The Blueprint

Very long but highly enjoyable

so unexpectedly good

Album No. 0176 on my list. I don’t know much about hip hop, but I had listened JAY-Z’s “Blueprint” before in an effort to broaden my horizon in this regard and since this is considered to be a seminal hip hop record by a very, very famous artist. At the time, I did like the album. And I still do, actually. This is probably still the best hip hop record I’ve ever listened to. I have to say though, I find it hard to explain why that even is. There is nothing really distinct about it, even compared to the other hip hop albums I’ve encountered on the 1001 album list so far. But maybe this is exactly what makes me appreciate this album though in light of my limited knowledge about the whole genre. Maybe this something like a least common denominator for hip hop for me. I can say though that I find the lyrics on this pretty good and that I do like JAY-Z’s voice. I can’t name anything specific (something like good flow or high speed or anything), but he just gets it right, I think (for a lack of better words). I’ll add “The Ruler’s Back”, “Takeover”, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”, “Heart Of The City”, and “Never Change” to my playlist. The Eminem collaboration (“Renegade”) did not appeal to me that much, but mostly because I’m not much into Eminem tbh. In addition, the first half of this is certainly stronger than the latter one. But still, my favorite hip hop album, so I think the highest rating is warranted: 5/5 stars!

10/10

This album came out a year before I met Marisol. So for me it held that nostalgia of a special time. I really liked the album all in all and I especially liked the Eminem song! 5 stars

Long album, full of collaborations and iconic samples.

I actually enjoyed this album, and I don’t really listen to rap/hip-hop…or JAY-Z. But this album has some bangers. Very catchy and upbeat

A masterclass in hip-hop; flow, production, beats, rhymes, you name it. He was hated at this time and he came out swinging - his dis tracks are next level. One of the greatest hip-hop albums ever. Best Tracks: The Ruler's Back; The Takeover; Renegade (feat. Eminem)

Easily Jay-Z's best album. It's four stars until the song Renegade, which is a hip hop masterpiece

Ah, some beautiful hip hop work. Is this Jay's best work ever? Damn, it might be. It's smooth and soulful with incredible bars. Probably my favorite track is Heart of the City. Fitting that the best produced track came from a young and hungry Kanye West. But even with production from some of the best in the industry (including Timbaland and Bink), Jay still owns the spotlight here.

Just awesome! J never disappoints

A lot of the rap from this era is brimming with unlistenable misogyny. This is a refreshing change of pace. There's still a bit, but it's no longer the central characteristic. It manages to have the delightful bravado that rap can have. Also the instrumentation holds up remarkably well.

Favourite Jay-Z album, class tunes, song cry etc. So good, beats black album marginally into first place jigga

More rap, please

Hip hop royalty. First great album after his debut and was executed with catchy bars that were both more mainstream popular and hip-hop underground. Production value was immensely high. Eminem did outshine him on Renegade but it's hard not to be outshone by Em. Ignore the fact that 2 of his next few followups were collaborators projects with R Kelly, that he cheated on Beyonce and was good mates with P Diddly. Take the album on face value!

It's fire !

So classic

Classic hip hop album!

Jay-Z is really overrated, but this album along with Reasonable Doubt make me respect and appreciate him. Tough lyricism, superb Chipmunk Soul production by the likes of Kanye West and Just Blaze, and the overall context of this album make it one of the greatest albums of all time. Goes without saying, however, that Nas bodied him on Ether.

Not a bad song on this album. Best Song: Takeover Rating: 9.0/10 Stars: 5

Great album. Renegade is the highlight for me.

Rumor has it The Blueprint classic Couldn’t even be stopped by Bin Laden…

A classic So many good songs A bit long But the second greater hip hop album ever

First time I listened to it through and yeah, I see why its supposedly his best album.

