The Blueprint

I'm addicted to buying unbelievably expensive custom helicopters (yeeeeeeaaahhhh) In a brief moment of lucidity I went to the helicopter dealership and told them "Do not, under any circumstances, sell me more helicopters" I was back there half an hour later, wearing a fake moustache, and I said "Hello gentlemen, I am Ray Z, a man you have never met before. Give me 10,000 helicopters covered in diamonds"

A couple of good tracks but I'm not a massive fan of his style. I get it you have lots of money now but didn't always.

Didn't seem genuine. I would describe it as the panhandler who drives home in his Mercedes. Music was very good, it just fell about whenever Jay Z opened his mouth.

70s-soul and pop infused, via garage rock / grind house filters. Bonus points for Osmond's sample in "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)." Interesting music / samples. But, it's RAP. Not enough melody. Too much swagger, cussin', and misogyny. If only there were more (any?) melody, and lyrics and not spittin'.

I never saw the appeal to Jay-Z. I find this record, and the rest of his catalog, trite and mediocre.

The only thing larger than the production values is that mans ego. Braggadocio is not my favorite means of expression.

Pop rap. Good music, guy is a great producer and can assemble a good beat/sound. The ego though, dude - just shhhh... If I could give a 1/2 star I'd error a bit higher - as is, enjoy your 2 stars, schmuck.

First thought is that this sounds nostalgic, even though i have never heard it before. I like the opening groove on ruler's back, so richly textured, though the trumpets and brass is cheap sounding. The Takeover is one of those great follow-up tracks with a Fame callback. so good. Dude every track is incredibly crafted. I think that the track Renegade is the weakest one on the album

Good beats, bad lyrics

Classic and appreciate his talent but not my cup of tea

I’m not sure how Jay Z got to be a billionaire. The production is pretty great tho.

The lyrics are just not relatable for me.

Honestly really enjoyed this album, haven't listened to a lot of Jay-Z before, but I thought it definitely was a classic, great album. Also, interesting that this is basically the last NYC rap album before 9/11, releasing right on the day.

there's a reason i haven't listened to this before

Not for me.

Suuuucks

Pretty terrible.

Idk, I don't see the appeal.

I can really see why people like this album. Every song is a head bobber Jay-Z has a great flow and some pretty entertaining bars (Pack heat like the oven door). But for me it just doesn't captivate. Jay-Z says up top that these are his thoughts but he must only think about money, hustling, women and hip-hop because there isn't much else he raps about on the album. I hate to say it but the Eminem feature was actually a welcome change of pace from Jay-Z's rapping. Not that what he does isn't impressive but for me this album is more about the beats. Kanye and Blaze's production really steals the show for me and I actually think I would enjoy an instrumental of this album more. I could easily recommend this to any hip-hop fan but for me it won't stay in my rotation. Favorite songs: Girls, Girls, Girls, Heart of the City, Song Cry, Renegade,

Ok. Nothing different from most rap talking about being with lots of women and drugs.

Jay-Z was always big but this is before everyone's grandparents knew who he was. H to the Izzo is a classic. Takeover is ruthless. Girls, Girls, Girls is funny as shit. I like the reminder that before Jay-Z hung out with Obama he stabbed a guy in a club a month after this album came out. Definitely gets a little repetitive (drugs, girls, etc) but I like that each song has a structure and arc and sticks to a subject unlike most rap today. The middle of the album is little weaker and I was excited for Renegade but it was kind of whatever. Still, I think its great. 4.

Genre: East Coast Hip Hop 5/5 When it comes to rap album classics, The Blueprint is one of the true icons of the genre. From the beautiful and timeless chipmunk soul production, to Jay-Z’s quick wit and lyrical talent, this album is a sure fire hit for any hip hop fan. While I’m not sure it’s my favorite Jay-Z project, The Blueprint is still a force to be reckoned with. It became, for rap music at that time, exactly what its title suggests it is: the blueprint.

Not quite my subgenre, but I think this is a nearly-pristine hour of pop rap. The Kanye tracks have a special sparkle, but there is a ton of variety and very few low points. Eminem shows up and fits in well, though Renegade's subject matter rings hollow next to the lyrics and production of Takeover.

