Jay-Z Trilogy Poll

Not even close

Vols 1-3 is the obv choice. for whatever reason I can't much get into Vol 3, tho I know that's a favorite here, and while I don't think Vol 1 or 2 are classics per se, I like both a lot. Especially Hard Knock Life--vol 2. Feel like the series was much more consistent in tone and sound and while many of his attempts at crossover failed, they all yielded a fair amount of memorable tunes.

Blueprint is obv amazing but have never much liked Blueprint 2 (especially that terrible Kravitz-chorused "Guns and Roses" or whatever) and heavily dislike Blueprint 3.

this is a crazy question

volume 3 > blueprint 1

the first by far

bp2 is still underrated tho

^

Hell yeah, BP2 is mad underrated.

I dunno I thought most critics gave it more credit than I do. There's no doubt the first disc starts out like a shot out of a cannon, but there's just way too much filler on the damn thing by the END

dammit wasn't finished

by the END of the first disc. plus it has that godawful "Bonnie and Clyde '03". It's not a bad album to these ears, but it isn't one I pull out much. I don't even know the last time I played it, though when I do it's for the first half of the first disc.

I don't like the "there's so much filler" argument... of course there's filler... it's a DOUBLE ALBUM!

Plus as an emcee Jay is ridiculous on it. Even more confident than on Blueprint, potentially.

yea but not particularly GOOD filler. the second disc I barely remember, though I remember there being two songs I really liked on it. also remember there being a lot of bad guest spots on the second disc.

gimme Blueprint 1 any day.

its been critically shitted on for a long time

but its got like -- poppin tags, meet the parents, & my personal fav 'as one' which is an EW&F rip that has sparks dropping one of the most awful/lol verses where he imitates the sound of a money counter

maybe in some circles, but as far as major press goes, Spin magazine gave it four stars, Pitchfork gave it a 7.5, Village Voice liked it, really the worst mainstream press review I saw of it came from Entertainment Weekly, who I don't take real serious for rap reviews.

Poppin Tags is awesome, and it's pretty much after that track that I start checking out on disc one. love The Watcher 2, Hovi Baby, and As One is pretty great for its all-star guest list.

but then again compared to Blueprint 3 it's a 5 mic affair.

(and yes I know As One is on disc 2)

Some How Some Way and Some People Hate are also really good, the latter in particular, where Hov doesn't even bother to follow the beat. I like the title track a lot except for the lame Austin Powers reference, but even that I can get over. 2 Many Hoes is a minor Timbo/Jay collaboration but compared to the shitty songs they'd do on BP3 it's like Big Pimpin'. I even like the Neptunes tracks, making B-sides that are better than everything they do now.

yea the critics may not have been calling Blueprint 3 album of the year but even the faint "B+" praise that one got baffled me.

I knew things looked bleak with "Run This Town" as a lead single but I assumed that some of the album cuts would be better.

timbo's "the bounce" beat is incredible

yeah BP2 is really fun in parts, works well as kind of a buffet of different kinds of tracks that doesn't hold together well as an album but doesn't necessarily need to

Blueprint > Vol 1 > Vol 3 > Vol 2 > BP2 > BP3 = Vol 1-3 wins

i think vol 3 is way underrated

heh I remember buying Vol. 3 at Best Buy and the cashier look at the cd I was purchasing and shrugging and going 'eh it's ok I guess'. everybody forgot about Big Pimpin'

Don't believe it when you're told
"Hope I die before I get sold"
Every great band should be shot
Before they make their Combat Rock

Vol 3 is rated pretty well, and pretty accurately. Vol 1 is the only one of these albums that can be in any way accurately described as underrated

outside of the 'trilogies' dynasty is p underrated too

I'd like to point out that the following comments have been OTM:

bp2 is still underrated tho

Some How Some Way and Some People Hate are also really good, the latter in particular, where Hov doesn't even bother to follow the beat. I like the title track a lot except for the lame Austin Powers reference, but even that I can get over. 2 Many Hoes is a minor Timbo/Jay collaboration but compared to the shitty songs they'd do on BP3 it's like Big Pimpin'. I even like the Neptunes tracks, making B-sides that are better than everything they do now.

outside of the 'trilogies' dynasty is p underrated too

Al is right about Vol 1 too except in the exclusivity of his statement.

combat rock is awesome

I love "Change the Game".

yes, dynasty is so underrated! people who rightly love blueprint-era jay but for some reason disdain the dynasty album are deluded. and yet their numbers are many.

