Hip-Hop Block reviews Blueprint 3 by Jay Z
Donald Vincent
Issue date: 9/15/09 Section: Arts & Society
I remember the sad faces on Sept. 11, but I also remember hanging out with the boys listening to Jay-Z and praying to God that everything was going to be OK. As long as Jay-Z was playing, everything seemed perfect - a vicarious escape.
Without any further adieu, please throw some earphones in and hit play. Use caution - product maybe hot!
On the opening sequence of Hova's Blueprint 3, "What We Talkin' About," you can feel the emphasis Jay puts on his lyrics to make them more understandable to the listener.
"Hold up, pardon my back / I'm talking 'bout life / And all I hear is / Oh yeah he keeps talkin' bout crack / I ain't talking 'bout profit / I'm talking 'bout pain/ I'm talkin' 'bout despair / I'm talkin' 'bout shame."
Jay teaches us to listen to the lyrics instead of the steady beats and hooks and choruses, even though that may be hard with a CD produced by Kanye West with tracks by No I.D., Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz.
Other notable names on this album are Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Drake, Pharrell, Mr. Hudson and Rihanna. These are the up and coming names in hip-hop and in 10 years, being a part of Jay-Z's last contracted album will be on their resumes.
On the song "DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)" produced by No I.D., the maturity of Jay-Z is shown through his lyrics.
"I know we facin' a recession / But the music ya'll make / Gon' make it the Great Depression."
Let's face it: The music for hardcore hip-hop heads has been watered down into dance songs and club bangers. Where are the lyrics? Where is the meaning? Basically, where is the rap?
Jay addresses this issue as well as the use of artists who use Auto-Tune as a means of progressing through rap. There is nothing wrong with Auto-Tune in the eyes of Jay-Z; however, some artists depend on it, and that's where the fault is.
This song is kind of funny and makes you want to laugh, doesn't it? If not, the last bar of the song says enough - "La da da da … Hey, hey, hey, goodbye."
Without any further adieu, please throw some earphones in and hit play. Use caution - product maybe hot!
On the opening sequence of Hova's Blueprint 3, "What We Talkin' About," you can feel the emphasis Jay puts on his lyrics to make them more understandable to the listener.
"Hold up, pardon my back / I'm talking 'bout life / And all I hear is / Oh yeah he keeps talkin' bout crack / I ain't talking 'bout profit / I'm talking 'bout pain/ I'm talkin' 'bout despair / I'm talkin' 'bout shame."
Jay teaches us to listen to the lyrics instead of the steady beats and hooks and choruses, even though that may be hard with a CD produced by Kanye West with tracks by No I.D., Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz.
Other notable names on this album are Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Drake, Pharrell, Mr. Hudson and Rihanna. These are the up and coming names in hip-hop and in 10 years, being a part of Jay-Z's last contracted album will be on their resumes.
On the song "DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)" produced by No I.D., the maturity of Jay-Z is shown through his lyrics.
"I know we facin' a recession / But the music ya'll make / Gon' make it the Great Depression."
Let's face it: The music for hardcore hip-hop heads has been watered down into dance songs and club bangers. Where are the lyrics? Where is the meaning? Basically, where is the rap?
Jay addresses this issue as well as the use of artists who use Auto-Tune as a means of progressing through rap. There is nothing wrong with Auto-Tune in the eyes of Jay-Z; however, some artists depend on it, and that's where the fault is.
This song is kind of funny and makes you want to laugh, doesn't it? If not, the last bar of the song says enough - "La da da da … Hey, hey, hey, goodbye."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
elendoj
posted 9/15/09 @ 7:10 PM EST
Jay Z has mastered the game. He is a living legend ! .. No one does it better than the jigga man. Every song on the BluePrint 3 is a classic .... Venus vs Mars is out of this world . (Continued…)
Is this a joke?
posted 9/17/09 @ 5:39 PM EST
This is honestly the worst-written, most ill-informed review I've ever read. Did you listen to the record? Or, rather, were you born yesterday? BP3 is not only the worst Jay-Z album, but one of the worst hip-hop albums in years. (Continued…)
Marjorie Thousand
marjorie
posted 9/18/09 @ 9:39 PM EST
There is always one. One person will shoot down the newest Jay-Z album to stay in the safe zone of Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint so that there is no argument. (Continued…)
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