This Is A Jay-Z Thread....

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....where we discuss the brilliance of The Blueprint.

― Tim, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Okay, so right now I'm listening to "Takeover" and I'm wondering if a sense of *grind* has ever been captured so perfectly in hip hop - this makes "Snoopy Tracks" sound like small fry. The only way it could be better is if it went on for ten minutes or so. Jay-Z is so sneerily brilliant too - "go play somewhere, I'm busy". I think this is the first time that his "you can't touch me" act has actually been very convincing, perhaps because he sounds so *thoroughly* superior.

― Tim, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Aren't all of our threads this these days?

Anyhow, completely right on The Takeover - or really most of the tracks - his god act is working because he sounds like he completely, totally, 100% believes it. He is the 8th wonder of the world, not cos of any special anything but because he's telling us he is. The chorus from Takeover has been in my head all day, I keep wanting to bust out saying "We're running this rap shit" at completely inappropriate times.

Not that me saying that would be appropriate at any time. Never mind.

I think Takeover is my favorite track though; it could go on forever and I'd not notice the length. What really makes it is the last line: after going on for, what, five minutes, six minutes about how awful and beneath two specific rappers are, he just tosses in that the rest of you aren't even worth that, you only get one bar - fuck ya'all. That's genius.

― Ally, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah I extend the convincing-ness of his act to the rest of the album. I'm thinking that a lot of it is to do with the tight flow, which is a bit of a cop-out of an explanation, I know. His lines are not only brilliantly clever and funny - the point is that they keep coming, constantly, like he was worried he wasn't going to get all of his lines on the album and decided to just not breath for its duration. He leaves no space for the production or his usual raft of his guests; instead he's just constantly ramming his message home.

Album of the year? Quite possible.

― Tim, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sound. Sound good! Napster bad, sound good! Etc. Cocaine good! Insanity good!

An album in which a man with mirrorshades walks down a hall of mirrors and only has mirrors inside his brain, all of which are reflecting his own perfect self. The lights are up to full brightness and he's so wired it hurts. Lurvly.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 8 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Can I ask a question - Jay-Z isn't the person who sampled a song from 'Annie' on one of his recs is he? 'Cos that was pretty hard to take...

― Andrew L, Saturday, 8 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah - "It's A Hard Knock Life" - though actually the first time I encountered that song (rather drunk in a 24 hour Whistlestop) I thought it was one of the weirdest things I'd ever listened to.

Far from regretting that, though, Jay-Z cashed in with "Anything", sampling from Oliver! which is truly, truly a grievous record and would be my least favourite hip-hop single ever were it not for Busta Rhymes coming along and sampling off "The Ugly Duckling" the year after.

That basically was the extent of Jay-Z's profile in the UK, and were it not for MP3s I just wouldn't ever have bothered with him on those grounds. But the shocking thing is that both the albums those tracks come from are good - very good in the case of 'Volume 3' (where "Anything" rather tellingly comes as the last track, after "Epilogue"). And the new album is even better and has no embarrassing samples. All Jay-Z's rhymes seem to have been about how fantastically wealthy and good he is, but he's finally pitched them at such an absurd level that - combined with the glittery pop hooks - you can't help but laugh.

(That isn't to say that some of Jay-Z's lyrics in the past haven't been very effective - "Come And Get Me" is clammily paranoid, "Do It Again" perhaps unintentionally depressing - and his flow has always been good.)

― Tom, Saturday, 8 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

His musical-play rips are unbearable. It makes me want to die to listen to Hard Knock Life. And don't get me started on Anything, which I actually thought was Hard Knock Life first time I heard it, then I realized it wasn't because they weren't actually saying "It's a hard knock life, for us..." argh. Easily Jay-Z's two worst songs, ever.

And Tim's right, the album is relentless. WHICH IS A GOOD THING. I was getting increasingly pissed off at the level of "special guests" on Jay-Z albums, so it's nice to get an album that, um, actually features Jay-Z.

