Sermon is an old friend of mine, dating back about a year and a half ago, when I first started blending. If you're unfamiliar with his reviews, I'd suggest you check it out, because they're pretty reliable. His lastest features Jay-Z's Blueprint 3, which hits stores September 8th. You can see the original review here.
This is the same man who blew you away with his classic “Blueprint” album back in 2001. He came back with a good, not better than the original, “Blueprint 2” double album in 2002. He fell back from the game for quite some time and dropped 2 solo albums that couldn’t flare up with his “Blueprint” collection. Fast forward to 2009, Jay is still making music and has finally gave us “Blueprint 3.” Some are saying this didn’t need to be made and others will argue against you. Can Jay make another classic album to add to his extensive career?
Jay’s introduction, “What We Talking About” is a more “look at what point we’re at” type song. He mentions various Hip Hop events and names. Most notably, the first verse when he spits “I ain’t talking about Game/I ain’t talking about Jimmy/I ain’t talking about Dame.” Jay knows exactly how much to say before getting borderline disrespectful like with “Dame made millions, even Jaz made scraps/Would’ve made more but he ain’t sign his contract.” The singles (“D.O.A,” “Run This Town”) have been exhausted quite a bit but still stand tall on the album.
It seems as though Hova has finally passed the torch on “A Star Is Born” (Click to Listen) to young J. Cole, one of Jay’s newest signees to Roc Nation. He doesn’t give much of a co-sign to Drake though because “Off That” (Click To Listen) only showcase him on the chorus and it isn’t his best effort. The complaints that Hov was trying to stay relevant using a lot of up and comers has been at all time high but they actually help the album a lot. Mr. Hudson surprises with an amazing chorus on “Young Forever.”
Although the new comers seemed to have taken over, Jay doesn’t forget about some of the people who been down with him for quite some time. Timbaland’s beats aren’t up to par as well. He has also said he was saving his best material for his album which is a selfish act but he does a decent job on “Reminder.” (Click To Listen) His best effort comes with “Venus Vs. Mars.” (Click to Listen) The club potential shows a rare side of Jay now: talking to the shortys.
Kanye gives Jay a 2nd run for his money on “Hate,” (Click To Listen) killing him once again. The duo goes back and forth about the haters on the spaced out Kanye production. The beats don’t match up with the lyrics most of the time. Kid Cudi assists Jay on “Already Home” but the beat gives it a poor showing. However, Jay gets overly cocky, with his rhymes, on “Thank You,” boasting about rappers he could’ve finished but didn’t ‘cause of some unknown reason. He also spits “Please don’t bow in my presence, how am I a legend?/I just got ten number one albums, maybe now eleven.”
Sadly, this won’t make number eleven for Jay. With the exception of about 4 or 5 songs, this is far from a classic. You can’t compare this to the first installment nor should you. Jay has evolved. To some, for the better but judging off of comments, most agree, it’s for the worst. You can’t count out Shawn Carter though. When he finally does retire, he’ll surprise even himself.
Purchase the album here. Or at any retail music seller on Sept. 8th.
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