Jay-Z
The Blueprint
2001
While I don’t believe Hova made the best hip-hop album of the decade, The Blueprint is canonized at the young age of eight for good reason. Despite the sine-wave nature of Jay-Z’s career, this record laid the foundation for his throne as the king of hip-hop.
I may be pretty critical of the lyrical content of mainstream hip-hop, and have a difficult time identifying with the rappers themselves, but on The Blueprint, Jay-Z’s vocal delivery glides with an immeasurable amount of cool. His decision to trust in the then up-and-coming producer Kanye West was an excellent decision as well. There’s really not much else I can say about The Blueprint. At the beginning of the decade I detested the genre of rap and I think it’s saying something that The Blueprint was one of the albums that changed my outlook on hip-hop. -R.C.
To quote Mr. Carter: “What more can I say?!” The Blueprint is the greatest work from the greatest rapper of all-time. The beats are top-notch from start to finish, and Jay’s flow and lyrics are at an all-time high. I can’t say enough about the influence this album has had over me as a musician and the continual inspiration I feel every time I hear it. - Phil
#40?!!! This is one of the most important rap albums of all-time; it set the bar for all the artists that followed in Jay's footsteps, and you're telling me you guys think an album this great comes along every 3 months? Pshhhh........
ReplyDeleteHaha! I knew this would not please Phil. While I agree, Jay-Z set a precedent with this album, a lot of rappers did not follow in his footsteps and still made absolutely amazing hip hop records. And when you think about it, #40 out of the hundreds upon hundreds of records we've listened to the last ten years is not that bad at all.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you guys have heard, but Jay-Z actually made three Blueprint albums!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, only one is worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteI actually like to forget that fact, Nate.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ryan, that's really funny that we both dissed on Jay's other Blueprints at EXACTLY the same time!
ReplyDeleteWhoa, haters, hold up. The Blueprint III is pretty decent, I think.
ReplyDeleteFirst half is really solid, but after "On to the Next One" things go REALLY downhill. If I have another CD with me, I usually do go on to the next one.
ReplyDelete