In rap, this kind of proved Jay Z's ascendance to the top or near top of the NYC rap world. People will argue forever on whether Takeover is a better diss track than Nas' Ether, but I'd argue both won, kind of splitting the title of King of New York rap they were fighting over. Jay Z proved he was the bling king, rapping about money and swag. Nas proved he was the underground king, the "rapper's rapper." Nas battle aside, the beats really pushed rap into the direction that it would go for the next decade, for better or worse. Kanye makes his first big appearance as a producer here. Also a cameo from Eminem, who was still fresh in his career and excellent at this point. "Em murdered you on your own track..."--Ether. Jay's flow here is relaxed, and almost sounds too comfortable at times, as it did for most of his career post his first two albums. He doesn't rap with the fast wit and flows he used while still a hungry no-name rapper. Swag is the driving force that carries him through these tracks. The top-notch beats boost him along. As usual, and unfortunately, I'm always rating the very few rap albums Dimery includes on here against the ones he didn't include. Is this better than Reasonable Doubt, which likely wasn't included? No. Is it a solid album, among Jay's best, that should be on a list of 1001 albums to hear before you die? Yes. It's not a clean 5 like Reasonable doubt as there are definitely some filler tracks, but rounds up to a 5.

First time I’ve ever listened to this album…and it is incredible! Also second time I listened to this album. Sounds SO GOOD! The third time I listened I locked in the rating.

A hip hop highlight of the early 2000s and arguably Jay’s best. Also probably the introduction to the production of Kanye West for a lot of people, and his contributions are outstanding.

Certified Classic

Ебать, это классика. Руки не доходили - и вот дошли. Не зря.

Jay Z is extraordinarily talented in this album, I think production and lyrically this is up there with one of the best of all time

Flawless!

One of theost sophisticated rap albums I've heard. Killer beats and some really masterful mixing make for a great first listen, and the lyrics are rewarding to dive into on subsequent listens. Pretty varied style between songs keep the album consistently fresh. No real low points or dragging moments, just a very well made record all around

If I could give this album six stars I would. The artistry simply stands above.

very good never listens to jay z before but now i think i will

one of the goats

delirei

Y'know, my initial idea for this review/babble was that while I was gonna acknowledge JAY-Z's skills as a rapper, the main thing I would wanna focus on is the beats. But off the top, though, I think it is really worth narrowing in on the fact that JAY-Z is actually a damn good rapper. Like, would I say he's a "GOAT," so-called? No, no, not really; there's others I'd say I like more. But his writing — and I don't mean in terms of quotables and one-liners, but in just painting a picture with his words, I think his writing is very strong. It could always be stronger, of course (Nas famously kicked JAY's ass with "Ether", his response to "Takeover" from this album), though if there's anything that particularly elevates the words here, it's JAY's voice. I mean, you could have anyone rap these lyrics and they'd probably be fine, but I want you to seriously, honestly listen to Hov's voice: the tone, the inflections... Right? He's got a voice that was just made for rapping. I love listening to it flow. It's honestly his greatest strength, I feel like — not that he can't write incredible lyrics (look at "The Story Of O.J." and "4:44"), but honestly, he could be saying whatever and I'd be down for it with his voice. Of course, though, a rapper is nothing without his beats, and good goodness gawdamn me, this thing has some fuckin' **beats**. I've said before, rap albums are some of the hardest for me to talk about because I'm such a "melody first" kinda AuDHD woman, so oftentimes all I'd have to latch onto is the beats, and a lot of times they're just not intresting enough to hold my distracted ass's attention... But here, though? Here? Oh, these are some all-time beats. As much as I wanna acknowledge JAY's skills as a rapper, and he's absolutely a non-zero factor, but let's be real: the beats are probably maybe **the** reason why this album is in this book. It's just stellar work, front to back, from the likes of Just Blaze and (yes) Kanye West. In fact, Kanye's work was so good here, it's what launched his career, practically. And, look, with the connective strings leading to the fuck awful shit he's doing these, we could debate on whether or not that's a good thing, but, y'know, credit where credit is due (and I loathed to give him credit), when he was on top of his game, he was absolutely stunning. Just Blaze still clears, though. While I'll maintain my favorite kind of production is the sampledelic stuff present on PAUL'S BOUTIQUE and FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET, when a good soul sample is flipped right, there can be almost nothing like it. I think my favorite might actually be on "U Don't Know" just for the way the vocal snippet is incorporated into the lyrics; that's real neat. Though, natch, we can't forget about what "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" did with "I Want You Back" — that's just great. And even the tracks that aren't built on soul samples still hit damn well. Timbaland's work on "Hola' Hovito", with that chorus? Oh, I love that. And Eminem and Luis Resto's beat on "Renegade" cannot go without mention. And seriously, about "Renegade": I'll stress for a third time that JAY's a good rapper, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of agree with Nas that Em showed Hov' up a bit here. Like, Eminem's the only guest rapper on this album, and, damn, what a verse, I tell yeah. I read in a fellow group member's review that this is the only JAY-Z album on this list, and while I wouldn't have assumed that given the love I've heard for THE BLACK ALBUM... Yeah, I feel like if you were only gonna listen to one JAY-Z album, this would be. It's Hov' at the top of his game, no doubt. I mean, at an hour, is it a little long? Maybe, but it's as notable here as it is on some other albums. But for real, I'll tell you, any album that's strong enough to where I can even find the time before the conclusion to mention that this thing came out on **September 11th, 2001**... Look, it's gonna be doing **something** right if that only ends up being unfortunate trivia. And with these beats, and with JAY-Z's voice and writing skills... He's doing something damn right.

