The writing on The Blueprint is ultra-specific, but the themes, sounds, and attitude of the double platinum campaign seemingly spoke to all. As the Roc Boy was lunging for the top, he made some of his most relatable music. ![]() Often criticized for his resistance to vulnerability, Jay let the songs cry on his behalf. With a D-boy’s confidence and an exec’s get-it-done mentality, he pivoted to his 2000s stand as a Rap magnate. The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder found the ultimate five-year progression from debut Reasonable Doubt. The other contestant, Nas, was in Jay’s cross-hairs of high profile usurp, “The Takeover.” On The Blueprint, JAY-Z reinvented his sound with Kanye West, Just Blaze, and others during a series of sessions over just several days. One of the most poised contestants, Eminem, was a producer and lone guest MC on the album. and Tupac (in very different ways), to own the #1 spot squarely. An artist with ties to The Notorious B.I.G. Arriving less than a year after The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, The Blueprint marks the strongest pivot in Jay’s career. Jay’s sixth album released on September 11, 2001, the same day as the attacks on the United States. It also becomes Shawn Carter’s first work of art to receive this prestigious honor. This week, JAY-Z’s The Blueprint album became the most modern addition to the archive. A National Recording Preservation Board decides the annual inclusions. This act is meant to honor pieces of art for their cultural significance for future generations. And yet, in what could easily have been the twilight of his recording days, he's still standing, still striving, still shining.Every year, The Library Of Congress selects 25 musical titles to add to its National Recording Registry. Jay-Z has outlived - literally and figuratively - so many of his peers. That's why The Blueprint 3's broad appeal is a powerful statement in its own right. Kelly), Jay-Z has attained the rap equivalent of Bruce Springsteen or U2 status each new album aspires to be "an event," but it becomes harder to reinvent yourself when you're this deep into a career. To be fair, when you're on your 11th release (not including collaborations with Linkin Park and R. There's also the matter of basing a song around Alphaville's 1984 hit, "Forever Young," a move that says anything but "forever" or "young." It lacks the singular cohesion of the original Blueprint album, and Jay-Z's once-unrivaled flow sounds more pedestrian at times. Though The Blueprint 3 is Jay-Z's strongest release since coming back from retirement in 2006, overall, it'd only rank somewhere in the middle of his catalog. All kinds of minimalist beeps, burps and claps bump alongside huffing synthesizer vamps and blaring banks of horns. ![]() But nowhere are the album's populist ambitions more clear than in its dance-friendly, electronic-infused rhythms. Jay-Z also invites on a few current 15-minute famers such as Drake and Kid Cudi. It helps that the songs are generally brighter, less violent and less drug-oriented than past efforts. The Blueprint 3 is easily one of his most commercially savvy albums to date, aiming for relevance in Walmart kiosks, Hollywood clubs and Brooklyn bodegas alike. ![]() If anything, now that he's signing multimillion-dollar deals with music promoters such as Live Nation, he's more of a global entertainer than ever - and he knows it. (Death of Auto-Tune)," critiques the ubiquity of the voice-altering software in today's pop music.ĭespite his disdain for Auto-Tune, Jay isn't anti-pop. The Blueprint 3 is keenly conversant with contemporary pop trends, though not always in a friendly manner. If Jay-Z can't decide whether to focus on the past or the future, he's clear on where he stands in the present. But elsewhere, Jay-Z flips things around, urging listeners to stop dwelling on his past. In the background plays his recent hit with singer Rihanna: "Run This Town." The commercial is all about reminding people where Jay-Z has been there's even a song called "Reminder" on the album. In a minute-long ad made to promote The Blueprint 3 and the music service Rhapsody, Jay-Z glides through a photo shoot, restaging every iconic pose from his previous 10 album covers. Jay-Z onstage in Anaheim, Calif., in August.
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