Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)
When this album was released on one fateful afternoon, September 11th, 2001, I was probably shitting my pants while watching "Pokémon", since I was a wee young'n, but it really says something that this album managed to STILL remain memorable despite what a horrific day that was, which, really, is quite an incredible thing given how most albums released on that day quickly faded into obscurity, but I guess at the same time it isn't -that- surprising considering what else came out: A Mariah Carey album, a Fabolous album only three fucking people have heard in full, and a scarily-titled "God Hates Us All" album by Slayer. Sure, you also got that one fucking P.O.D. album you had in middleschool ("Satellite") and your edgy "I'm eternally stuck in 2007" friend might say something about that Nickelback album being released that day ("Silver Side Up") being the worst tragedy to happen that day, but who gives a fuck about those? Hell, some people even claimed that the release date was intentional, and that Jay-Z (working with the illuminati) caused 9/11 somehow.. And it fucking blows my mind, truly.
Anyhow, I've been told that this album helped the citizens of New York come together a bit, following the tragedy, with one of their very own hitting the charts with a vengeance. You can't erase what happened, but if you had the opportunity to just sit in a friend's living room or basement with them and listen to this album, if anything, to forget about everything for an hour, it only makes sense that you would, and you'd find some sort of comfort in the enjoyment that you'd get from its quality, quoting the lyrics with friends, or even arguing about what the best beat was. Maybe they even sat around and wondered just who this "Kanye West" guy (producing not just one, but -five- of the beats on this album) was. Either way, I was told that there was a certain level of comfort provided by one of New York's very own hitting it out of the fucking park with an undeniably great album.
This album is just fucking -COOL-, dude. Jay-Z's charisma on this album is insane, making songs like "Takeover" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" (featuring Biz Markie, Q-Tip, and Slick Rick alternating between doing the chorus!) just sound so fucking SMOOTH. Seriously, the charisma he shows on this album makes everything he brags about sound REAL. If he's talking about having a million women on speed dial, or that he's the king of New York's rap game, it's really hard to not believe the dude. You won't find any of Jay-Z's quicker flows on this album, but you'll find him being able to completely sell the idea of him staying on the pulse of New York. Lemme come through with a hot take, real quick, while we're still somewhat on the subject: "Takeover" shits on "Ether" every fucking day of the week, musically and lyrically. It sounds better, Jay-Z comes across as a tough-as-nails dude who completely brushes off any opposition, attacking Nas' musical career, and "Ether" was pretty much just "YOU'RE FUCKING UGLY AND GAY".. Sure, you can point out that he also attacked him with those lines about Notorious B.I.G. but it's really no fucking contest: I can't personally imagine being offended by anything Nas says in "Ether" because it's so childish and immature, and a diss like that would be laughed at today, but still, its history is very significant, but like I was saying, "Takeover" shits on "Ether" in every fucking aspect. Try me.
YOOOOO before I forget (*INSERT MEDIOCRE NU-METAL SONG*) the production on here is INSANE. I honestly can't tell you who did the better job: Just Blaze or Kanye West, but it sounds like they're neck-and-neck to outdo each other on this album. Sure, there are a few beats provided by Bink, Timbaland, etc, and they're great, but we all know what producers we think about instantly when thinking about this album. Fuck, dude, this album is just so fucking good from a production point.. Although I can't fuck with the intro track, "The Ruler's Back" at all because there's a part in the beat that I've spent too much time sampling in one of my personal beats to ever get any enjoyment out of, but that's just me. The beats on this album are just so fucking dope, dude, I don't even know what more I could say about it, but there ain't a bad beat to be found on this album. Disregarding my personal problem with the first track, every song's fucking great.
..But you know what song on here is fucking insane? "Renegade (feat. Eminem)". Yeah, you knew I was gonna say it, because everyone says it, but for good reason: The Eminem verses are fucking insane, and the beat is killer. Sure, the song was originally supposed to be a Bad Meets Evil song, and the original -is- better because Royce's verses shit on Jay-Z's, but this song is still fucking great, and you'll even be able to use it to find out which of your friends are complete contrarian edgelords! Seriously, just mention this song on Facebook and see who decides to be edgy enough to comment "Jay's verse > Eminem's" or some shit, because I can't imagine anyone seriously fucking believing that. That's a laughably horrible opinion and you know it.
This album holds some nostalgia for me, because back in the day when I was learning about rappers for the first time, I, for some reason, absolutely couldn't remember who was Dr. Dre and who was Jay-Z, which frustrated my brother. I'd have to ask him "Which one made "The Blueprint" again?" and "Which one is the one who hangs around Eminem a lot?" and my brother would obviously answer "Jay-Z" and "Dr. Dre" respectively, but it just rattled the fuck out of my brain, because I'd point out to him "But there's a song with Eminem on "The Blueprint".. I don't get it" and man, didn't I sound like a DUMBASS?!.. But so would you if you claimed hip-hop to be your favorite genre and you HAVEN'T heard this album. Seriously, there's a little bit of everything for every type of hip-hop fan on this album, I can't imagine any major fan of the genre disliking this album for whatever reason. How many times do I have to repeat it: THIS ALBUM IS DOPE AS FUCK. GET IT.
9/10
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