― Ally, Sunday, 9 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I have to second Ally's end comment there (a familiar thing regarding this album!). This is not a guest-encrusted double-album montrosity, like a variety of releases we could all name.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 9 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Heart of the City" and "Hola Hovito" are flawless and would both be single of the year candidates (and "H to tha Izzo" already was). "Takeover" is really good, except for the totally unnecesary parts from the Saliva doofus. "Renegade" is good but not as good as I hoped, and I swear Eminem's ripping off Lateef from the Quannum crew's flow. It's eerie. "Blueprint" is good. THe rest of the album is OK; I think the big news here is that nothing's really bad. It's so cool the way you can almost hear Jay giggling during some of the songs; he's got the most confident flow I've ever heard. It's the best album I've heard in a long time, but I almost never listen to albums anymore so that may not be saying much. (I suspect I'd like the new Slipknot album better but I've only heard a few things from it.) A well done greatest hits album from Jay Z would be one of the best things ever...the guy's a one-man Motown hit factory these days.

― Kris, Sunday, 9 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I get happy when he says "Take 'em to church".

― Ally, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Blueprint is fearsomely good, from what I've heard. Actually, although I could take or leave The Dynasty ROC La Familia, I felt about The Life and Times of Sean Carter the same way Kris feels about this record: i.e. there's nothing bad on it. Life and Times ... was one of those miraculous records where everything worked perfectly, not a single weak link, the entire vision never interrupted (the inclusion of "Anything" after the intro preserved the album's integrity and confirmed what I'd suspected about his own indifferent attitudes to such pastiches) and acquiring it after downloading various individual tracks via FT / NYLPM was the final nail in my old undie purism (I didn't like Jay-Z *at all* when it actually came out, as some might know: hence my disappointment with what I saw as The Dynasty's dullness at a time when I was very very enthusiastic for this whole territory to excite me afresh).

Anyway, Tim is right. "The Takeover" is just effortlessly superior and self-confident beyond words (you can see the trouble I'm having describing this). Others in hip-hop have shown more self-knowledge, more knowledge of the rest of the world, more lyrical skills and better production, but nobody, I repeat and insist nobody, has ever sounded this FUCKING BIG.

― Robin Carmody, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On first listen: it all sounds a little more serious and dark than previous albums. There's no obvious summer jam. "Hola Hovito" is fucking MASSIVE. Timbaland manages to keep the production on H.H. JUST under the radar enuf for it to actually help the song rather than upstage it (which kind of killed the Missy album for me).

― Tracer hand, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I hate the single. It's hard for me to understand the appeal.

― Melissa W, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Do you hate it because of how it sounds or what it says?

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How it sounds. I don't pay attention to lyrics until I love a song.

― Melissa W, Monday, 10 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I got the actual album today. I'm listening to Jay Z's ego while repeats of the WTC collapsing play on my TV. The key word to "The Blueprint" is indeed RELENTLESS. The point is hammered down: I run this rap shit. I didn't enjoy the off-key chorus on "Girls Girls Girls" (what's a nice guy like Q-Tip doing here?) but fortunately one of the two bonus tracks has a proper woman singer singing it on a different version of the song. The other bonus track, "Breathe Easy" I guess it' s called, is just as good as the rest. I didn't hear Blackalicious in Eminem, but I'll listen again (and again). I thought Eminem's flow in "Renagade" (wot, no spell-check?) was truly exceptional. "Jigga That Nigga" is funny because its producers (Trackmaster) have clearly been being good attention to the Neptunes (with a bit of Swizz Beatz thrown in).

― JoB, Tuesday, 11 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Lateef is not from Blackalicious but Latyrx. Sorry.

― JoB, Tuesday, 11 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two weeks pass...

Hola Hovito,is tha bomb a truly banger.

― frederic, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

there is so much i want to say about this album, but i'm trying to distill something readable out of my thoughts, and then put something on my site.

i love 'never change' though. i love the way it subverts the David Ruffin track. i love the way it feels under siege. i love the way it relies heavily on samples in a way that is simultaneously retro and *moving forward*.

― gareth, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Having now heard the album I have to say that I think Eminems cameo is class. It's all great though except the 5th song which I think is shit.

