1) What We Talkin' Bout (feat. Luke Steele) (Prod. By Kanye West & No I.D.)
Great way to set the pace for what this album. The first 2 Blueprint albums (mainly the first) were soulful and Jay-Z is letting it be known he's open to new sounds off the top. A bit experimental of course, but it totally works. Incredible lyrics helped the process, but the instrumental was still top-notch, despite not being traditional Hip-Hop shit.
The only thing I didn't like is the way he came in on the second verse. I see he's gonna be trying some different flows like Eminem did on Relapse, but I'm not in love with that one. It doesn't hurt the intro at all though because he still ripped it with lyrics like: "Check out my hair, this ain't curls, these is peas. Peasy head still get paid, I'm combing through G's. Please! Me focus on naps? 'Cause I don't run rap no more, I run the map." Hov is winning so far.
2) Thank You (Prod. By Kanye West & No I.D.)
Just in case anybody thought he lost it, Jay goes ahead and shows he still has his fastball on Thank You. All three verses are magic, but the last is the most powerful. Show me a man willing to contest the illness of that verse and I'll show you a fuckin' idiot reaching for an excuse to not like Jay-Z.
Anyway, he comes back down off the experimental train on the beat, but still trots out a new flow. Unlike the one on the second verse of What We Talkin' Bout, I co-sign this one. Its like a better version of that proper English flow a lot of white backpack/battle rappers use.
I can't think of anything negative to say about this record.
3) D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) (Prod. By No I.D.)
D.O.A. has been talked about and rehashed millions of times since dropping in early June so I won't talk your ear off about it. The impact of this song alone gets it high marks. Of course its a great song (though Jay did go light on the lyrics in a few spots), but when was the last time a rapper dropped a song that was this talked about and cause this much of a stir?? Exactly.
4) Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) (Prod. By Kanye West & No I.D.)
I said this song wasn't first single material. I said this song wouldn't be burning up radio until September. Wrong, and wrong again. Not only is it still hanging around, but its also a top 10 record. This has nothing to do with the review, but I just wanted to put my apology to Jay out there.
Anyway, as you can also read in that post, I always liked this song. Jay went somewhat light on the lyrics again, so it isn't perfection, but Kanye did his thing, and its an overall hot song. Its somewhat of a 'tweener, but not really... if you know what I mean? Like it doesn't stand out on first listen, but you might find yourself singing it later on.
Oh, and Jay was smart to put this and D.O.A. back-to-back on the album. We get them knocked out the way early, and don't have to worry about a song we're used to hearing messing up the flow of the rest of the album.
5) Empire State Of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) (Prod. By Al Shux)
The first thing I thought when I heard this was that I would've loved to hear Chrisette Michele sing the hook. I believe Chrisette's voice and singing style is tailor-made for this kind of hook. I understand why Jay went for the big name though, and Alicia gets back into her lane with that bridge at the end.
As far as the verses go, I like the flow Jay chose and the lyrics were back on point. I admit, I would've loved to hear the version with Nas, but at the same time, that means we would've had to lose one of these Jay-Z verses. Either way, this track is good money on all fronts.
6) Real As It Gets (feat. Young Jeezy) (Prod. By The Inkredibles)
I'm not mad at Jeezy for this. With that being said, I would've liked to hear Rick Ross on this record over him. Jeezy gave us about what we should've come to expect from him (lyrics that don't suck, but aren't incredible), but I think Ross would've been able to come closer to Jay's level lyrically and maybe even made him up his game even more. I would've kept Jeezy on to do the hook (I couldn't imagine Ross doing this hook) though, just let Ross do the verses.
Either way its still a good song, but it is more Jeezy than it is Jay-Z. Example: If this song wasn't on here and I just heard it on the radio for the first time, I would've assumed it was his song and not Jay's. That's not a bad thing, but its not a good thing either. Especially for the Blueprint.
Don't get it confused though, this shit is still hot.
7) On To The Next One (feat. Swizz Beatz) (Prod. By Swizz Beatz)
"Hov on that new shit, niggas like 'how come?' Niggas want my old shit. Buy my old album. Niggas stuck on stupid. I gotta keep it movin'. Niggas make the same shit, me, I make the Blueprint." Now that right there is some Blueprint shit!
On To The Next One is an exceptional record because of its versatility. You like lyrics? It has lyrics. You like banging beats? It has one. Its an all around pleaser. And an applause is in order for Swizzy for crafting such a monstrous track.
I can't think of anything bad to say about this one so I'll leave you with another powerful quotable:
"Baby I'm a boss, I don't know what they do. I don't get dropped, I drop the label."
Blueprint shit!
8) Off That (feat. Drake) (Prod. By Timbaland)
I still don't see what's wrong with this song. I think it would've been just fine as a first single and there is nothing structurally wrong with it. Mean lyrics, mean track, mean hook. I was never the best in math, but that equals a hot record to me, so stop it, this is a hot song. Its more Blueprint shit too, so people should appreciate it more. Is it the best song on the album? No. Its not even the best club song, but its still hot AND very important for Hip-Hop to hear.
9) A Star Is Born (feat. J. Cole) (Prod. By Kanye West & No I.D.)
I like to call this joint Touch The Sky Pt. 2 with Hov starring as Kanye West and J. Cole in a supporting role as Lupe Fiasco. The topic of the songs aren't exactly the same, but they are definitely of kin and the format is basically the same. I ain't mad though because its better to borrow from Late Registration than 808s & Heartbreak.
