Review of Jay-Z's Unreleased the Blueprint 3 Album

When Jay-z stated that he was releasing The Blueprint 3 on September 11, 2009, I was ecstatic because lets admit it, Jay-Z is an event all himself. Just like the newest XXL implies, Jay is bigger than rap. I mean for God's sake, the man somehow convinced Oprah to visit the projects. Yes that Oprah, the same one who bashed Ludacris and 50 Cent for their lyrics and who admitted she had never listened to rap. Lets be honest, the last time Oprah saw the projects is when she looked out the window of her G4 as it flew over the projects of Chicago on the way to a taping of her show so for him to accomplish that was a miracle all its own. So as the months turned into weeks, I was just as antsy as everyone else, checking online and looking at supposedly "leaked" tracks lists, salivating at some of the speculated collaborations: Nas, Drake, Eminem, and Kid Cudi. I'm pretty sure I mentally drooled on myself.

As the weeks went from plural to singular I heard some buzz about a few of The Blueprint 3 tracks leaking online and just like the rest of the masses I rushed to download them to get a sneak peak at the album. I downloaded one of the leaked Timberland tracks but after less than 30 seconds, realizing the dismal audio quality of the track I just deleted it and the others, telling myself that listening to the unfinished songs would put an unfair assumption of poor quality in my head. So I waited a few more days and kept my will power strong; that is until I heard that the entire album leaked and the leaked version was studio quality. Now after this realization, I just couldn't help myself and I headed right to Rhapsody to take a listen. Before previewing the album I took a gander at the official track listing to verify whether or not the net had it right and although some of the collaborations were missing in action, mainly the Jay- Z and Nas collabo, the featured guests and producer credits still looked very promising.

So I pressed play, utilizing some of the free plays Rhapsody offers and instantly fell in love with The Blueprint 3. When I first started listening to the CD, I wasn't giving it my full attention as I was busy perusing the net but halfway through "What We Talkin' About", it was as if the CD slapped me in the back of the head and demanded the full attention it so rightfully deserved and I obliged. I sat there at my laptop for the next 14 and a half songs and as "Young forever" beautifully came to an end I found myself completely mesmerized and I unconsciously pressed play again...and again...and again. Let's just say that I used up every one of my free 25 plays on Rhapsody and then shamelessly closed and reopened my browser, hoping that Rhapsody couldn't track my IP address and I would be given another 25 free plays but unfortunately Rhapsody had bested me so I was relegated to finding other means of procuring the CD again. I finally found another avenue to ascertaining the CD and upon hearing that Jay-Z didn't have a problem with people downloading the leaked version I didn't feel as naughty, especially since I knew that whether or not I had the leaked version I would still hit up iTunes.com to "officially" cop the album once it was released.

So I replayed the CD over and over again, burned it, and then played it again and again in my car, letting the bass from songs like the Swizz Beatz assisted "On To The Next One" rhythmically massage me as the vibrations exited my 15" subwoofers all the while soaking up Jay's lyrics like a cerebral sponge. I couldn't help but realize that all the bad reviews and criticisms of the CD were unfounded but I couldn't expect less as Jay is that kind of rapper-either you get him or you don't. If you have become acclimated to the nursery rhymes, corny dance songs, and ubiquitous youtube thug songs running rampant through the industry then you probably won't like the CD but if you still have a copy of Reasonable Doubt sitting in a slot of your CD book on your sun visor like me, then you will appreciate this CD and here is why-

The CD starts off with the Luke Steele from Empire of the Sun assisted "What We Talkin' About", an up tempo track that Jay uses as a vehicle for multiple subjects including confronting his many detractors and their criticisms of him, a jab or two at The Game, Jim Jones, and Dame Dash and a couple bars pointed towards the E-thugs of today's rap industry and how they could stand to learn a thing or two from Uncle Jay. Although the beat and hook sound like they could've been in a theme song from a 1970's blaxpoitation film, the formula works for Jay as he breezes through the song effortlessly.

Following that Isaac Hayes inspired intro is "Thank You", a Kanye West and No ID produced track that Jay uses as a platform to facetiously thank his detractors as well as simultaneously body unnamed foes with 9/11 metaphors and allusions. With the full orchestra band playing in the background, Jay-Z exerts playful, sardonic jabs while exclaiming that he doesn't need any help with his craft as he has perfected it himself. The track fits Jay perfectly as it exudes an air of sophistication all the while gangster and hustler metaphors flow like cocaine from Tony Montana's nose when he sneezes. With flows like "If I put 8 balls in corners without cue sticks", Jay shows just how overly simplified the metaphors of D boy rappers everywhere are compared to him.

The grandiose affair that is "Thank You" is succeeded by "Death of Auto-Tune" which is more or less a call to action for the youthful rappers of today to be a little more original instead of just lackadaisically using tried and true methods of success such as T- Pain's Auto Tune effect. In this track which was once again produced by No ID, Jay-Z proclaims the death of the voice synthesizing tool for all who use it except T-Pain himself.