This is going to show my age but I had to go for the Blueprint trilogy. I did have Vol. 2 and Dynasty and enjoyed those albums/singles from them yet I Jay-Z always seemed "meh" to me around that time. I was too young to appreciate his lyrics and just liked the beats and the hooks.

It wasn't until Blueprint where I became a real fan of Jay-Z, and I've enjoyed BP2 (in short burst of listening) and BP3 in all its glossy sheen.

people who rightly love blueprint-era jay but for some reason disdain the dynasty album are deluded.

I'm surprise that people would deride the album especially it had the Roc-A-Fella camp in its prime. Even though I consider it one of Jay's lesser albums, it still has a few gems on it.

so wait, have u actually heard vol 1 or 3? and have you listened to vol 2 recently?

think my favorite track off of Vol 2, or one of them at least is that joint he did with Too $hort. that and the sequel track with Memphis Bleek...

so wait, have u actually heard vol 1 or 3? and have you listened to vol 2 recently?

Yes I've heard volume 1 and 3, but I heard them way after they were released. I had Vol. 2 when it came out because of all the singles but I still didn't "get" hip hop during that time. My love of hip hop came about listening to the first Blueprint along with Marshall Mathers LP, Stankonia, Stillmatic, Like Water for Chocolate and Train of Thought. That's when I first "got" into hip hop. So the Blueprint series is associate with that "first love" feeling.

The volume series was when I thought rap was just a bunch of catchy singles and nothing more. I know as a music lover, I should give them another listen. Two months ago, I listened to Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt for the first time and loved it. It was weird hearing a hungry, energetic Jay-Z.

lilsoulbrother is ... the human strawman

I honestly don't understand what you mean. I'm just describing how I got into Jay-Z. Yeah it is not the most linear progression but it is what it is. How am I being a strawman?

im just bustin yr balls dude.

He means yr "personal experience as argument" might be a wee bit disingenuous?

He means yr "personal experience as argument" might be a wee bit disingenuous?

But everyone else is using their personal experience to support their choices. I still don't get what I'm saying is insincere or false. Plus, it's not like you guys know me personally to know when I'm being truthful or false. But I don't want to mire this thread with this.

It's all good, Blueprint was the first Jay album I heard too.

Oops, "disingenuous" implied deceit which I didn' t mean - more if u use personal experience it should support an argument

Oh ok I can give you an argument for my love of the first Blueprint album:

I think I prefer the Blueprint album stems from both things which is how the soul/rock samples were being used, and how Jay-Z was struggling to reveal himself in the Song Cry lyrics (my favorite song on the album)

The soul samples on the album such as Song Cry, Takeover, and Izzo stuck with me due to how they meld with the new production they were laced to. They didn't seem forced or annoying to me unlike how the Bad Boy production crew did their work of the late 90s.

For instance, the use of the interpolation of David Bowie's Fame in Takeover always stands out to me when changing the word to "lame" but not the phrasing of the word "fame." It gave the song an added droning effect to the already hazy production. Though it is a small contribution it always stuck with me till this day.

Plus, Jay-Z's Song Cry lyrics were interesting to me because it personified the black man inching his way of expressing his feelings risking not being cool but falling back to his learned, cultural bravado. This song made me love the album indefinitely because it could have been another typical misogynistic song, to me personally it was his struggling to saying, "Yeah maybe I did fuck up my relationship with my girlfriend."

The album showed me that mainstream hip hop can do things beyond it's comfort zone a little bit and it made me want to know more of what was out there in the genre.

it never occurred to me that the "LAAAAAAME!" parts were taking off of "Fame" tbh

Cool - thnx lilbrother

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lol

22 2's

ha

Co-signed Dynasty being underratedm a bit of a transitional album stylewise, and one I initially overlooked, but "Guilty Until Proven Innocent", stupid ruff ryder whistles aside, is a great jam. Also great Beanie verses on this.