Jay-Z is a lyrical genius (U Don't Know has some great lines), and his knowledge of pop culture is ridiculously extensive (check out The Ruler's Back). It makes it a lot of fun listening to his lyrics and what reference he'll slip in for a rhyme. His beats and mixes are cool too, easy to get into and move your head (or more) to. It's also surprisingly soulful (Never Change and Song Cry have their tender moments). I was surprised this was his 6th album - then saw he put out 6 albums in 6 years. Damn. One of the greatest rappers of all time and a damn good album (especially considering no massive hits on it).

There aren’t any fancy beats on this album and it works well. The beats set the mood but otherwise stay out of the way of Jay-Z’s lyrical flow. Jay-Z’s style feels almost conversational. I appreciate that he doesn’t necessarily rhyme each verse. I admire the reverence he pays to those that took care of him growing up on Blueprint (Momma Loves Me). The distorted beats on Takeover are well placed to get my head bobbing. While I like Eminem’s appearance on Renegade is good on its own, it doesn’t really fit sonically with the rest of the album. I also recognize the Izzo (H.O.V.A.) line “Can’t leave rap alone, the game needs me” from its inclusion on Eminem’s Business from his album The Eminem Show. This is an album I will be listening to more in the near future.

This is the sound of a newly-crowned king. Jay-Z is on top of the hip-hop mountain, and he’s executing anyone who challenges for the throne with precision. He’s telling the stories that made him king and cementing his legacy for generations to come.

Just incredibly good, obviously a foundationally important album. Renegade is astonishing. I could have listened to another hour of this, and I need to hear it again to pick up more from it.

Really don't like this - Jay-Z strikes me as an rapper with pretty limited skills, stuck on boring obvious content. Don't understand his status

Bleh jay z. He’s the McDonald’s of rap.

The Blueprint I bought this around the time it came out after hearing, or more likely seeing Takeover on MTV. That still sounds great, the sample is of course excellent, but is used brilliantly too, not exactly subtle, but it creates the groove and the tension in the song. The Ruler’s Back, Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls, U Don’t Know, Heart of the City continue the excellent use of samples, using similar funk, jazz and soul influences as G-funk, but with less of the weeded out paranoia atmosphere, making it sound pretty warm and very accessible. The pop sensibility to the music is really evident, and while the lyrics aren’t as hardcore as Biggie or Nas or Tupac, they still touch on those same subjects, but his delivery is so laid back and non-aggressive it feels way less confrontational, combining with the music to make a very enjoyable listen. Was thinking 4 but on the final listen it might be crossing into the 5s, it’s a great album, lyrically dense but humorous and musically open armed it’s a great listen. It’s much better than some rap albums I’ve given 4 to, ergo I’ll slip into the 5s 🗺️🗺️🗺️🗺️🗺️ Playlist submission: Takeover

So as I’ve said before, I’m a big rock guy – and my exposure to rap and hip-hop has been extremely limited… I typically know the more popular tracks from a couple of artists, but that’s about it – so the 1,001 has forced me to listen to a number of rap and/or hip-hop albums so far, as I’m about 150 or so in right now… So far, I’ve had some NWA, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Queen Latifah, Outcast – and a few others – but hands down, Jay-Z is the best rapper in my opinion, and this album was absolutely fabulous… - Love his style, and how clever and witty his rhyming is… I almost added “writing” as well, but from what I’ve read – it sounds like much of what he creates is spontaneous – which makes it even more amazing… - His songs are genuine, and far-less focused on “thug life’ as opposed to like “Doggystyle” by Snoop Dogg – and the lyrics are more about his rise and work ethic – which sends a much more inspirational message… - I found the musical tracks backing his raps, to be among the best quality when compared the 15 or so other rap albums that I’ve listened to so far… The vibe I get, is that either Jay-Z is way more detailed oriented than most of the rappers I’ve listened to, or most of the others either don’t really care all that much for the music, and or aren’t that detail-oriented (i.e. making sure that every aspect of the album is top-shelf) – or both… - Best tracks IMO were – “Takeover” – Loved the backdrop of The Doors track on this one, and exceptionally well done… “Izzo (HOVA) – Really enjoyed this, as well as the story behind how the HOVA name came to be – do yourself a favor and Google it… Great track… “Blueprint” – This one is really well done as well, and a great way to close the album… The rest of the tracks are incredibly solid – and there is great diversity throughout the album, although the weakest tracks were the 2 “Girls, Girls, Girls” tracks (i.e. certainly catchy, but not nearly as good as the other material on this album…) – and surprisingly, the Eminem track “Renegade”, was not nearly as good as I thought it would be… Fells like this should be a 5 – and I don’t give many of those (i.e. maybe 10% of the 150 or so albums I’ve listened to so far…), so that’s what I’ll give it…

