Guilty as ever *{UPDATED}* (The Blueprint - Jay-Z)

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Product:	The Blueprint - Jay-Z
Date:	02/11/01 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very good lyricist, Some good collarborations

Disadvantages: some very poor tracks, too much too soon

Within the last few days I have considerably changed my opinion on this album. Too much listenening to this album can cause serious change in feelings toward this album.

On his remarkable 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z entered the rap game delivering corner-hustler metaphors and silver-tongued wit that left speed knots on the brains of the uninitiated. Jay has long since measured his flow, making his lyrics more accessible and his hooks as infectious as the clap at a chickenhead convention. The result? Multi-platinum record sales and TRL rotation. On The Blueprint, his sixth album, Jay sets out to prove that nary a couplet of verbal ingenuity has been compromised as he’s catapulted from Brooklyn rap bandit to Cristal-swilling, Hamptons-chilling, Grammy-winning hip hop top gun.

The Blueprint is just that— a sample-heavy sonic scaffold, a rhymed schematic that outlines Jay’s Midas touch to date. Without cameos from his Roc La Familia, Jigga has made the solo album that comes closest to duplicating the autobiographical flows of his first disc. Where RD’s crack game to rap game tales coursed with the conflicted emotions of a hustler gone straight, the dilemma Jay now faces is the potential of a hustler-turned-rapper going soft from stardom. But he quells any such rumors, dissing Nas and Prodigy of Mobb Deep over the electro-buzz beat-stomp of “Takeover” and trading rap as outlaw art rhymes with Eminem on “Renegade.” Jay’s confidence reaches epic proportions on “Hola Hovito”. Over looped guitar riffs on the Timbaland-produced hell-raiser, Jay boasts: “If you haven’t heard I’m Michael, Magic, and Bird all rolled in one… And if I ain’t better than B.I.G., I’m the closest one.”

You almost have to give it to him; the aforementioned head-ringers come as easily as sure-fire hits. The catchy, yet marginally inventive, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.
)” samples the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and overflows with radio-friendly effervescence. The next single, “Girls, Girls, Girls,” lifts some sweeping ‘70s soul as Jay cleverly professes his insatiable appetite for all stripes of women. It’s good to be the king.

So far I have only mentioned the good tracks and I feel that they do not rule the album, this time around many 'poor' joints cramp Jay's style.This album represents a landmark in Jay's career. Unfortunately it is where it faults, this Jay's seventh album is just too much. I and I'm sure many others thought the sudden rush of albums was just due to Jay's inexperience. But, it never stopped and Jay hasn't taken time to stop and really make sure his albums are great. Artists like DMX and Ja Rule have done this and they've produced albums with very little fault. At the moment Jay Is getting about 5 tracks out of 13 and this, for a mainstream hip hop artist, is simply not good enough.

Some tracks are dull and lack any rhythm and Jay doesn't hit the spot. He no longer sounds unique and too many of his songs lead onto a similar beat with Jay rhyming in a droaning style which can basically only be described as boring!

But ultimately Jay attempts to ground his damn-I’m-fly exuberance with potent, self-conscious flows. The mournful “Song Cry” and the poignant title track, sentimental counterpoints to the hardcore aphorisms, at first may seem difficult to swallow. However, Jay’s honesty and confessional tone elevate his tales of urban survival beyond mere rap star bluster. Half a decade later, you can only just begin to knock his hustle!

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