"Run This Town", with its Rihanna infused beat brings to us the first guest speaker of the night Kanye West. Although Jay's verses were ok, they weren't anything special, which Kanye used as a chance to finally outshine his "big brother". Although Kanye's verse wasn't anything spectacular either, his one or two extra punch lines over shadowed Jay's double speak, allowing him to be the second person to ever outshine Jay on his own track with Eminem being the first.

"Empire State of Mind" comes next and features Mrs. Swizz Beatz A.K.A. Alicia Keyes on the hook. The song can be considered the antithesis to most New York City themed songs that focus on the grimy, ruthless aspect of the Big Apple whereas Jay's rendition has a more positive outlook and includes Mrs. Keyes singing about how anything is possible in NYC and how it can inspire you to reach your dreams. The track was rumored to originally include a guest verse from Nas but unfortunately that never materialized.

After that positive spin on the city that never sleeps we receive a Mr. 17.5 featured track that has Jeezy following his typical blueprint of cocaine rap while Jay seems to hold back as if purposefully trying not to overshadow Young Jeezy. Jay's first verse amazingly contains no metaphors, similes or double speak-obvious proof that he wasn't trying to make Jeezy's simplified verses look bad. On the second verse Jay adds in a couple of witty metaphors but still it is evident that he is holding back and simplifying himself for Jeezy's sake.

Now on to the next one we get well..."On To The Next One", a heavily bass assisted gem from Swizzy that allows Jay to explain the reason why he is constantly ending trends. In it he states that he is so far ahead of the game that by the time everyone catches up to a hip hop trend, he has already tired of it and moved on to the next one as the track's title suggests. The beat is extremely energetic and allows Jay to come alive and ride the track until the end.

"Off That" is a track that features Drake although he is relegated to singing on the hook as was the destiny of Kid Cudi on "Already Home". Although both artists sound good on their respective hooks I would have much rather liked to see them spitting verses as they are two of the hottest up and coming artists in the game. But anyways, "Off That" has a seemingly futuristic vibe to it that screams Timbaland produced but Jay makes the best of it, spitting playful verses full of energy. As was the case with the previous track, Jay states all of the trends he is no longer a part of as he has progressed past them. The song has an underlying theme of explaining to the younger generation that they need to learn how to grow with their craft instead of staying complacent.

The ninth track of the album and one of my favorites is the J. Cole assisted "A Star is Born" which utilizes a jazz infused beat to show praise for the other notable MC's that have seen success since Jay arrived on the scene in 96. The hook is uplifting and has a positive vibe. Furthermore, the introduction of J. Cole is befitting of the song as he holds his own with Jay and seemingly bears witness to the title of the track. I can almost see this track as something Kanye did for himself but gave to Jay once Jay heard it.

On the seductive and sultry sounding "Venus Vs. Mars", Timbaland, brings in a middle eastern influence that causes me to mentally picture a belly dancer swaying back and forth in sync with the beat. The title of the track itself is a metaphor for the relationship between men and women and although it appears as if Timbo was aware of this his pitch seems to miss the strike zone. It appears as if Jay is aware of this as he has to slow his delivery down quite a bit, something he makes up for with verses filled to the brim with arguably the wittiest wordplay on the album. The song is filled with more similes than most rappers' entire albums but the production falls short a little.

Kanye lends Jay his trump card in Kid Cudi for the next track "Already Home" which features the Day N Nite rapper in the hook although I wished he could've blessed the track with a verse. The beat is on point all of the way, accentuating Jay's delivery in a way only Kanye can. The strings of the violin that accompanies the beat is in perfect synchronization with Jay's punch lines as if Jay verbally wrote the beat somehow and Kid Cudi's hook blends in with the beat and Jay's lyrics as if they were woven together. Lyric wise, Jay expresses his annoyance with rappers attempting to claim an end to his reign as well as blame him for their inability to become successful. He explains that he has ushered them to the door of success but they have to knock on the door of opportunity themselves. This is probably the best track on the entire CD as every aspect of it is stellar and without errs and the beat, hook and lyrics all coalesce so seamlessly.

Once again, Jay-Z addresses his detractors on the self explanatory "Hate". The track is accompanied by a Kanye verse but just as with the Jeezy assisted track, it is evident that Jay is simplifying his wordplay to stay level with Kanye. The beat sounds like a Kanye throwaway but a bad Kanye beat still bests a "good" beat from most other producers. This song could've been left off of the album without taking anything away from the album.

Following the dismal track that was "Hate" is "Reminder", a track that features Jay-Z ala the Black Album. Jay uses the west coast inspired, synthesizer hooked track to "remind" everyone why he isn't just a business man but a business...man. He goes on to further explain that outside of the Beatles, no other artists have seen the kind of success he has all while running an urban empire.

On the Pharrell produced "So Ambitious", Mr. Neptune lends his familiar vocal cords to the beat as he pounds the ivories on the piano. As the song would have you believe, it revolves around being ambitious but instead of just stating how ambitious they are, they go a step further to provide examples of what motivates them-mainly the unsupportive comments of people in their pasts.