No. 193/1001 The Ruler's Back 5/5 Takeover 3/5 Izzo 4/5 Girls, Girls, Girls 4/5 Jigga That N**** 3/5 U Don't Know 5/5 Hola' Hovito 4/5 Heart Of The City 5/5 Never Change 4/5 Song Cry 3/5 All I Need 4/5 Renegade 3/5 Blueprint 3/5 Lyrical Exercise 3/5 Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2) 4/5 Average: 3,8 Really good album, although my personal favorite from him is Reasonable Doubt.

Good mixes, good beats, good god let's eat! The most unfortunate part of this album is the release date. Is it a bit dated? Sure, but I can forgive it. Jay-Z proved (on more than just this album) he had the chops to be at the top. Only thing now is how strange it is to hear him rapping about the shadiness of the music industry and those within it, given all the recent headlines.

New York State of Mind

I actually prefer the “MTV Unplugged” renditions of these songs with the “Most Incredible Roots Band” backing up HOV. But this is the album that spawned those classics. Just peak Kanye as a producer and Jigga flexing … until Nas fired back with one of the greatest diss tracks ever.

So I thought I was going to love this. Girls Girls Girls has always been one of my favourite songs of his and I really liked the first few tracks And then it just seemed to run out of steam a bit. Never bad but a bit … samey

This was like 3 hours of songs I'm not allowed to sing along too. I've never been into jayz, but this was a quality listen.

All I can think of while listening to this is that Jay-Z is in the news for raping a 13 year old. My Jay-Z connection is that my kids went to the same middle school that he went to. 13 year olds are in middle school. F JZ.

Quite grating, featuring very little of what you might call songs and full to the brim of beats that go stale while a man goes on and on about nothing.

Jay Z is a good lyricist and the production value on this album is top notch, but hot take: Jay Z is an overrated rapper. I just find his rapping so monotone. I skipped several tracks because they just sounded repetitive to me. This album was ok.

People who spend 45 minutes rhyming about how much money they have and how much tail they pull make me roll my eyes. I find it nearly impossible to look past that to any artistic interest or cultural significance.

The album was pretty average, in my opinion. A few songs were good, but most weren't. I struggled to finish the album. I don't think I'd ever revisit it properly again, not even the songs I liked really.

Love the music, but Jay Z's voice is a snoozefest

i hate this

Don’t play this stuff on principle. Glorify’s all what’s wrong in the world. 1/5 15/12/24

Terrible. One of the few albums I couldn't stand to finish. Take generic simple beats, samples from better music, and drone talking about how much of a badass nigga you are and you have JAY Z.

was prepared to absolutely hate this. and I do hate this, though a little less than I thought I would. still, there's nothing interesting in this album whatsoever – same beats, same lyrics as all the other rappers in this genre. and while it's the only Jay-Z album I've heard so far, I think he's massively overrated. I even enjoyed the 50 Cent album more, and I hated that shit too

OMG! Rap sucks! Cheap sounding drum beats repeated endlessly with the same sound to the voice in every “song”. Listening to this junk is like banging your head on a brick wall for an hour. Garbage!

Blech! Rap is so not for Boomers. It sounds like crap to me.

Usually, I am quite open to listening to music in a different language, but I do not understand or appreciate or ever want to learn the language of Arrogant Tosspot. The language of misogyny, sexism and narcissism is something I never want to engage in. I appreciated the beats and samples, but the lyrics were horrendous. And the man’s attitude is distasteful, nigh on deplorable. I just wonder if he’s alienating the people he’s supposed to represent - if he really does remember his roots then stop bragging about the money and share it out properly.

what the fuck is he going on about? he's waffling on and on and all i can get out of it is that he's fucking mint and everyone else is a gimp. the only blueprint i'm getting off this is a blueprint for rap music for girls.

Impossible to get into because of the lyrics. Consistently distasteful, frequently sexist, occasionally homophobic and racist.

Typical foul-mouthed rubbish. This is a zero star piece of crap.

