Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

[djskillz]

Alright so after listening this is my verdict:

1. What We Talkin' Bout 3.5/5
2. Thank You 3.5/5
3. D.O.A. (Death of Autotune) 4/5 - Didn't like this track at first, it's growing on me.
4. Run This Town 4.5/5 - Suprisingly catchy. I like it. Kanye ruined it though.
5. Empire State of Mind 5/5 - Alicia Keys is a goddess. Definitely makes the song.
6. Real As It Gets 4/5 - Not bad.
7. On to the Next One 4/5 - I hate Swizz Beatz and at the beginning of the beat I started getting pissed off but as the song continued I started to like it. Really innovative beat.
8. Off That 3.5/5 - I can't stand Drake but on this song he's bearable.
9. A Star Is Born 3/5 - I didn't like this one
10. Venus Vs. Mars 5/5 - This one was hot.
11. Already Home - 3.5/5 - My first time hearing Kid Cudi. Nothing special, shitty hook.
12. Hate 3.5/5 - Kanye ruined this song for me and he deserves to be smacked up for ruining such a good beat.
13. Reminder 4/5 - The hook sort of pissed me off but the rest was good.
14. So Ambitious 3/5 - Just like all the other Pharrell songs on Jay-Z albums. A snoozer.
15. Young Forever 4/5 - Decent way to close off the album. Not mad at him.

Overall this album suprised me alot. Definitely better than I expected. At first I wasn't coppin' off the guest appearances but suprisingly the thing that I was least happy with on this album was Jay-Z's own lyrical performance. Was it just me or does he sound like he's dumbing down alot of his shit lately?

Anyway, I give it a solid 4/5 based on the strength of the good songs on it. They more than make up for the wack ones.

[claaa7]

listening again now and i gotta say that it sounds better than last night, though imo this album just screams MTV.. at least "American Gangster" (which was a very good album) felt a little hip-hop.. "D.O.A." is the best song so far (on track #7), but how you gonna act like you're the hardest, most real authentic hip-hop cat around and then follow it up with Rhianna on the hook on the next one LOL.

[claaa7]

btw is that stupid motherfucker using auto-tune on "A Star is Born"??
anywayz THE BLAQPRINT >>>>>>>>>> The Blueprint 3, but who's suprised LOL

[claaa7]

aight finnished listening to the album now, goddamn he actually made a cover of Alphaville's "Forever Young". now that was embarassing!! ..sorry for sounding like a hater but i'm a big fan of Jay's music and this shit left me cold. Eminem made a better album by pretending he was 3 years old and rapping over Dre beats.
had to put on some Kool G Rap right after this LOL

[Po1ites91]

I think J.Cole ate Jay up on "A Star is Born".. and if Nas ft with jay and Alicia that song would of been magic

[SHEEPISH LORD OF CHAOS]

aight finnished listening to the album now, goddamn he actually made a cover of alphaville's "forever young". Now that was embarassing!! ..sorry for sounding like a hater but i'm a big fan of jay's music and this shit left me cold. Eminem made a better album by pretending he was 3 years old and rapping over dre beats.
Had to put on some kool g rap right after this lol

ob4cl ii is 10 times better it has a more rounding sound, sounds more like an album rather than a bunch of singles put on together jay album was aight wasn't lyrically sharper than rae though

[claaa7]

no doubt, Raekwon smashed Jay this year from all aspects, lyrics, production, guests, flow, delivery and even packaging. but we know he would...

OB4CLII and The Blaqprint... 2009 been real good to my ears after all.

[Dominus Santorini]

I love Blueprint 3. CL2, BP3, and Relapse have been phenomenal albums by 3 great MCs

[11th Chamber]

Album is a total mess. Its crazy to remember back when Jay used to drop solid albums. This feels nothing more than a mix of attempted singles and no real core.

Lyrically Jay came ok. He still has clever wordplay, but he never is saying anything important and leaves each track with nearly zero substance

Kanye came thru on one of his worse outings. You hear some of his genius in "Already Home", then he follows that with "Hate" which is awful. "A Star is Born" is a nice track.
"Thank You" and "What We Talking About" are just there. I like "Young Forever", but im prolly in the majority on that one. Nothing all that impressive really overall

Timbaland is Timblaland. Total hit or miss. "Reminder" was a turning out to be a cool track, until the hook comes in and nearly brings the entire joint down. "Off That" is jus garbage. "Venus vs. Mars" potentially sounds like it would be a good track, but it jus doesnt work for Jay-Z

The Swiss Beatz track is hard to give a verdict on. The looped sample is beyond annoying, and accually becomes unbearable after a while, yet there is flashes of dopeness like when the secondary beat first drops in at 38 seconds. Just a thought

5.5/10

cause Im holding Jay to a higher standard than the average artist. Sounds a bit tough, but he should no better calling an album Blueprint 3 and THIS is what he has to offer. Idk maybe im just disapointed that he hasent fully delivered since The Black Album

Thanks to CL2 dropping next week(I dont check for leaks), I'll prolly never listen to this album again, bar a few tracks.

