N****s want my old shit,
Buy my old albums-Jay-Z – “On to the Next One”
Blueprint 3 was supposed to come out September 11th, so naturally it was leaked over a week ago – and the release date has been pushed up to today. I seriously think the leaks almost ruined this album for me. This is a great Jay-Z album. Is it Blueprint? No. Is it Reasonable Doubt? No. But it is a damn good cd, probably Jay’s best since the Black Album…and I almost missed that because of the early leaks. All the Timbaland tracks leaked first and gave me a super distorted view of the album, and it took a couple of spins through the whole disc before I really appreciated the value in it. There is a really good balance between the upbeat, club like production from Timbo and Swizz Beats and the more serious production from Kanye and No I.D.
Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” featuring Alicia Keys
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A song fitting with the Needle’s “I Love New York” posts and is probably my favorite track off the cd. An ode to New York, highlighting the highs and lows of one of the greatest cities in the world. Great track for reminiscing (whether from New York or not) and some great lyrics. The opening to the third verse is Jay at his best (to me at least):
Lights is blinding,
Girls need blinders,
Or they can step out of bounds quick,
The sidelines is lined with casualties,
Who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse,
Don’t bite the apple Eve,
Caught up in the in crowd,
Now your in-style,
End of the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out,
The city of sin is a pity on a whim,
Good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them-Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind”
Jay-Z – “A Star Is Born” featuring J. Cole
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Up there with “Empire State of Mind” for my favorite tracks on the cd – Jay goes through all the other stars who have risen (and in some cases fell) while he has been at the top. Fittingly, Jay throws J. Cole on the song – J. Cole being the first to sign with RocNation – and J. Cole probably has the best feature on the cd (excluding Ye murdering Jay on “Run This Town”). Cole’s verse is full of quotable lines and his flow is perfect too.
Blueprint 3 is out today, so go buy it.
Posted by the Groove
the Groove,
totally agree with you–that third verse is absolutely great. amazing word play, oblique rhymes, common theme explored. jay never deviates from the point of the verse for a cheap rhyme about something inconsequential.
Hm, I was looking for more of a critique of the album. Groove, I know you’re a prolific rap connoisseur and you have a lot more thoughts, ideas, opinions on the Blueprint 3..
Express them!
“…..Ye murdering Jay on “Run This Town”
that’s the funniest thing i’ve read all day.