A masterpiece of hip hop, through and through. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. It’s our first Jay-Z album on the list, but also our last. Outside of maybe The Black Album or Reasonable Doubt, you probably couldn’t pick a better one than this. I haven’t heard this album in full in a while, and unlike a lot of the other albums that I have some level of familiarity with on the list, I basically forgot everything here, save for the hooks & choruses on the really famous stuff. Thankfully, I was very quickly reminded why I had every track from this album in my big playlist to begin with; this album just fucking rules, man. Unfortunate release dates aside, this thing is the perfect blend of the Biggie/2pac era of production & the chipmunk soul that would come to define Roc-a-Fella records throughout the mid 2000s, including some guy called “Kanye West” who happens to have produced a few tracks here. Modern insanity aside from the man (total fucking dickhead), I’ve always said I like the version of the guy from 2004, and an even younger, hungrier one is present here, and he does have some of the best beats on the entire album. “Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)” is the shining example to me; I fucking love that sample flip. That said, Just Blaze is the star of the show beat-wise here, and Jay fucking flows on all of these tracks regardless of who made them. It’s extremely easy to just sit back & zone out whenever Jay-Z is rapping, because the tone of his voice & all of the minor inflections that he does to give extra emphasis on each line just add a lot to each track. I know, it’s just the way his voice is, but that means the man was literally born to rap. If you get that type of voice, you gotta do it. Zoning out on these tracks though means you’re missing out on a world of wordplay, interpolations, flips & pop culture references – Jay-Z’s style here is, unironically, The Blueprint for the more soulful direction rap would take in the mid-2000s, while still retaining & blending in the swagger & braggadocious lifestyles of the 90s. There’s not THAT many specific bars or witty one-liners, ala modern day Instagram captions or a banger Kendrick lyric, but Jay’s style lends itself to smarter lines, layering them onto each other, in an effort to paint a picture. It’s a style I like, and it’s a style that Jay himself would refine later down the line, to keep up with the contemporaries who bit & expanded upon his style. I’ve genuinely got no complaints – great production, great flows, great lyrics, and if nothing else, this album delivered us both Eminem’s first verse on “Renegade” & kickstarted the beef with Nas that would eventually lead to “Ether”. Jury’s out on if giving us Kanye West was a good thing in the super long run, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t pay off for about 10 years. Sure, it’s a little long at an hour, but when it’s that entertaining, is the runtime really that big of a deal? I really enjoyed it, and I’m very glad it’s here to give me an excuse to give it a re-listen. A pretty easy 5.

This is often considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and rightfully so. No dumb skits, it's just all killer and no filler. It also defined hip-hop in the 00s, putting a couple of up-and-coming producers named Just Blaze and Kanye West on the map. It sounds great and it feels not just like a classic hip-hop album, but a classic album. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Song Cry" are all great, but the Doors sampling, Bowie interpolating "Takeover" is one of the best tracks Jay-Z ever released. 5 stars.

