Tha Lime Light

The date is June 25, 1996, and America has just witnessed the retail birth of “Reasonable Doubt.” This debut album will forever be touted as a hip-hop classic and the launch of one of rap’s most prolific careers. No matter what you call him, Jay-Z, Jigga, or Hova; Shawn Corey Carter has effectively transcended the realms of hip-hop into a business plateau that even Jupiter would envy. Some may question, with the success that Jay-Z has had away from rap, could he still deliver quality music with his third installment of the Blueprint collection? Jay left little room for doubt after viewing the introductory track.

The tone was set for Blueprint 3 with first song “What We Talkin’ Bout.”When often urged to take his rhymes back to the “old” Jay-Z, he simply replies “I’m doing better than before, why would I do that?” Hova paints a vivid picture of the many things that are often glorified in hip-hop as being the opposite of “cool.”

“Aint nothing cool bout carrying a strap/bout worrying ya moms, and burying ya best cat/
Talking bout revenge while you’re carrying his casket/ all teary-eyed bout to take it to a mattress…”

Perhaps you are like many of us who have never had a chance to frequent the Cotton Club in Harlem back in the early 1900’s, , but luckily for you super-producer Kanye West and No I.D. take you there on the second track on Blueprint 3. The two hitmakers collaborated on “Thank You” to deliver a resurging sound that personified life as it was when Duke Ellington, Bojangles, and Lena Horne were making their big break on 142nd Street and Lennox Ave. The Jigga Man rides the beat smooth and effortlessly as he gives his fans pseudo praise in a nonthreatening condescending manner. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, you’re far too kind/ Hold your applause, this is your song not mine…” Jay boasts in a very confident tone.

This epic Blueprint 3 album has a star-studded lineup from beats by Kanye West, Timbaland, and Pharell Williams, and guest appearances from Young Jeezy, Rihanna, and Alicia Keys. Jay even strayed into unchartered territory according to his own standards by featuring three artists that have yet to release their own debut albums. Appearances by Drake and Kid Cudi added crafty hooks to their respective songs (“Off That” and “Already Home”) but only the RocNation signee rookie, J. Cole was afforded the opportunity to lace a sweet sixteen bars behind his highness, Jay-z. After listening to the verse, no one could argue his place on the song. With memorable wordplay like:

“Clap for ‘em, then applaud Hov’ he gave ‘em the platform/
Flow so sick, thought he wrote the rap for ‘em/
No Sir, The flow cold as the shoulders of gold diggin’ hoes when a broke nigg approaches…”

The lone low point on the album is the Timbaland produced “Reminder.” The chorus resounds of woman in a near auto-tune sound, incessantly chanting the word “reminder,” while Jay nonchalantly adlibs a light “ugghn” effect. Even Jay’s lyrics on this track were subpar. Chronologically reciting the years he’s had album releases starting from 1996 to the present year.

In a nutshell, Blueprint 3 is the epitome of what the byproduct of a 39-year old hip-hop star should produce. As Jay creatively weaves in and out of the unwritten stanzas, he maintains witty freshness without succumbing to the ever-so-popular rap star clichés. In the trend-conscious world of rap, Jay-Z is able to create his own lane that doesn’t include auto-tune, skinny jeans, oversized clothes, tattoos, grills, big rims, or gaudy jewelry. Most of those who’ll give you a bad report on this album will likely be the opinions of those that were born in the 90’s, or those who lobby for Jay-Z to cruise in his hip-hop DeLorean and take his flow back to 1996. Either way, on Blueprint 3, Jay pulls of the difficult task of growing as an artist and not only remaining relevant, he’s the frame of reference when it comes to the complete rap artist.
~Mach’ Boogie

Report Card/ 4.0 Scale
Lyrics: 3.7
Production: 3.1
Content: 3.3
Mass Appeal: 3.6
Creativity: 3.5
GPA: 3.44