focused on the kinfolk / me under a lamppost, why I got my hand closed? / crack's in my palm, watching the long arm of the law"). This panoramic street poetry and Jay-Z's easy, commanding delivery are just two reasons why he escaped this existence to set up his own successful label, Roc-A-Fella Records, and hook up with one of the most beautiful and talented women on earth, Beyoncé. This pre-eminence initiated an intense rivalry with Nas for the title "King of New York", and the sniping between the two intensified over the first half of the decade, from 2000 to 2005. This "beef" came to dominate hip hop, replacing the East Coast / West Coast feud that dominated the genre during the 90s. For me, Jay-Z never released an album as essential as Illmatic, but he's been a more consistent performer, from debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) to the Black Album (2003) and Watch The Throne (2011). The Blueprint remains his masterpiece though.
Jay-Z benefited from his working arrangement with the more experimental Kanye West, and on this album some of the best tracks feature Kanye as producer, including Izzo (H.O.V.A.) and "dis track" Takeover, the latter featuring a Doors sample and comments targeted at Nas ("Had a spark when you started but now you're just garbage / fell from Top 10 to not mentioned at all"). This sniping aside, what I do like about Jay-Z is that (for the main) he avoids the misogyny peddled by most rappers. Girls, Girls, Girls is actually quite an original and funny take on touring the world and meeting women from various cultures, and features contributions from Q-Tip, Biz Markie and Slick Rick. There's the inevitable song about material worth, U Don't Know, in which Jay-Z boasts of his entrepreneurial spirit ("Put me anywhere on God's green earth, I'll triple my worth"). Personally, I think he underestimates his good fortune at being born in America. Timbaland produces the Latin-inspired Hola Hovito, which has same of the best beats on the record. Heart Of The City is one of my favourite tracks, featuring a brilliant sample from Ain't No Love from Bobby "Blue" Bland, as Jay-Z raps about feeling the competition from people seeking his downfall. The record gets more reflective and sentimental near the end, with Never Change featuring a soulful sample from David Ruffin's Common Man. On Renegade, Jay-Z duets with Eminem, one of the world's few MCs that could compete with him in terms of fame, while Song Cry is a rare ballad. After the swagger of All I Need, Jay-Z closes the album with another highlight, Blueprint (Momma Loves Me), as he reminisces on his upbringing over an Al Green sample. Vulnerability amid the chest-thumping.
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