If you’re like me you watched the BET Awards for 2 things #1 to see the Michael Jackson tribute and #2 to see the premiere of the D.O.A. (Death of Autotune) video. When I initially heard this song I was convinced Jay was back and in the best lyrical shape of his life. The No ID track is ill and lyrically this is typical Jay. As usual people took major offense to his lyrics, but Jay’s lyrics are always a classic case of “If the shoe fits…..”
There’s been alot of negative buzz and upset fans when it comes to The Blueprint 3 as a whole. I think we’ve become so accustomed to same old same that we’ve come to expect it and rather appreciate it. A lot of us expected The Blueprint reloaded, but that’s not at all what you get, if that’s what you are looking for prepare to be disappointed. Think about what the term blueprint actually means and to do a repeat of what he did before is simply not Jay-Z’s style. So keeping all those points in mind I tried listening to the album with no expectations and found my view seems to oppose the masses. First and foremost I had an appreciation for the tentative release date of September 11. Without overshadowing the topic at hand we all know this date is very important to a lot of people, not just to us native New Yorkers. Having dropped The Blueprint on 9/11/01 I feel he has officially not only made a permanent mark on history but he has truly come full circle.
On this album there were a few songs worth keeping on loop in my iPod. One of them beingRun This Town feat. Rhianna and Kanye West- I really like this song and it took a few listens for it to grow on me, but I find myself humming this all day long and listening to it several times a day. Of course watching the video helped increase my appreciation for the song. I think I was initially disappointed, considering the the line up I expected to be more blown away then I was. All things considered this song is still fire!
I expected Off That Feat Drake to be a little more than it was. Let’s face it when you see Drake’s name attached to anything you expect to be hit with a new arsenal of Drake quotables. I really like the song for what it is lyrically, but he could have had anyone on the hook and I would’ve felt the same way about it. Only having Drake on the hook felt like a waste to me, but that’s just my opinion. Jay doesn’t disappoint with his witty lyrics but I expected 2 for the price of 1. Not having that is my only complaint about this otherwise hot song.
One of my favorite songs on the album is hands down Venus Vs. Mars produced by Timbaland. This song is typical platinum Jay-Z: a tight track, tighter rhymes and the daily quotables I’m sure we’ll hear repeated for years to come. Simply perfection in terms of all things Jay-Z.
Another fave of mine is On To the Next One produced by Swizz Beats. The title is pretty self explanatory and it’s another classic Jay banger. Witty lyrics, decent track and the typical Brooklyn boy swagger make this is a definite hit.
On A Star is Born I really dug how the concept of the song is basically a standing ovation for all those before, during and since Jay that have made a major impact on the game and are good at what they do. Considering the music game these days seems to be less about the art and more about who can diss who how many times on how many records. It’s refreshing to see someone seemingly the best to ever do it to step back and give props to others in the game. Kudos.
I know a lot of people won’t agree with my opinion of the album but art is open to interpretation and I’m not mad at the picture Jay-Z is drawing with this album. I will admit this album lacked an abundance of catchy hooks that we come to expect from Jay. I can also admit that at times I felt like his lyrics out shined the tracks, but keep in mind this is a blueprint and nothing on this album is should be what you would otherwise get from an artist lower on the totem pole. You can say what you want about Jay but I believe this album is gonna change the game for a lot of people. Lyrically Jay-Z is still Jay-Z and to be almost 40 years old and still be one of the best in this “young boys” game says a lot. People will hiss and diss but I assure you, as usual, we will hear a lot of regurgitated Jay lyrics off of this album on a lot of other artist’s CD’s, mixtapes; etc. .. Which I think further makes Jay on of the greatest of all time.
I would recommend copping the album but with the recommendation I issue a warning: This is definitely grown folks music, not for the lyrically immature