JAY-Z

The Blueprint

Roc-A Fella Records

Fitting with the title of his latest album, Jay-Z’s career has been a blueprint for rap success. Being able to successfully mix super infectious samples with tight rhymes, and striking a balance between street credibility and mainstream popularity has put Jay-Z at or near the top of the rap game for the past five years.

Jay-Z’s sixth studio album, The Blueprint, is not markedly different from his previous efforts. Jay-Z is and always has been a blueprint for where hip-hop is at the times his albums drop. In many ways he personifies everything about hip hop music. Songs about money, sex, blunts, bling, haters and sometimes violence certainly is nothing new. Sure, there are countless rappers with the same shtick, but none of them pull it off like Jigga. Jay-Z has always had just enough creative flair to keep the flows fresh. Mainly this comes from creative sampling and some of the best rap production in the game.

While Jay-Z’s sound is heavily reliant on sampling, its not as if the beats make up for a lack of flow. He’s no Dead Prez, but on most tracks he actually has something to say. Just two tracks into the album Jay-Z continues with the long-standing hip-hop tradition of lyrically ripping up enemies, or “haters,” on “Takeover.” The target this time: Nas and Mobb Deep. Jigga lets Nas know that he “had a spark when he started, but now he’s just garbage,” and tells Nas and his Oochie Wally crew not to talk trash about him, or as Jay puts it, “not to throw rocks at the throne.”

Still, throwing all the analysis and Rolling Stone music review hyperbole out the window, The Blueprint succeeds mainly for one reason: it has some really cool sounding beats and samples. Several of the tracks have an almost retro feel to them, with samples that run the gamut from The Doors to The Jackson 5. From hits like “The City is Mine,” to “Hard Knock Life,” to “I’ll Do Anything,” The Blueprint continues the Jay-Z tradition of thick sampling.

After “thanking everybody out there for their purchase,” the album opening “The Ruler’s Back” features trumpets of all things for a background beat. The creativity is appreciated, as is the shout out to Cleo The Psychic, where Jigga says, “he can predict the future like Cleo The Psychic.” Of course the future he sees is one where he is king of the rap world. Following that, the haters anthem “Takeover” features The Doors sample from their song “Five To One.”

“Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”, the album’s ultra-catchy first single follows, and is inexplicably irresistible. Inexplicable since most will have no idea what Jay is talking about (apparently the hook has something to his nickname “Hova,” but hey, this is The Collegian not The Source, I don’t know everything). Irresistible since the song is an indispensable club anthem. Wait, I promised no Rolling Stone music review lines. In reality, the track is the catchiest thing on the album, and might rival “Hard Knock Life” as Jay-Z’s biggest hit yet.

The honor of being the second catchiest thing on the album goes to “Girls, Girls, Girls.” While it’s not exactly female empowering, it does provide some tight rhymes and beats. Michael Jackson of all people was supposed to provide background vocals for the track, but apparently it fell through, and the King of Pop stayed in Neverland instead of the hitting the hood. As a result, the unlikely trio of Q-Tip, Slick Rick, and Biz Markie provide background vocals.

Contrary to many hip-hop albums, the rest of The Blueprint is anything thing but filler. The Track Masters’ joint, “Jigga That Ni**a” is a jumpy R’B flavored number that keeps the album flowing. The Timbaland-produced “Hola Hovita” provides a taste of some of the eccentric sampling that Timbo has become famous for. “Song Cry” is a rare hip-hop breakup song. “Renegade,” which was co-written, produced by, and features Eminem, brings together two of hip-hop’s biggest names of the past few years. The two lyrically bond over their common enemies: the haters, of course. For a duet of such superstar magnitude, it’s a bit disappointing, but still a decent track.

On Blueprint, Jay-Z states, “If I ain’t better than B.I.G., then I’m the closest one.” While some might say that is a stretch, Jay-Z is one of the most successful rappers ever. Some go so far as to call him the best M.C. in the game today. The Blueprint shows that while Jay-Z is not yet in the league of Biggie (or Tupac for that matter), he is certainly among the best on the current scene.