Honestly, I did not enjoy a single song on this album. I liked elements of some songs - some beats were nice, a few clever lyrics here and there. But overall, I just could not get into this at all. Maybe part of it is that I'm biased against Jay-Z himself. The sound of his voice grates on me. I gave it a go. I even listened to a few songs twice, trying to get into them more, trying to see if I just needed time to come around to them. But no. This just wasn't for me.

This is everything that I hate about rap in one album. A pompous asshole rapping about being rich and insulting people. Why can't you just be happy with what you've got, Jay? In a world with enlightened rappers like Blackalicious, Kendrick Lamar, Blue Scholars, Black Thought, Q-Tip, MF Doom, and so many others that actually have interesting things to say, I am truly baffled that anyone listens to idiots like Jay-Z, DJ Khaled and Kanye West.

The first discernable word on the album is "niggers" - it lost me at that point (about 20 seconds in). After that it's just spewing doggerel, not music, it seems to be political so why don't you just start a political party and run for office? 'Cos you definitely aren't a musician. I loathe rap. No stars.

The point where I tuned out of commercial hip-hop Don't like this production at all. Rapping is good. No thanks

20 years have passed, since this was released, and I must say, it still does little me. I spend my time trying to zone out his voice. And the drumbeat. Somehow I got to the end Not for me. Never again

I grew up on the suburban streets of Beavercreek I DONT RELATE

Much much better than I remembered, when I used to just think that the Black Album was much better and call it a day. Song cry, heart of the city, izzo and all I need were as good as remembered, takeover was a happy surprise as I'd forgotten how good it was, and renegade remains one of the best in his entire catelogue

Respect the game, that should be it; What you eat don't make me shit.

Nice! I've been waiting for a hip hop album :) For a long time I considered this to be a perfect 10/10 album. Since then I think its dropped to maybe just a 9/10 but its still phenomenal in my opinion. The production and samples are top notch and Jay's bars here are so damn good. "Heart of The City" and "Never Change" are some of my favorite Jay-Z tracks. The song with Eminem makes me cringe a bit but so does everything else Eminem is involved with. Overall though this is the best Jay-Z album as well as one of the best hip hop albums of this era. Officially beats "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" as the best album I've received so far. Favorite track: Heart of The City (Ain't No Love)

One of the most heralded Hip Hop albums of all time and for good reason. Even as someone who at the time wasn’t a huge Jay-Z fan, I couldn’t ignore this one. There are rare misses on this album, and it helped showcase Kanye to the world as a top tier producer. From the beats, to the rhymes, everything just combines into a certified classic. It also featured “Takeover” that would take the beef with Nas to the mainstream and help ignite a firestorm of debate between two of New York’s greatest rappers and which songs were better. Truly a must listen for any hip hop head.

10/10

1/1/25. Happy new year! This album is a classic for me, great rapping and great samples/beats with a rock like sound. Can always revisit.

First time listening to this! Classic album, I’m not sure on where I feel on how this ranks in his catalog but it’s damn sure at or near the top. Just top tier rapping, production, flow and song making. Hog is really one of the greatest to do this rap shit and he shows it constantly on this project. The beat on Blueprint!!!!! Eminem might’ve got him on Renegade though, I have to spin that back and see!

That shit was gas

Top 5 rap album for me. The beats are so consistently incredible on this, the album comes together so well, and Jay's rapping is confident, suave, and mechanical. Funniest lyric of all time is during the vulnerable breakup song where Jay says 'You don't throw away what we had like that / I was just fuckin them girls, I was gon get right back'. No notes. Best Track: Song Cry Worst Track: Renegade

I've really never listened to Jay-Z much beyond his hits, and I don't think I've given a rap album 5 stars on here except for good kid, m.A.A.d. city (which I was already very familiar with). That ends today, this album is great. This is a great combination of Jay-Z lyricism, fun samples, and interesting production from a few different producers. I also have to give credit where it's due, the whole album is strong but the Kanye-produced songs are really great. I get the hype. It actually starts a bit slow for me, but on song 2 they're sampling The Doors and it only gets better from there. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" is super catchy, "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" is top-tier, "Renegade" brings in Eminem out of nowhere, and there's a whole bunch of other really solid songs. This doesn't have Jay-Z's biggest hits, but it's consistently good-to-great the whole way through. Favorite song: Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love) Other: Takeover, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Girls Girls Girls, U Don't Know, Hola' Hovito, Never Change, Song Cry, Renegade, Girls Girls Girls (Part 2) 11/20/24

Classic

I never listened to Jay-Z before. I probably will again at some point.

