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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"You Don't Know" what you're doing....., September 18, 2001
After 5 CDs, Jay Z is trying to say that he has "The Blueprint" to the hip hop game. If you look at what Jay Z has done in the past few years, it's hard to argue with what he has to say. "Reasonable Doubt" clearly is his best release of all time. You had classics like "Brooklyn's Finest" w/Notorious BIG, "Can't Knock The Hustle" w/Mary J Blige, "D' Evils", "Can I Live", "Dead Presidents", etc. Jay Z has always found a way to reach hip hop fans. Even on "In My Lifetime Volume 1", when fans said that he was slippin' a bit when he tried to make a CD after his friend, Notorious BIG died. He still had classics like "Where I'm From", "You Must Love Me", "Imaginary Player" and "Streets Is Watching". Since then, Jay Z has been releasing his CD's on basically a yearly basis. He released the "Streets Is Watching" soundtrack and appeared on various songs. The best being "It's Alright" w/Memphis Bleek and "Murdergram" w/DMX and Ja Rule. The multiplatinum "Volume 2: Hard Knock Life" included "Can I Get A..", the impressive title track produced by the 45 King, "Coming Of Age (Part 2)" w/Memphis Bleek, and "Money, Cash,..." w/DMX. "Volume 3: The Life And Times Of Shawn Carter" was considered to be too commercial for some folks, but he still had the classic "Do It Again" w/Beanie Sigel and Amil, "Big Pimpin'" w/UGK, "Come And Get Me" and "It's Hot". The last 3 were produced by Timbaland, as well as the Nutty Professor 2 smash, "Hey Papi" w/Memphis Bleek and Amil. On his last release, "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia", Jay Z's CD featured Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel on various songs and was fueled by The Neptunes' produced 1st single, "I Just Wanna Love You" (Give It 2 Me). On "The Blueprint" Jay Z uses Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink for most of the production and he mixes some of the prior formulas used on his past few CDs for his new one. After one listen, you can tell that Jay Z was looking for a more soulful sound on this CD. This may be a disappointment to fans of Jay Z's hardcore sound. You won't find that on many songs on this CD. It seems like Jay Z is more relaxed and feels like he is #1 in the rap game and he can resort to that sound when need be. Clearly the best track on the CD is the Just Blaze produced, "You Don't Know". This song is one of the best tracks that Jay Z has ever made. Just Blaze created a great track and Jay Z takes it from there with his tale of hustlin'. "Renagade" with Detroit's finest, Eminem is also a nice track where the two go back and forth to the Eminem produced beat and tells how they have "Never been afraid to say what's on their mine now, any given time of day". This is a nice collaboration between the two rappers. "Girls, Girls, Girls" has Jay Z doing another thing that he does best and that is telling us stories about the ladies. He invites Q Tip, Slick Rick and the Diabolical Biz Markie to join him on the hook and the results are good. The most daring song on his CD has to be the Kanye West produced "Takeover" where he disses 2 of the best rappers out now, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas. He dedicates a whole verse to each rapper. This beef apparently started with Nas apparently dissin' Memphis Bleek. Now it has escalated into Jay Z dissin' Prodigy and Nas for words they have said. This could get ugly eventually but I hope that everyone will keep this one on the microphone and in the studo and not out in the streets. Other highlights on this CD include "Song Cry", "Blueprint" (Momma Loves Me) which will remind folks of Jay Z's "Where Have You Been" and Beanie Sigel's "Still Got Love For You", "All I Need" and the bonus track on the end of "Blueprint". Overall, Jay Z fans will be pleased. This is another installment for Jay Z. Can he continue his run and stay on top? That remains to be seen.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Blueprint, September 21, 2001
Despite all that Jay-Z has accomplished in terms of commercial
success, street credibiity and record sales...most hip hop heads
are reluctant to call him the best in the game.
Why?
Well, for two reasons:
1) No matter how good Vol 1, 2, 3 and the Dynasty were, they
never reached the classic level of Reasonable Doubt.
2) The material on those four albums seemed too geared toward the
MTV crowd than the underground peoples.
With album #6...the rap game has officially been put on lock.
The Blueprint doesn't boast the normal list of big name producers. It isn't filled with party joints and commercial
hits (besides H to the Izzo). It isn't a promotion for Jigga's
Rockafella family. Guest spots are limited.
It is JAY-Z, pure and simple. The result is his best album since Reasonable Doubt, hands down.
Surprisingly, most of the songs on this album are slow and full
of emotionally introspective lyrics (similar to some of his past
work like Regrets, You Must Love Me and This Can't Be Life.)
And of course, there is the outstanding diss track Takeover and
Eminem drops in for a couple verses on Renegade.
My favorite track is Song Cry, where Jigga recounts mistakes that
led to him losing the love of his life.
In summary, Jay Z can no longer be considered just a consistent
performer with one classic album.
It's time that even the underground fans start recognizing the
king.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Other Rappers Should Follow This BluePrint To Success, December 12, 2001
Jay-Z has come yet with another classic album.expect this time it truely deserves 5 stars or 5 mics in The Source as it recieved.Jay mixes 70's funk and soul with rhymes about the struggles,pressure,success,and joy growing up.I'll break down the songs.1)The Rulers Back-Declares he's back on the throne and involves some nice lyrical skills as well. 2)Takeover-He yells back at his enemies on this track.tearing into Mobb Deep and Nas. 3)Izzo(H.O.V.A.)-Poppy nice single that proclaims in beating the struggles and pressures and he does it in a nice cocky way. 4)Girls,Girls,Girls-a song telling of stories of all the different girls he has been with.Also he gets some help from Biz Markie,Q-Tip,and Slick Rick. 5)Jigga That Nigga-a nice bobby party track for yall to bounce to. 6)U Don't Know-Another good song talking about the streets and his hustful ways. 7)Hola Hovito-Another hot jam in which Jay proclaims he's the best and does a nice job on. 8)Heart Of The City(Ain't No Love)-A song adressing all the young haters on the street.Nice tune. 9)Never Change-Another heartwrenching song talking about his struggles and times growing up. 10)Song Cry-A song talking from a broken Jay about a girl he love d and broke her heart. 11)All I Need-Nice tune to chill out too. 12)Renegade(Feat Eminem)-A tight song releasing all the stress on the media,haters,society,etc.And Eminem takes it up a step on this one. 13)Momma Loves Me-A song thanking his momma and all the ones who raised him and surrounded him. (Bonus)-Breath Easy(Lyrical Exersize)-good song talking about how Jay his and remains lyrically fit and emcees can't keep up wit him. (Bonus)Girls,Girls,Girls(Remix Feat Chante Moore)-more tales of all the girls that he has been with.
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