By MJG
Back in 2001, Shawn Carter, a.k.a. Jay-Z, drastically altered the landscape of the rap game with his magnum opus The Blueprint. In that album, The Jiggaman called upon a team expert beatmakers, including then up-and-comers Just Blaze and Kanye West, to construct a sonic backdrop of vintage soul influenced melodies fused with traditional East Coast boom bap to effortlessly weave tales of street hustler lifestyle, straight up i’m-better-than-you-and-we-both-know-it braggadocio, and even some thought-provoking introspection sprinkled here and there. The album not only signaled a major stylistic shift in hip-hop production towards a more soul-centric approach from the keyboard-driven, syncopated rhythms popularized by Timbaland and the Neptunes in the late 90s, but it also served as the impetus to motivate many of his fellow peers (i.e. Nas) to go back to the drawing board and step their lyrical game up. Fast forward eight years and the hip-hop status quo is once again unsafe as the venerable emcee looks to pioneer a new age in hip-hop with his newest release, The Blueprint 3. But at almost 40 years old (a social security eligible senior citizen in the hip-hop world) and seemingly years removed from his alleged creative peak, does he still have what it takes to lead the charge?
Lyrically, the subject matter hasn’t changed much in eight years, which, for the most part, isn’t a bad thing. Jay-Z’s favorite subject is still, well, Jay-Z. Tracks such as “Reminder,” “Thank You,” “So Ambitous,” and “Hate” reminds listeners how much better Jay is than all of the naysayers, haters and critics out there. “Off That,” “On To The Next One,” “Already Home” and “What We Talkin’ About” not only inform the listener that Jay is a trendsetter, but that he’s, well, better than all of the naysayers, haters and critics out there! While listening to the same subject matter over and over can be frustrating at times, it’s a testament to his skill as a lyricist that he is able to keep things relatively interesting throughout the album. One of his strongest lyrical performances came in the aforementioned “Already Home.” In this song, he unleashes some serious venom on everbody, from rappers: Don’t they know that they boring?/Don’t they know that I yawn?/Only time they exciting is when they mentioning Shawn/Seen Single White Female when she dyed her hair blonde?/Sometimes I look at these rappers/The movie remind me of them to the critics: And as for the critics, tell me I don't get it/Everybody can tell you how to do it, they never did it. He does manage to spice things up a bit in other tracks: “Venus vs. Mars” shows that he can still stitch together metaphors and raunchy double entendres better than just about anybody else in the game, while “A Star is Born” and “Empire State of Mind” show that he can (sorta) take the focus off him for a moment and pay homage to hip-hop heavyweights of yesteryear and his hometown respectively. Musically, however, is when the album gets very intriguing:
The opening track entitled “What We Talkin’ About” relies on an epic fusion of techno-inspired synths, lush orchestration and some unexpected, but welcomed assistance from Luke Steele of the Australian-based group Empire of the Sun. It’s a risky combination, especially for the opening track of a hardcore hip-hop album. But the risk pays huge dividends as Jay sounds right at home in the unique soundscape. The blaring horns and heart thumping percussion heard in the street single “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune),” produced by the criminally underutilized No ID, provide the perfect backdrop for Jay-Z to ruffle a few feathers as he bombastically lambast his peers for hopping on the auto-tune bandwagon. The second single from the album, “Run This Town,” proves to be a solid follow-up track as its frantic, rolling drums and the militia-style foot drill cadences heard throughout the song provide a nice change of pace. I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that the song also features the latest example of Jay-Z getting murdered on his own track, this time, courtesy of Kanye West. “Empire State on Mind,” which is far and away the best song on the album in this reviewer’s humble opinion, will undoubtedly have even the most hardened New York hater pumping their fist and nodding their head to Alicia Keys’ trademark piano chords and surprisingly organic, soulful bellows. Krucial Keys provides an ideal compliment for Jay-Z as he breezily delivers an authentic, heartfelt ode to the city that helped raise him.
Things aren’t all positive, however. Calling the Young Jeezy featured “As Real As It Gets” disappointing would be a huge understatement, especially considering the stellar track record the duo has whenever they collaborate together. Everything from the bland Inkredibles track to Jigga and Jeezy’s lazy raps seem to lack the energy necessary to make this a memorable collabo. The same can be said for the customary Neptunes contribution to the album, “So Ambitious.” While Jay-Z, Chad and Pharrell’s chemistry is still undeniable, the track is too formulaic to stand out from other ones by the trio. Elsewhere, the irritating clatter, banging of pots and pans sound concocted in the Swizz Beatz produced “On To The Next One” prove headache-inducing enough to immediately warrant pressing the Next button. The irony of Jay confidently boasting Welcome to the future in the first bar of the Timbaland assisted “Off That” is glaring as the beat sounds like one Justin Timberlake probably (and wisely) rejected three years ago during the Future Sex/Love Sound recording sessions. Additionally, adding current pop-music sensation Drake to simply do the hook on the song seems like a wasted opportunity. “Hate,” arguably the worst song on the album, has little going for it other than Kanye West’s hilarious depiction of a laser sound. While the album’s closer, “Young Forever” certainly earns brownie points for daring to sample Alphaville’s 80’s hit “Forever Young” on a major hip-hop album release, it unfortunately fails to hit the mark.
Whether this album mirrors the success of The Blueprint in moving hip-hop in a different direction will be left for future debate and analysis. Listeners in the present simply want to know whether or not this album is a dope listen. Wide-eyed Jay-Z stans will undoubtedly proclaim he dropped an instant classic filled with witty wordplay and game-changing melodies that will once again change the rap game as we know it. While Jay detractors will call him a washed up, near 40 has-been rapping about the same subject matter and desperately trying anything to remain relevant. The truth, I suspect, lies somewhere in the middle. While he certainly hasn’t strayed far from his lyrical comfort zone of talking about money, haters and women, nobody can make the status quo interesting quite like Jay. Musically, the album produces both head nodding and head scratching results. The unevenness of the album, especially its second half, ultimately results in a solid listen, but short of classic status.
3.5 out of 5
