Album Review: Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" Represents Rapper’s Shift In Focus

By Joe Momma
Music Editor

Jay-Z is a chameleon…always changing to adapt to hip-hop’s current environment. That’s been his steez his whole career. It’s how he’s maintained his relevancy for so long….yes, Shawn Carter has set plenty of trends, but he also knows that in order to appeal to an ever-evolving hip-hop populace, he needs to adjust his sound to what TODAY’S fans want to hear.

It is with this sensibility in tow that I think he went into recording The Blueprint 3 (*** outta five), his eleventh studio album release.

Why do I say that? Because the album is a distinct departure from his core sound, or rather, what we’re “used to” hearing from Jay-Z. Some critics who’ve reviewed the album are hailing it amongst his best works, citing his artistic maturation and development as a testament to his continued hunger for setting himself apart from the rest of the rap pack.

Unfortunately, this is part of my problem with the album…even though I realize it’s selfishly motivated.

Don’t get me wrong, I applaud Jay for shunning conventional norms and ideologies about what his songs are SUPPOSED to sound like. He clearly stepped away from any “comfort zone” with this jawn, and took some experimental chances with his sound. That’s the only way to grow as an artist, and it’s honestly the only way the culture is going to properly age. Lord knows there’s already too much cookie-cutter crap on the radio as it is.

But that’s just it…to me, Jay's lane has never been FORCED pop music. Historically, when you examine all his biggest hits? He NATURALLY makes "street and club" music that just so happens to end up producing huge pop hits. Lookit a song like "Big Pimpin'", I would bet that Jay, UGK and Timbo didn't make that jawn with the SPECIFIC intent of getting radio spins. Same with "Give It To Me", I'm not seeing a deliberate attempt to get that on Top 40 pop radio. Jay's own popularity SWAYED the pop crowd over to him.

Therein lies my issue with this album. I'm not so sure you can apply that rationale to some of these songs on BP3. The thing I don't like the most about Jay’s latest work is the fact that it sounds like Jay-Z doing his impersonation of a Kanye West album. Like, if this album would've been released as Kanye’s new album, musically it would've been hailed as "brilliant". The beats on this jawn fit Kanye’s steez BETTER than they do Jigga’s. Kanye is able to pull off the "selectively straddling pop success" schtick a lot more credibly than Jay.

Things start off marvelously with the stoic "What We Talkin' About", as Jay addresses his detractors and critics over a knockin’ Kanye and No I.D. track. The masterful “Thank You” showcases his most nimble flow since back when he was still guesting with Original Flavor (do your research!) over another absolute Kanye BANGER. Showcasing the new young talent, Jay lets Drake ride shotgun on the hook for the Timbaland produced, dance floor ready “Off That”, and gives some shine to his newest Roc Nation protégé, J. Cole, on the Kanye/No I.D. joint “A Star Is Born” (except WHY is he using AUTO-TUNE on this track? Isn’t he “anti-auto-tune”, as he says in the opening of the album's lead single, “D.O.A. - Death Of Auto-Tune”? HYPROCRITE much, Shawn?). Jay also gets busy for the streets with Young Jeezy on the anthemic “Real As It Gets”, then goes for broke over soulful piano loops courtesy of the lovely Ms. Alicia Keys on “Empire State Of Mind”. Alongside the “who told him he could sing?” crooning of Neptunes producer Pharrell, Jay spits game on the groovin’ “So Ambitious”.

Problem is, the songs comprising the REST of the album cause it to quickly lose steam. The radio-friendly “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye, as well as aforementioned "D.O.A.", have never been favorites, and with each successive listen become more and more fast-forwardable. Rihanna’s appearance in particular is a sore point, as the lanky R&B diva’s annoying wails detract from the rest of the song. The Swizz Beats produced “On To The Next One” should take its own advice (although I guarantee you that song will be blowing up the clubs before the end of the month). Songs like “Venus vs. Mars”, “Hate” (again featuring Kanye) and “Reminder” - produced by Timbaland, Kanye and Timbaland again, respectively – are straight forgettable and should have been left on the cutting room floor.

But the two biggest gripes I have are with the cuts “Already Home” and “Forever Young”. “Already Home”, featuring newcomer Kid Cudi and produced by Kanye, COULD be dope if the hook wasn’t so damn CORNY. The track itself has potential, and Jay’s flow is on point, but overall the song just….UGH. It would have to grow on you, in my opinion, and frankly I don’t have the patience. “Forever Young”, on the other hand, is just hopeless. A BLATANT attempt at pop radio, the song lost me IMMEDIATELY with its cheesy '80s synth and British wailing to start off the song, courtesy of “the next big thing in R&B”, newcomer Mr. Hudson. Sorry, but he sounds more like a broke ass version of Sting than a fresh new artist. I don’t hear any originality in his voice whatsoever, and the happy ass “skip to my lou” feel of the song makes me wanna kick a hole in my speaker, pull the plug and then jet….

Look, I don't dismiss Jay OVERALL because of what I perceive are missteps on this album. I don't like THIS album, but that doesn't mean I think Jay is "done", which is an ill-conceived perception currently making the rounds on the internet...the idea that this album proves Jay is "past his prime". THAT, my friends, is crap. If anything, this album solidifies Jay as one of the greatest emcees of all time. As much as I dislike a lot of these tracks musically, he's flowing his ASS OFF over all of them, with excellent flow variance, diverse bar structures, expanded vocab....he KILLS this album lyrically.

Overall, as a Jay-Z fan your opinion of this album will be based on what you’re willing to ACCEPT from Jay at this point in his career. Personally, I see more bad than good. The good is VERY good...it's just that the bad is also VERY bad.