― Ronan, Thursday, 4 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't have the album, but "Izzo" really blows my mind. It's an unbelievably good song. Jay-Z has really come into his own; no guests, no cameos, just him laying it all out for the world to see. Yeah, he's just rapping about how great he is -- but he has the bark to back up his bite. I'm a rapper myself, and his sense of rhythm, always unconventional, has really reached a a new level. His phrasing is so unpredictable, but it always feel perfectly natural. If the album is as good as this, I'm in for a treat.

― Jack Redelfs, Wednesday, 10 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I mean to say, "I'm a rapper myself, and I'm in literally in awe of the rhythmic mastery this guy has; I'm not even close."

― Jack Redelfs, Wednesday, 10 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

Revive because I forgot how brilliant Izzo (H.O.V.A.) is and it came on the radio and I remembered again. Bring the Izzo love.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 6 March 2003 06:18 (twenty-two years ago)

c'mon people HOVA! Talk about it!

Is there any other track close to it in the history of rap? (not in terms of greatness, but just vibe i mean)

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 6 March 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Not anymore it won't be. It was the Last Great Single Before 9/11 When Everything Changed (because of course everything released after that point was obviously recorded after that date and is totally influenced by it ARRRRRGH...remind me to tell you how this idiot comment from some novelist whimpering about what to write about after 9/11 bugged the bejeezus out of me anyway sorry please carry on).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 6 March 2003 21:26 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

Am I nuts or does Hola Hovito sample the Dead's "Estimated Prophet"?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 9 May 2003 00:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, obviously "Girls, Girls, Girls" is about 9/11. I mean, it has an airplane in it!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 9 May 2003 03:11 (twenty-two years ago)

That new Jay-Z track is totally biting the Knight Rider theme song. Not to say that beat biting is a bad thing. Um, hi.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 9 May 2003 06:30 (twenty-two years ago)

durrrr

― Chip Morningstar (bob), Friday, 9 May 2003 06:59 (twenty-two years ago)

heh

― Chip Morningstar (bob), Friday, 9 May 2003 07:00 (twenty-two years ago)

David - are you talking about the Punjabi MC tune?

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 9 May 2003 07:23 (twenty-two years ago)

four years pass...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7103342.stm

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 11:23 (eighteen years ago)

The pound is stronger than the dollar, holla
Sway, UK rapper

looool

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 11:32 (eighteen years ago)

Even Day is affected by the weakening dollar, as he is currently selling his home in Hove and planning to purchase a holiday home in dollar-pegged country such as Barbados.

After mentioning Jay-Z, that sentence doesn't quite read correctly.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 12:10 (eighteen years ago)

Dollar > Jay-Z

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 12:13 (eighteen years ago)

three years pass...

does anybody know what happened to "ray bans" I heard it was in the can months ago and that jay-z loves it.

http://www.beyoncefan.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Jay-Z-Jack-White.jpg

― nicky lo-fi, Friday, 18 February 2011 12:44 (fourteen years ago)

i heard after they made it jay couldn't even look at jack, and jack was just kinda bein real sad about it all

― your LiveJournal experience (schlump), Friday, 18 February 2011 12:51 (fourteen years ago)

http://seanear1ey.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/jay-z-jack-white-beyonce.jpg

― nicky lo-fi, Friday, 18 February 2011 12:53 (fourteen years ago)

five months pass...

This song deserves more credit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXohRoolN4s

― billstevejim, Sunday, 14 August 2011 23:48 (fourteen years ago)

and this thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x29ND4r7qbw

― billstevejim, Sunday, 14 August 2011 23:49 (fourteen years ago)

"La-La-La" is a banger but fuck the Grey Album

― The Reverend, Sunday, 14 August 2011 23:54 (fourteen years ago)

That one track is so weird though... Not really for typical fans but I think it's worth attention.

― billstevejim, Monday, 15 August 2011 00:17 (fourteen years ago)

I would guess Jay-Z himself hates that "Lucifer" remix.

― billstevejim, Monday, 15 August 2011 00:19 (fourteen years ago)

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