The Blueprint 3

by

Jay-Z

Edit

No one can stress enough the fact that Jay-Z is no longer the same man who hit the streets with Reasonable Doubt. If you are looking for that from Jay then you need to ask yourself two questions. 1. Why would you think he hasn't grown up? 2. Why haven't you?

Back in 1995 he was creating his music from his perspective in Marcy Projects, from the perspective of a hustler and man of the streets. He has since had 10 #1 albums and has become CEO of Def Jam, co-owner of the Nets, co-owner of the 40/40 club franchise, and husband to Beyonce Knowles. The man is a media mogul and multi-millionaire. He has friends like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. He has aged fourteen years. He has appeared on various Forbes lists. There is no way he can have the same perspective or outlook on life as he did in 1995 and his music reflects that.

If you can appreciate mature hip-hop with quality beats, a sophisticated sound, and inventive lyrics, then you need this album in your life. I sincerely appreciate this album because I love the depth and growth that this man is showing. At the end of the day he is the greatest rapper alive and nothing can take that away from him so it makes sense for him to be a trailblazer and take the game to greater heights. No one but him can do it and he does it well. I applaud him for that.

What Jay-Z is doing right now reminds me of Beyonce's I Am... album, which many people also criticized, and while I am no fan of B I had to admit that she showed tremendous growth and range with the ballad side of the release. Musicians have to take risks in order to advance the art which means so much to them. And, at the end of the day, they are people who have to grow up. Jay-Z is an adult. His rhymes are adult, his collaborations are adult, his beats are adult, his track selection is adult. And I love it.

To be fair I don't like this rating system. Its not fair to say that 3 stars for Jay-Z is the same as 3 stars for other crappy albums. At the same time this album is not a classic and my rating reflects that. The reason I am rating this album so low is because my expectation is so high. Hova was recently on Real Time with Bill Maher where he explained how his perspective has changed not only through his own monetary success but also due to his age. His music has become more adult over time. Evolving from his younger years posting up on a corner to creating his own businesses and clothing labels. This is exactly what he set out to do, unfortunately he has lost his hunger for the rap game.

The Blueprint was supposed to be just that, a blueprint to the rap game. If the rap world collapsed and someone came across this series they would have the ability to understand where the heart and soul of rap came from and why it existed to begin with. Unfortunately this album is not cohesive, delivers no clear message and appears to be a best of the B-SIDES album. Man does it hurt to say that! There are a few examples of his previous greatness such as Empire State of Mind and So Ambitious, but for the most part this is a solidly disappointing album. I'm sure people will say I'm hating on Hova. Not true, I just expect so much. He does integrate the current state of the world into his rhymes and production style as well, discussing the state of the war in the Middle East and current pop infatuation with Auto-Tune. Death of Auto-Tune was a song with so much promise; starting off by proclaiming himself "chairman of the board" unfortunately he fails to deliver.

Would I recommend this album? Absolutely. Jay-Z is one of the best who's ever been in the game. He has had an incredibly long career and I think his body of work should speak for itself. You cannot understand the hip-hop game without understanding Jay-Z. More than music he realized the limitations of simply rapping and spent his time focusing elsewhere crating businesses and a long sustainable legacy. Unfortunately his lack of focus on his music shows through with this effort.