American Gangster

by

Jay-Z

Edit

Jay-Z is one of the greatest rappers of all time. Back in the 90's he dropped classic after classic but then he decided to retire after The Black Album although he was never really gone but he didn't release a new albums til last year when he decided to return from the hiatus with Kingdom Come. The album got lukewarm response and while the production wasn't bad it wasn't the right album to comeback with dealing with anything from his hollywood friends, to how 30 is the new 20 and the redundant strip club anthem with Pharell and Usher. It was obvious that Sean Carter wanted to be #1 but not for any price. The album was commercial but not too interesting. Being the richest man in Hip Hop it looked like he had completely forgot about his roots but desperatlely wanted to hang on to his crown. One year after that the news came about Jay-Z dropping another album. Being the president for Def Jam, holding clothing lines, owning the 40/40 club and co-owning the New York Nets he doesn't need to release another album cause the majority of his income comes from elsewhere and being closer to 40 then 30 he belongs to the seniors of rappers, so why another album?. But Jay-Z is doing it for the love of the game and he's proving it more then ever with this release.

"American Gangster" as this album is called is a conceptual album based on the Denzel Washington film with the same name. It's about the drug dealer Frank Lucas in the early 70's. And that itself works well cause Jay-Z was one himself and his classic debut album "Reasonable Doubt" portraited his early life before success with Hip Hop. Most of the songs here are suppost to make references to scenes from the film. So, Incase you have seen it you probably have a better understanding. The sound is very much retro soul, taken from an blaxploitation flick from exactly that time. Perhaps the sample-driven sound could pass as dated by today with all of the extra-ordinary productions we find but considering that it's suppost to be the soundtrack to something from the early 70's it's understandable. The majority of the production is from Diddy's proteges LV & Sean C (Also known As the Hitmen). But some of the songs also comes from The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Just Blaze and Dj Toomp. But most of them haveone thing in common, they're sample driven retro soul sounding.

After a short intro, The album starts with dramatic "Pray" where you also can hear the spoken words of Beyonce. It feautures violins and church choirs and sets the tone for what's coming. The song is semi-autobiographical where he talks about his childhood and what made him a hustler. References to Sinatra, Berry Gordy, Kennedy an be heard here. In the last verse he'll make a reference to a Kanye West' song by saying "Everything I've Seen Made Me Everything I Am". Second song "American Dreaming" heavily samples from Marvin Gaye, even by using his voice. Lazy as that may be the lyrics are really good where he talks about how he chose fast money over education. "Hello Brooklyn" Pt 2" is unfortunately a miss-step. The minimalistic production is inadequate and Lil Wayne singing the hook is just corny. It simply doesn't fit in here. "No Hook" is another autobiographical song simular to "Pray" with no hook just verses and a deep laidback sound. He said that hustling was his ticket out of the hood and even if he promised his mom to stay out of trouble he was going to die inside if he didn't try. "Roc Boys (The Winner is)" is the closest to hit potential here, it uses a soul horn sample and would work fine for radio. It's a celebration to a successful lifestyle. More classic soul/funk on "Sweet". Pharell provides the beats and backround vocals for "I Know", but it does feel a little out of place here but the song is really good.

With "Party Life" we have another decent midtempo backed by a soul singer while on the Beanie Sigel collaboration "Ignorant S*it" we have a song that samples The Isley Brother's "Between the Sheets". The Dj Toomp produced "Say Hello" follow the path of soul-funk and is pretty good aswell. Next up is something that most Hip Hop fans don't wanna miss. "Success" is another duet between Jay-Z and his former rival Nas, just like on "Black Republican". It was produced by Jermaine Dupri but got to say the beats here suits the song perfectly. The same producer follows up with the jazzy "Fallin" where Bilal sings the hook. It reminds me of some of the songs from Common's last album, where Bilal also appeared. "Blue Magic" from Pharell was the first single and it one of the best songs with it's minimalistic production and beats, if you liked the Clipse's last album you're gonna love this one. The album closes with the title track which is 70's soul-funk aswell.

Overall, This album isn't perfect but it's the best Jay-Z released in a long time and it's obvious he's trying to drop another album simular to Reasonable Doubt dealing with the issues he knows best. It's a conceptual album, it got good lyrics and a production that both feels suitable as a score and as an autobiography. The production is quite simular from song to song and it doesn't have the obvious hit single like most Jay-Z fans are used to. But neither did "Reasonable Doubt" with few big hits or major album sales after it's release. This album is much diffrent then what most people would expect from one of the most commercially appealing Rap stars, but that also why I like it and admire him for dropping it. "American Gangster" is the best Jay-Z album in a long time and if he finally decides to call it quit now atleast he'll do it by the knowledge on retiring on top.