My favorite is "Girls, Girls, Girls". Funny enough, I've never been a huge fan of Jay's music as weird as that sounds and I looooove older hip hop. This one was honestly pretty great as it contained lots of songs that I hadn't heard in quite some time. 8/10

Klassiker Album fav track Girls Girls Girls

Alles Banger Top: Girls girls girls (beide parts)

Klassiker, vanvittig rap, produktion, indflydelse

Easy 5 stars. Fire album. It’s just an immaculate flow from top to bottom. Grade A hooks, amazing beats, just a masterpiece.

God the production is so good on this. K***e W**t was always a better producer than a rapper but this is nuts + Just Blaze + Timbaland + Eminem?? This album would go nuclear if it was released today. No question, one of the great rap albums of all time.

Great production, great flow. Absolutely no holding back in the lyrics. Just an overall triumph.

Insane

Solid album. Good beats and solid vocal work. I feel like it lacked overall cohesion, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 'Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)' was my fave track.

yet another essential rap album

Extravagant production and Jay is at his best here. The truly great songs are spread across the runtime which makes for a nice album experience. Definitely a 2000s hip-hop classic.

The Blueprint isn’t just one of Jay-Z’s best albums—it’s one of the most important hip-hop records ever made. Released at a time when mainstream rap was shifting toward shinier, more polished production, it redefined sonic trends, solidified Jay’s dominance, and made household names out of Kanye West and Just Blaze. It’s the sound of an artist at the peak of his powers, reshaping the game while making it look effortless. Let’s settle this up front: Takeover is a much better track than Ether. Built on The Doors' Five to One, its menacing bounce and surgical precision hit harder than Nas’s more scattershot response. Beyond being a diss track, it sets the tone for the album—swaggering, calculated, and relentless. Jay claims his crown with absolute confidence just two tracks in. But The Blueprint isn’t about competition. It’s about effortless dominance. Jigga That N***a, Hola’ Hovito, Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love), and Izzo (H.O.V.A.) would be career-defining hits for most artists, yet Jay tosses them off as if it’s nothing. His lyrics balance braggadocio, street wisdom, and introspection, painting him as both an untouchable mogul and mn reflective hustler. “I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell / I am a hustler, baby, I’ll sell water to a well” is quite the flex. And then there’s Song Cry, where Jay opens up emotionally, singing, “I can’t see ‘em coming down my eyes / So I gotta make the song cry”—a rare moment of vulnerability in the midst of his dominance. Production-wise, this album set a new template for early 2000s hip-hop. Kanye and Just Blaze’s lush soul samples brought warmth and grandiosity to the beats, wrapping Jay’s effortless delivery in a soundscape that felt both nostalgic and forward-thinking. Tracks like Heart of the City and Never Change carry an almost gospel-like quality, giving The Blueprint a richness that few rap albums of the time could match. While some questioned whether soul loops would make the production feel too backwards-looking, The Blueprint proved that revisiting the past could still push the genre forward. The album dropped on 9/11, an eerie coincidence that gave its celebration of success an unintended undercurrent of uncertainty. The timing created an unexpected contrast between Jay’s triumph and the broader societal unease of the moment, adding a layer of depth to the album’s reception. And while Nas and others did fire back, The Blueprint stood tall as a declaration of artistic supremacy. Just look at the sales numbers—The Blueprint went platinum within two weeks of release. Over 20 years later, this album is everywhere. Kendrick’s bravado, J. Cole’s introspection, and the entire soul-sample renaissance owe a debt to it. Even artists like Danny Brown, who take an off-kilter approach to storytelling, carry some of the Blueprint’s DNA. If you want to understand 21st-century hip-hop, The Blueprint isn’t just recommended—it’s required.

I can’t believe Kanye produced this damn

Hadn’t gotten around to listening to this one until today. Takeover is so good you understand why they let Kanye make college dropout.

Loved it!

I don't often listen to entire rap albums. I sat through the 3 hour collectors edition of this that was procured by YouTube music. Lots of standouts, the B-sides are great. Good listen.

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.

