The Blueprint 3 [PA]

Performer: Jay-Z
Artist: Like Steele; Kanye West; Rihanna; Alicia Keys; Young Jeezy; Swizz Beatz; Drake; J. Cole; Kid Cudi; Pharrell Williams; Mr. Hudson
Engineer: Chris Godbey; Andrew Dawson; Marcos Tovar; Miki Tsutsumi; Karl Heilbron
Producer: Kanye West; Swizz Beatz; Timbaland; Angela Hunte; Jeff Bhasker
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: K. Briscoe, Luke Steele (vocals); Kevin Randolph, Jeff Bhasker (keyboards). Audio Mixer: Chris Godbey. Recording information: Avex Honolulu Studio, HI; Kingdom Studios; Lava Studios, Cleveland, OH; Midnight Blue Studios, Miami, FL; Oven Studios, New York, NY; Roc The Mic, New York, NY; South Beach Studios, Miami, FL; The Holy Chateau, Perth, Australia; Westlake Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Dan Tobin Smith. On THE BLUEPRINT 3, still unretired Jay-Z announces "the only rapper to rewrite history without a pen." It's a standard Jigga boast, but the Brooklyn icon has earned the bragging by backing it up, particularly on his gold-label, top-shelf BLUEPRINT series. Ever-ready for battle, Jay-Z takes on autotune, crossover radio, and many other hip-hop concerns with the gloriously jagged rap elan for which he's become known. When Jay-Z first made a series out of his best album, 2001's The Blueprint, it became a game of high expectations. The first volume saw Jay-Z as vital as he'd ever been, storming back to the hardcore after a few years of commercial success. THE BLUEPRINT 2 took a different tack, with guest shots to compliment his sinuous flows. BLUEPRINT 3 is somewhere between the two, closer to the vitality and energy of the original but not without the crossover bids and guest features of the latter. Kanye West is in the producer's chair for seven tracks, and it's clear he was reaching for the same energy level as the original. "What We Talkin' About" begins the album with a wave of surging, oppressive synth, while Jay-Z enumerates (with an intriguing lack of detail) what he's said and what's been said about him, ending with a nod not to the past but the future (and Barack Obama). There's plenty more lyrical violence to come, but most of the targets are much safer than they were eight years earlier (i.e. opening single and smash hit "D.O.A. [Death of Auto Tune]" (railing against the oft-reviled '00s vocal-tweaking phenomenon is not quite as "politically incorrect" as Jay claims through song). Simply put, the production's big-name solid, the rhyming on poing, as Jay-Z becomes more content with his dominance as a rap godfather in 2009. When Jay-Z first made a series out of his best album, 2001's The Blueprint, it became a game of high expectations. The Blueprint of the first volume was Jay-Z as vital as he'd ever been, storming back to the hardcore after a few years of commercial success. The Blueprint�: The Gift & the Curse was a complete turn, a set of half-cocked crossovers, bloated to bursting with guest features that obscured his talents. The Blueprint 3 is somewhere between the two, closer to the vitality and energy of the original but not without the crossover bids and guest features of the latter (albeit much better this time). Kanye West is in the producer's chair for seven tracks, and it's clear he was reaching for the same energy level as the original Blueprint (which he produced). "What We Talkin' About" begins the album with a wave of surging, oppressive synth, while Jay-Z enumerates (with an intriguing lack of detail) what he's said and what's been said about him, ending with a nod not to the past but the future (and Barack Obama). West also produced the second, "Thank You," and while it starts with typical Jay-Hova brio, the last verse piles on the unrelenting criticism of unnamed rappers doomed to weak sales. There's plenty more lyrical violence to come, but most of the targets are much safer than they were eight years earlier. (Jay doesn't sound very convincing when he claims in "D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]" that it's not "politically correct" to rail against one of the most reviled trends in pop music during the 2000s.) From there, he branches out with a calculating type of finesse, drawing in certain demographics via a roster of guests, from Young Jeezy (hardcore) to Drake (teens) to Kid Cudi (the backpacker crowd). The king of the crossovers here is "Empire State of Mind," a New York flag-waver with plenty of landmark name-dropping that turns into a great anthem with help on the chorus from Alicia Keys. The Blueprint 3 isn't a one-man tour de force like the first. Jay is upstaged once or twice by his guests, and while the productions are stellar throughout -- Timbaland appears three times, and No I.D. gets multiple credits also -- it's clear there's less on Jay's mind this time. Not tuned out like on Kingdom Come, but more content with his dominance as a rap godfather in 2009. ~ John Bush

Rolling Stone (p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Jay-Z remains a virtuoso, and BLUEPRINT 3 has the usual quotient of punch lines and casually inventive flows..." Entertainment Weekly (p.63) - "BLUEPRINT is hip-hop as big business, and Jay retains his CEO throne." -- Grade: B+ Billboard - "With witty rhymes, pertinent collaborations and stellar productions from the likes of Timbaland and No I.D., among others the long-awaited BLUEPRINT 3 doesn't disappoint."

Considered one of the best lyricists to emerge in the wake of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac's deaths, Jay-Z has since carried the flag of hip-hop narrative skill. His Roc-A-Fella family had already created a solid reputation based on Jay-Z's 1997 debut. As his fame has grown, so has his tendency to bring more R&B production elements into his work, creating a club-friendly, danceable version of east coast gangsta hip-hop that hasn't diminished his reputation as a preeminent force in rap. Perhaps even more importantly, Jay-Z has become a powerful musica impresario. In his role as president/CEO of Def Jam in the early 2000s, he fostered the careers of popular R&B singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo, and enjoyed a high profile as a co-owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team. His long relationship and eventual marriage to superstar Beyonce has further endeared him to fans.

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