| Product: |
The Blueprint - Jay-Z |
| Date: |
09/11/01 (43 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: amazingly consistent and brief for a hip-hop album, amazing lyrics and delivery
Disadvantages: may be a little mainstream for some
In theory, at least, 'The Blueprint' should be rubbish..... I mean how many artists make their most exciting and consistent album this far into their career? The answer is not very many. However, Jay-Z has managed to forge something of a hip-pop masterpiece, making 'The Blueprint' - if not highly innovative - very enjoyable.
Many hip-hop albums recently have been trying to push the genre into the future, by putting weird spins on the sound. Outkast took the sounds of Prince and George Clinton, updated for the year 2030, and made one of the best albums of last year. On the more underground side, this year has seen albums from the likes of Cannibal Ox, meshing electro and hip-hop together to form a totally new sound. However, Jay-Z don't want to push musical boundaries aside. No, the man with easily the biggest lips in entertainment want to make lots and lots of money. He does have lots of money already, but my God does he want more of the stuff. This is why 'The Blueprint' is so commercial. It has an almost blinding pop surface. Soul samples, big beats....that's it. Even Timbaland, usually famed for his experimentation, turns in a conservative, straight four-four beat.
The most obvious two things about the way it differs from most obvious hip-hop albums, is that it only has a succint 13 tracks, and features very few cameos, Eminem excepted of course. This is what makes 'The Blueprint' such a winner.....unlike Jay-Z himself, the album is totally flab-free. Not one bad track. This is a vast difference from last year's sporadically brilliant 'The Dynasty: Roc la Familia', which featured so many guests that I think my nan was the only person I can think of who didn't take up the mic on it. That album was also pretty inconsistent, and though its best moments rise above those on 'The Blueprint' (notably 'I Just Wanna Love U (Give it to Me)'), it just doesn't work quite so well as
a whole album.
The album kicks off with 'The Ruler's Back' which sets the tone for the album perfectly. The basic message is 'My name is Jay-Z...I'm very good at everything, particularly making money....I am more successful than you...I have more women, money, drugs and record sales....and I'm harder than you as well.' Pretty much every track follows this pattern, though each one varies on what emphasis he wants to lay down. On 'Girls, Girls, Girls' its pretty obvious what he's bragging about primarily etc. What becomes apparent very quickly is, despite the fact that Jay-Z is bragging about the same rap cliches as everyone else......he does it in such an arresting manner. Each line is brilliantly timed and perfectly executed...cutting through cliches with such deft lyrical wit, you realise how much crap some bands sing. 'I'm too sexy for jail, like I'm Right Said Fred' is a great line, as is 'we've got so much coke you could run a slalom'.
'Takeover', the album's second track, is perhaps its highlight, and definitely the rawest. It thumps along on a distorted bass riff, sounding a great deal like a Hendrix song and Jay-Z then cusses Mobb Deep and Nas very hard. Despite the fact that it amounts to little more than playground name-calling, it is very funny. Jay-Z delivers lines such as 'You little f@ck I got money stacks bigger than you' and you start to think 'yeah....come one...did you hear that?...he's so cool'. He tells Nas that he can't rap for shit and then tells everyone else who has cussed him that they are only worth half a bar. Its all very convincing and you feel like you just can't argue with the man.
'Izzo H.O.V.A' amazingly manages to sample the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back'without sounding cheesy. It sets out the story of his life and the clean, poppy production suddenly becomes glaringly obvious ne
xt to the stories of selling crack to survive, and the trials of life in the ghetto. It's a great song, but you'll grow tired of it quickly because of its catchiness.
'Girls, Girls, Girls' tells us how many women Jay-Z has in every category possible.... an air hostess, Indian, black, young, Chinese (who apparently he has to dump because she keeps bootlegging his 'shit') and many many more. I suspect him to be telling the truth and therefore I am very jealous. Quotes from Eddie Murphy 'Raw', references to the 'Mile high club', spill over each other. I think you'll get the point of the song by now, but if you haven't Jay-Z loves 'girls, girls, girls, girls....girls all over the world'. He's not gay O.K.
Other highlights are so numrous its difficult to pick them out....the Timbaland produced 'Hola Hovito' is a great celebratory track reminiscent a little of a more upbeat 'Still D.R.E.'. 'Heart of the City' expels the grim underbely of 'New York' around a sample that says 'A'int no love in the heart of the city...there a'int no love in the heart of the town'. This perhaps explains Jay-Z's cold, materialitic character and he even freely admits that he is too tough to show his emotions and therefore has to 'let the song cry' for him at the loss of his girlfriend ('Song Cry'). 'Never Change' explains that Jay-Z was brought up on crime and will never change.....it adds kudos to his ryhmes that he's 'Still f@cking with crime coz crime pays'. 'Renegade' features a guest spot from Eminem, where they both have a good winge about how people attack them because they're famous and the best rappers...despite the fact that Eminem always raps about this now, he turns in a sinister and convincing spot and also his production of the song, though not great shows that with time, he could be a contender in this ca
tegory too...its all spooky strings and theremin noises.
'The Blueprint' won't change your life....but it will make it more enjoyable for its brief duration. Though some will find it far too mainstream, if you ignore this and let Jay-Z's lyrics and delivery do all the work, you're looking at possibly the best hip-hop album this year. Old fashion values seemeed to have paid off for Jigga and you have to give him credit for being such a success. In his own words 'you're now looking at one smart black boy'.
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Last comment:
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Mauri - 09/11/01 Excellent Op. I haven't heard this but now I'm tempted. |
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