09/02/2009



Being a big Jay-Z fan, I downloaded the Blueprint 3
within hours of its leak yesterday morning.

An interesting fact a lot of people don't know about him:
His name comes from his projects on Marcy Av.,
where the J and Z subway trains run.
(I don't think an M train ran in the 80's)

Anyway, I'm going to give a full, thorough review,
the type you see on Amazon and shit.
Track by track, here we go:

What We Talkin' About: Decent intro, solid production.
"I ain't talkin' bout gossip, I ain't talkin' bout Game,
I ain't talkin' bout Jimmy, I ain't talkin' bout Dame."
7/10

Thank You: Track sounds like it came from American Gangster, which is a good thing.
'Ye does a nice job here, I'm feelin' the horns.
8/10

D.O.A.: Just as every rapper tried to cash in on the Autotune, Jay tries to cash in on its "death".
I'm sorry, but as much as I want to like this song, it grew old way too fast.
6/10

Run This Town: Perfect single. Beat is fire.
Kanye commits murder on Hov's track. Nuff said.
9/10

Empire State of Mind: Title sound familiar? Hmm...
This is beautiful. It displays Jay-Z's amazing ability
to paint pictures with his words & Alicia Keys was perfect for the song.
It's probably a shoo-in for my second favorite track about
New York ever, second to the Nas counterpart.
I probably like this song more because I'm a
New Yorker, but hey, it's my review.
"Empty in May, got you feeling like a champion/
The city never sleeps, better slip you a Ambien."
10/10

Real As It Gets: Waste of a track. I like Jeezy,
but he's not worthy of a track on an album
with the word "Blueprint" in it.
5/10

On to the Next One: This year's A Milli. I hate it,
but I'll probably be forced to listen to it about 5,000 times this year.
Worst beat Jay has rapped on in a while. One hot line:
"Hov on that new shit, n*ggas like how come?
N*ggas want my old shit, buy my old album."
Well, I just might take that advice.
3/10

Off That: Not feelin' it. I expect much more from a Jay-Z x Drake collabo.
Timbaland also drops the ball.
4/10

A Star is Born: Favorite track on the album.
A veteran speaking on the game, and a "freshman" just rips it.
J. Cole is about to get a lot of exposure.
"Mobb Deep shook it, but Prodigy took it,
a little too far, you can't fuck with Brooklyn."
+1 for Brooklyn, -1 for Queens. Ouch.
10/10

Venus vs. Mars: lol.
"Me, I'm from the Apple, which means I'm a Mac(k)/
She's a PC, she lives in my lap."
(I added 2 points just for that line)
4/10

Already Home: Kid Cudi attempts to sound like John Legend,
while Hov talks about nothing.
Beat is pretty good, 'Ye is keeping it up.
6/10

Hate: I have a hard time listening to this song,
since every time I do, I imagine that the beat
is being made with a caveman blowing into an ancient instrument.
6/10

Reminder: Timbaland, meet sadface. Remember Big Pimpin'?
Hola Hovito? Dirt Off Your Shoulder? No? Didn't think so.
4/10

So Ambitious: Jay and Pharrell made a decent combo in
Blue Magic, and Frontin'. This isn't bad either,
but it lacks anything that makes it stand out.
Kind of boring, actually.
6/10

Young Forever: Great song to end the album with,
beautiful sample. Sometimes his nickname,
Young serves as a double meaning, and he definitely pulls it off well.
This is the kind of song you bump while driving in the sunset.
"So let's just stay in the moment, smoke some weed, drink some wine/
Reminisce, talk some shit, forever young is in your mind.
Leave a mark that can erase neither space nor time/
so when the director yells 'cut', I'll be fine"
9/10

While I expect this album to grow on me in the future, I'm pretty disappointed with this effort. In my opinion, it's undeserving of the Blueprint title. Jay-Z teases us with hints of his remaining genius in storytelling and wordplay, but does it scarcely. At this moment, I still have American Gangster above this one in terms of his catalog.

I noticed something with the Blueprint 3. Jay-Z is .. a trend follower. People always talk about how he's on "his new shit", but he's never really been a pioneer. Mafioso rap in '96? Bling rap in '98? Soul sampling in '01? And now this electronic rap crap?

Now, trust me, I'm a big fan, but I believe part of his success is due to the fact that he can jump on other people's styles so well and adapt to the times. That's why he's been able to stay relevant so long. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, his time may soon be up.

OVERALL: 6/10

Oh, by the way, my new baby came in today. Get ready.