Jay-z - The Blueprint
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Jay Z - The Blueprint
(Friday October 5, 2001 2:55 PM
)
Released on 24/09/2001
Label: Def Jam
"New York's all about Jigga Jay-Z!" Well, it certainly seems that way from reading the American media over recent months where anticipation of this release has reached fever pitch. But, it's anyone's guess how a man that reduced hip-hop to rhyming over music from Annie ever managed to attain this sort of status. Yeah, okay, his debut was a shot of class with Premo and Clark Kent at the boards and Jigga's confessional lyrical tone never more effective. But, still... BLOODY ANNIE!! And then he has the gall to take pot shots at Nas and Mobb Deep! Oh, this better be good. Well, it certainly has its moments. 'Jigga That Nigga' has got to be the best thing that the Trackmasters have produced since their fantastic work on Destiny's 'Independent Women Pt1', the beats snap and hustle like a rare breed of python and Jay drops a nicely timed bit of old school braggadocio. Timbaland turns in just one track for the album but it's all and more than you might expect. Moving away from the digi-beats, 'Hola' Hovito' sees Tim build around a more traditional hip-hop beat and layer dense guitar and effects into the kind of track that doesn't even need to ask for your love. It's a tidy trick, recognising that the usual style would have stood out like a sore thumb on this album, and it proves Timbaland really is in a class of his own. Elsewhere Jay-Z's trick is to conjure a better hip-hop era where every other cut was a euphoric soul-sampling rallying call to young black America. He's aided in this quest by producers Kanye West and Just Blaze who dig just deep enough in the soul crates to keep the people happy and avoid obscurities. A Jackson 5 sample features on the leadoff single and the whole album is shot through with classic soul samples and dusty harmonies. Another important trick on 'The Blueprint' is the refreshing lack of celebrity cameo spots - a typical spot by Eminem excepted. This could be a side effect of Jigga's colossal ego but it's a blessing...
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