The CD culminates in the beautifully done song "Young Forever". The song has a U2 or Coldplay vibe to it and Mr. Hudson definitely earned my respect with this one. The G.O.O.D. music crooner masterfully accompanied the majestic ode to immortality and initially I thought it was actually Chris Martin on the hook as Jay has worked with Coldplay in the past. Mr. Hudson has previously worked with Kanye on 808's and Kanye introduced Jay to both Coldplay and Mr. Hudson. The track is further illuminated by Jay-Z's utopian take on life where he toasts to the furthered success of "everyone", an obvious sign of him passing the baton to the future generations of hip hop while making sure to remind them that his name is forever cemented in the Hip Hop Hall of Fame with the other greats.

Overall, The Blueprint 3 is another great, solid album from the man with 10 straight number one albums and three classics (Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint vol. 1, and The Black Album) under his belt. There are a few missteps, namely "Hate" but outside of that the album features what has come to be the norm for Jay-great production coupled with classy and genius lyrics. Although some people might think other wise, as I stated earlier Jay-Z is one of those artists you either love to death or can't stand because if you don't understand Jay-Z the man you wont understand Jay-Z the musician.

Jay-Z's albums are like movies as they carry underlying themes that resound throughout the respective album and unconsciously add to the overall aesthetic. With Reasonable Doubt Jay-Z channeled the movie "Scarface", evoking a sense of hunger, ambition and ruthlessness seen throughout the movie. With The Black Album, Jay embodies the movie "Gladiator", whose main character Maximus parallels Jay's rise through the ranks of the hip hop industry, proclaiming his dominance and right to the throne before abdicating it and opting to ride out into the sunset victorious. With American Gangster he personifies the movie of the same name with such accuracy and conviction that he makes it impossible for anyone else to attempt the concept without falling severely short. With his last opus, it isn't clear which movie he is exemplifying but what is visibly apparent are the themes carried through the album such as bridging the gap between the generations, continual progression instead of sedentary behavior as well as the handing off of the baton between Jay-Z and the multiple relatively new comers featured throughout the album.

Critics will attempt to claim that The Blueprint 3 isn't cohesive, partnering soul beats with futuristic beats but that is just an example of their misunderstood notions. Clearly the use of soulful tracks as well as modern aged beats is Jay-Z's attempt to connect hip hop with rap. He is trying to bridge the gap between the older generation of hip hop followers and the younger generation of rap followers. This attempt at reconnection is lost upon some minds but blatantly visible to others.

Furthermore, throughout the album, Jay makes references to the faults of today's rappers, stating that they are too busy complacently sticking within loose parameters of tried and true genres and innovations instead of taking the risk of carving out their own niche, something Jay did with great success. It is as if Jay-Z is the skilled master, passing along his knowledge and tutelage to his apprentices, constructively criticizing them not so as to cause embarrassment but to provoke innovation, creativity, and genius. He is attempting to convince the masses that although it is temporarily profitable to jump on the band wagon of the different crazes that inhabit hip hop, it is more advantageous for both the artists as well as the industry itself for the artists to continually progress and evolve as it will bring continued success.

Jay-Z got a lot of flack for putting a lot of newcomers on the album like J. Cole, Drake, Kid Cudi and Mr. Hudson as they are largely unproven thus far but in my opinion he did it so as to pass the baton to the next generation of great artists. Jay Z commands greatness and I can't think of many if any artists who wouldn't climb mountains to get on a track with him on an album so it isn't as if he couldn't find a veteran rapper, he just consciously chose instead to take some of the hottest up and coming artists and throw them into the fire to see if they could come out unscathed. The only way to strengthen metal is to put it into the crucible and what task is harder than holding your own against Jay-Z on his own CD. I think this was a great move by Jay and it was highly successful as all of the above mentioned new comers held their own and added a new facet to the album.

Critics will ultimately try to compare The Blueprint 3 to Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint 1 but what they don't understand is that Jay isn't trying to reproduce a classic album because what will that accomplish? Nothing. Why try to recreate a classic when the classic already exists. When greats like Jay or Nas or Dr. Dre created classic albums like The Chronic, Illmatic and The Blueprint 1, they didn't do in order to create guidelines they were expected to follow throughout their careers. They did so in order to progress the hip hop industry to the next level. All three were groundbreaking albums and all three were meant to be. Those albums came out 15-20 years ago, so why would they want to recreate something they did in their youths? Why would they want to regress? The Blueprint 3 isn't titled so because Jay-Z is attempting to recreate the Blueprint 1, it is title the Blueprint because that is what it is supposed to be- a blueprint. The Blueprint 3 is meant to be a blueprint or schematic for the current generation to use as a tried and true method for success, just as the first blueprint was meant to be a guideline for the rappers of that era.

In summation, if you are looking for The Blueprint 1 within Jay-Z's new album you won't find it but what you will find is a completely solid album meant to be utilized as a stepping stone for the future generations, a bridge for disconnected demographics, and a blue print for how to achieve success and impending immortality within the game. The Blueprint 3 is a solid, cohesive album that falls short of "classic" due to a few questionably produced tracks but the underlying themes and attempt by Jay-Z to unite the generations is a classy attempt that is to be commended.