What else is there to say. This is THE Blueprint. The highlight of this album is Kanye's production. Forever a classic.

I wasn’t 100% familiar with your game

Takeover is the better song and Ether is the better diss track. If Blueprint did anything, it woke Nas up out of his rap slumber and created Stillmatic. I am not a big Jay-Z fan but you cannot have a list of important albums without The Blueprint. It's essential to rap, whether you like Jay-Z or not. What's interesting about Jay-Z is he doesn't really have an album that is a classic or one album you should start off with. If he did, this would be it. This is the closest Jay-Z comes to putting together a perfect album. The track order on this album is what sets it apart, as many times a rapper will have a 16 song album and it falls off at some point. Jay-Z does a good job mixing the lesser songs with the great songs. Did I need Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)? I did not but I also didn't need a Blueprint 2, Blueprint 2.0 and Blueprint 3, yet we got all of those. A worthwhile listen, even if Jay-Z isn't the best rapper and does not really have a signature song that appears on here.

Excellent

The Blueprint is outstanding, isn't it? Massive sound, quality production, inimitable vocals and flow (even if he's not the very best of the best (anyone who gets a cameo from Eminem gets shown up tbf)), and really it's just the first and last track that aren't as good as everything in the middle. It's iconic, it's a 5, first one from me in a while.

Classic flow.

Fucking amazing, back to front hype with more sexy, essential naughties tracks. Lyricism, flow is peak peak hip hop. Samples go absolutely insane. All I need and girls, girls, girls at the top for me. So catchy, so hard.

Now I know why this guy is so many people’s goat 🐐

9/10 near perfection, its amazing no se como no lo había escuchado antes. El diss a Nas fue mi parte favorita.

100

Disclosure: I own a copy of this album, and love it.

Well shit. This album has so much recognizable beats and lyrics it's hard for me to not give it 5/5. It's a production masterpiece, but not overproduced. Jay-Z still shows his lyrical talent through the melodies. Somewhere near this album lays the future (2000s and 2010s) of American hiphop and all the other stuff that balances between pop and hiphop that comes out today.

Legendary

Prime time hov. Takeover alone is worth the whole album

Genius on display! Really didn’t expect to enjoy this so much, but the beats and flow were absolutely top tier and back up the titanic reputation Hov carries to this day.

V good stuff

Goat

Fantastic album and one of my favourite hip-hop records of all time. Some of the complaints on here seem to be that it's mostly bravado but let's face it, that's what a lot of rap songs are, and is there anyone better at it than Jay-Z? Pretty much all these tracks are good, fun beats and plenty of hooks. Renegade is probably my highlight particularly for Eminem's verse, but the album is consistently great

Phenomenal album, one of Jay’s best albums and a well deserved spot on this list.

Great album to listen traveling the city. Neat music, ok lyrics, great armosphere

goated album 5/5

One of the game's greatest success stories—and improvisational talents—lays out the schematics to moving on up, but not everyone's built to bust the ceiling.

Hall of Fame rap album.

Thoughts before listening: I love Jay-Z. At one point he was one of few rappers who I was actually buying albums from along with the Beastie Boys, Eminem, Wu Tang Clan, and a few others. I'm not sure if I owned the Blueprint, but I definitely know it cause it has a lot of great songs. Glad to listen to this today. Review: Some will say this is pop rap (it is), but its also really good. There are so many hits that were absolute staples of the early 00s, even for someone like me that wasn't actively paying attention to popular music at the time. Its hard to deny how good songs like "Takeover", "Izzo", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Heart of the City", "Song Cry", and really just the whole album. I'm giving this 5-stars.

Now I get Jay Z

so good

A joyful, cohesive offering from one of the best rappers to do it. Pretty damn good.

The beats on here are really phenomenal, and the larger than life song match up the Jay Z’s status as the biggest rapper in the world at this point in time. There are still a few weaker tracks and while I’d give it a 4.5 if possible I’ll round up. An amazing album cover too. Absolutely wild that it was released on 9/11/2001

One of the greatest rap albums of all time. No skips.