Anyway, I love the way Hov decided to attack this track, pretty much paying homage to his peers over the years (though they may have been a little bit of a shot at T.I. in the second verse). This was my first time hearing J. Cole spit, and I must say he did a fine job. He spits at just about the same level as Lupe did on Touch The Sky (maybe even a little higher) and you see where he was able about to take it after that. Good record.
10) Venus Vs. Mars (Prod. By Timbaland)
I find it hard to believe that out of all the songs Jay-Z recorded for Blueprint 3, that this was the 15th best. No one could convince me of that, not even Hov himself.
Obviously Venus Vs. Mars is the worst on the album. The whole feel of the album goes down when it comes on. I do like the direction he tried to take it in though. He gets an A for effort, but outside of the third verse, this song is about as useless as a bible at an abortion clinic.
11) Already Home (feat. KiD CuDi) (Prod. By Kanye West)
From worst to first? Coming off the worst record on the album we go right into what may be the best.
First off lets talk about the vintage Kanye beat. Where has this Kanye been the past 2 years?? If you see him, tell him his fans miss him.
KiD CuDi sounds a bit off on the hook up until the "They want me to go, I'm already gone..." part and beyond. I love that part. Don't love the beginning part so much. It works though so I'm not mad.
You already know what was poppin' on Jay-Z's end. More quotables and more Blueprint shit like the following:
"They want me to disappear, like its gonna shift for them. They say that I'm in the way, they want me to sit for them. But what the omittin' is, they don't got shit for him.
And really the fact is we not in the same bracket, not in the same league, don't shoot at the same baskets, don't pay the same taxes, hang with the same bitches. So how am I in the way? What is it I'm missin'?"
Already Home, and these lines above in particular, are so important because for some reason people have gotten the impression that older rappers like Jay-Z are somehow taking away from the young, up and coming rappers. In actuality the lack of talented up and coming rapper has more to do with it than anything. Guys like Jay-Z, Nas, and 50 Cent are bigger than New York, they have global audiences now, so again, how are they stopping young rappers from getting on?? Young rappers aren't selling out huge arenas so those guys are not in these young rapper's lane at all.
Maybe if rappers stopped trying to find excuses for them not being on, and worked on their music and getting it into the right hands, we'd have more young talent and Jay-Z and rappers of his ilk would hang it up. Until that day comes, somebody has to keep the culture alive.
Anyway, we can't forget Hov finally addressing people who say he looks like a camel:
"Now these niggas is mad. Oh, they call me a camel, but I mastered the drought. What the fuck, I'm an animal."
Classic Hova. To say this was a stand out would be an understatement.
12) Hate (feat. Kanye West) (Prod. By Kanye West)
I was worried about this track after Kanye spit, but Hov got the record going and 'Ye was able to follow suit thereafter.
The Kanye beat is damn hot and their flows are too once the tame the beat. A different, yet classic Jay-Z/Kanye collabo.
13) Reminder (Prod. By Timbaland)
Yes, yes, yes! That's what everyone needs, a Reminderrrr! Clearly everybody has forgotten the consistency and overall dominance Jay has displayed over the years. The only person whose catalog can compare to Jay's is Nas, and still Jay is on top (pause).
They say that's Cassie on the hook, but she's given no credit so who knows. I like it either way though.
And, as pointed out by my boy Joel, Hov finally throws a clean jab at someone as he rhymes, "Tell them ordinary Joes to Budden up," in the last verse. I forgot he even diss Jay, but obviously Jay didn't. And if you don't know who he was talking about there, I'll see you in "Beef 101" this Spring.
14) So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell) (Prod. By The Neptunes)
Can we get the Neptunes some new sounds for their beat machine?? I feel like I heard the base of this track at least 8 times already. Maybe more. And what was with that weird oboe sound?? This song would've been so much better without it.
Jay still brings it from a lyrical standpoint, but this song comes off like a poor man's version of Allure at the end of the day. A decent song that could've been better with more effort production-wise. I did love the hook though.
15) Young Forever (feat. Mr Hudson) (Prod. By Kanye West)
Unlike on Empire State Of Mind, Jay actually does go for the young vocalist for Young Forever. I could easily hear Akon singing this same exact hook.
Anyway, I love the feel of this record. Jay does his thing on the verses too. He also brings back that proper flow from Thank You for the first half of the second verse, though it doesn't translate as well, it still works.
The beat sounds like a lesser version of What We Talkin' Bout, but it gets the job done. It feels like he was going for another Beach Chair, but came up a tad short. Its an above average 'tweener. Not his best outro, but still a decent way to close out the album. "Just good enough" isn't Blueprint shit though.
Overall
Who said this album wasn't hot again?? Anybody who would have the audacity to say that should probably listen a little harder to track #12 because there's a strong possibility its about them.
Okay, so there's no question the album is hot, but it did have a few flaws. First off Venus Vs. Mars was completely out of place and really does damage to the quality level of the album. The positioning of it in between A Star Is Born and Already Home is weird too. So Ambitious and Young Forever were very decent songs, but they weren't Blueprint shit.We've heard songs like them before that were better in Allure and Beach Chair, but that is just a minor flaw.
As far as production, Kanye did better than I expected with his, but I still would've like to hear records from Sean C. and J.V. and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Sean C. and L.V. helped Jay make a classic out of American Gangster so I wasn't ready for Jay to leave them cold turkey. Jay-Z and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League don't have a long track record, but ever since Maybach Music, I've been dying to hear some more collaborations.
The overall project exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds so I'm going to give Blueprint 3...
4.25/5
