Jay Z – Blueprint 3

This is an odd selection for me to write about but what’s life without a challenge, and after all, we want you to be open minded about the music you like or don’t like. So I thought this time round, I’d throw a pinch of umm, Hip-Hop? into my evening. I threw it in, but I’m not really sure what I got out of it.

It’s seems pretty obvious that Jay Z, who’s been around the block a few times now, doesn’t really have a clue where he fits. He’s done his dash with Linken Park, smashed it our with Beyonce and yes, to be fair was a hit in the 90’s. I think the problem with Jay Z is that he’s still stuck in the 90’s. He’s not changed his methods of delivery or melody in any way while in the real world of Hip-Hop has moved on a good decade, especially in the U.K.

S0 what have we got. Well, It looks like Jay-Z (aka Shawn Corey Carter) is lost in a frustrating world where his confusion is being communicated through experimentation.

The standout from me is without a doubt track 4 ‘Run This Town’ (featuring Kanye West and Rihanna), and that’s held up by a striking presence that Rihanna gives. She frames the pace and strength of the song with her opening verse and some strong backing vocals while Jay-Z plays gangsta up front. I endured the verses Jay-Z was responsible for just to hear Rihanna break through for the chorus again, that’s about all the song has going for it. Harsh, but fair.

The rest of the album is littered with overproduced echoing synthesizers and shouting gangsta’s. ‘On the next one‘ had some interestong audio breaks in it but as a track was a dissapointment. Drake (aka Aubrey Drake Graham) was wasted on ‘Off That‘.

Perhaps where this is going is, I maybe shouldn’t have put on Hip-Hop this evening. It’s not because I’m not a fan of the genre, but I truly believe we could have done without this release.

Overall, I can’t say I’m a lover (obviously). Since his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ back in 1996, Jay-Z has dropped level by level over his 11 something albums (not including compilations). Rather than name this release after ‘The Blueprint’ released in 2001, he probably should have just named it after his first album and called it ‘Doubt‘.