[claaa7]

LOL how you're not checking for leaks and giving a review of "Blueprint 3".. i feel the same though, i doubt i'll ever listen to this album again and it will be the first Jay-Z album i'm NOT buying.

[tical2000]

Album is a total mess. Its crazy to remember back when Jay used to drop solid albums. This feels nothing more than a mix of attempted singles and no real core.

Lyrically Jay came ok. He still has clever wordplay, but he never is saying anything important and leaves each track with nearly zero substance

Kanye came thru on one of his worse outings. You hear some of his genius in "Already Home", then he follows that with "Hate" which is awful. "A Star is Born" is a nice track.
"Thank You" and "What We Talking About" are just there. I like "Young Forever", but im prolly in the majority on that one. Nothing all that impressive really overall

Timbaland is Timblaland. Total hit or miss. "Reminder" was a turning out to be a cool track, until the hook comes in and nearly brings the entire joint down. "Off That" is jus garbage. "Venus vs. Mars" potentially sounds like it would be a good track, but it jus doesnt work for Jay-Z

The Swiss Beatz track is hard to give a verdict on. The looped sample is beyond annoying, and accually becomes unbearable after a while, yet there is flashes of dopeness like when the secondary beat first drops in at 38 seconds. Just a thought

5.5/10

cause Im holding Jay to a higher standard than the average artist. Sounds a bit tough, but he should no better calling an album Blueprint 3 and THIS is what he has to offer. Idk maybe im just disapointed that he hasent fully delivered since The Black Album

Thanks to CL2 dropping next week(I dont check for leaks), I'll prolly never listen to this album again, bar a few tracks.

You are giving BLUEPRINT 3 5.5/10????

With all the absolute garbage we have gotten in the hip hop the last 3-4 years.....I think the album is solid. Honestly what have you ranked other albums that have come out this year then if you think this is a 5.5/10????

To be honest this 4 to 5 years have been absolute shit for hip hop.....2009 has been pretty good in comparision in that Eminem, Raekwon, Jay-Z, have dropped really strong albums.....Hopefully Kid Cudi's joint will be good as well.

I would rank Blueprint 3 on par/or alittle bellow THE BLACK ALBUM with atleast a 8/10 rating

with all the garbage we have to listen to, rap on MTV and radio, I will rock to BLUEPRINT 3 anyday over that shit....

[tical2000]

btw is that stupid motherfucker using auto-tune on "A Star is Born"??
anywayz THE BLAQPRINT >>>>>>>>>> The Blueprint 3, but who's suprised LOL

listened to THE BLAQPRINT, Premier beats banged, but then I had to listen to this dude rap......he blows.....

I would rather listen to BLUEPRINT 3 or OBCL2....

that being said, you gotz a screwball logo in your sig, so you are probably a fan

[angry!]

i fuck with the vibe of this album. ill be the first to say 5 years ago i wouldnt be able to. aside from some missteps, its grown man rap. i can handpick a jay verse from any random track, and homie is definitely spitting. its not the technical showing the black album was, but i dont think it was intended to be. hes saying more with less, and hes been on top so long the hood isnt in him like that anymore.

listen to that 3rd verse on the intro, i mean thats jay z in his element!!! a lot of niggas are gonna be lost with it, its definitely outta left field. its a taste of the high life and i enjoy the sampling!!!

favorite tracks - thank you, doa, empire state of mind, real as it gets, on to the next one, already home

if you liked jay z at a point, youd more than likely dig those tracks. solid release from a guy who coulda thrown in the towel a long time ago!!!

[rainbow]

I remember when people on this forum were ranking Timbaland amongst the greatest hip hop producers.

The albums not bad, has some decent things on it.

Not much more to say, American Gangster was a whole lot better, but Kingdom Come was a whole lot worse.

3/5.

[Dr. Simon Hurt]

^^^that's about how i feel, the whole thing just feels like a missed oppurtunity to me, people keep talking about how this is a more mature, "grown man" rap album, i still see unnecessary braggadoccio on display, as well as flashes of defensiveness and insecurity on jay's part, reflecting the perspective of an aging mc that hasn't really lost status, truly 'undiscovered country' in hiphop. but just because he's toned down the drug talk and gangster stuff and references brands none of us can afford doesn't make the album mature...

i can't help but feel he should've stayed retired after "the black album" rather than continue to release mediocre albums like this.

and timbaland is a great producer for pop and rnb, but with hiphop, i think he's extremely inconsistent.