Wat een klassieker is dit zeg. Het enige punt van kritiek dat ik kan hebben op dit album is dat het iets te lang is, sommige nummers komen niet zo lekker uit daardoor. Dat is ook een beetje zonde vooral omdat de rest zo ijzersterk is. De disstrack naar Nas op Takeover, de klassieke productie van Kanye op nummers als IZZO en Heart of the City, DIE Em verse op Renegade... Dit album heeft zo veel klassieke momenten, als iemand zich afvraagt waarom Jay-Z nog altijd tot de GOATs in hiphop hoort, luister dan eenmalig dit album en je hebt je antwoord. Tijdloos. Ik kan dit album toch echt maar 1 rating geven, helemaal als je de extra tracks (Lyrical Exercise en Girls, Girls, Girls pt2) skipt. Dan heb je gewoon een meesterwerk, een blauwdruk zoals een hiphop album zou moeten zijn. FAVO: The Rulers back, Takeover, IZZO, U dont know, Heart of the city, Never Change, Song Cry, Renegade, Blueprint

Perfect hip hop album sonically and lyrically. Imaginatively boastful with great music beds

Amazing

The generator has drip-fed the odd Jay-Z feature, like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), & Beyonce (2013), but today is the first time I tried listening to a full-length release of his. I wrote this a year ago about Raekwon's solo album: ' "Mafioso rap", as Wikipedia described it, has generally been the hardest rap subgenre to get into for me. ' Yet, I don't find it hard to get into this at all- in fact, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. A part of it, however, might be acclimation to hip-hop at large. Even though I may not relate to the life-of-crime narrative, or the brazen machismo (eg. the ballerina crack in “Takeover”), The Blueprint’s steamroller verses and immaculate production create an almost euphoric atmosphere. Neither Illmatic nor 36 Chambers got much appreciation from me on 1st listen, but as that appreciation deepened over time, it opened a gateway into enjoying other rappers that I’d previously ignored. Like Jay-Z! Definitely thought the Timbaland feature was "Jigga That N*gga", but turns out it's the new-jack-swinging "Hola' Hovito". I also have a new appreciation for Yeezy's early production work, along with Common's Be and The College Dropout HL: "Takeover", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Hola' Hovito", "Never Change", “Renegade”, "Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)"

pre listening notes: i haven’t listened to much jay-a but i’ve heard him as a feature and i love his flow and have a lot of respect for him, ik he’s been in the game for a long time. plus beyoncé chose him so. apparently this album came out on 9/11. the ruler’s back - love that he just did an intro song being like “i’m back!! i’m going to say whatever i want!” this is how i found out that The Take Over, The Break’s Over by FOB was a Jay-Z reference?? the beat is nice! LAAAAME. idk who he’s going after in this song but get their ass! Izzo (H.O.V.A) - so far his flow sounds similar to what we’ve heard already but the beat is once again super well produced. i like this the most so far, i like the piano. by the end of the song i was singing along to the chorus Girls, Girls, Girls - i also love girls. dropping this after getting w beyoncé is interesting. Jigga That Nigga - also so catchy! i like this one a lot U Don’t Know - i love the sample and the banter he has with it. sure i do! that’s where you’re wrong! idk i do like a song where people just talk about making bank and proving others wrong. a classic. i sell fire in Hell. i sell water to a whale. oh yeah this one is good Hola’ Hovito - literally just keeps getting better! this one is great. he talks such big game (saying if he isn’t better than B.I.G., he’s the closest) but i buy it! plus the beat is AWESOME yet again. Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love) - ooo he said faggot in this one! hey, don’t get offended, he put a whole disclaimer song at the beginning😅 i do know he has said and done problematic shit but like. man. he is one of those people where i just want to forgive. cough cough cheating on bey. anyhow, this song is another banger Never Change - okay i have to look up whoever produced this album because this beat goes so crazy. this song is so good. yay. okay i looked it up and not to say i could tell… but young kanye west worked on this. and timbaland. which i can’t say i could tell timbaland was on here but i’m not surprised bc he was on everything for a bit. but i could hear the kanye tbh. apparently he produced this song! Song Cry - i liked this song so much i could go right back and listen to it again. this might the the first album i immediately go back for a relisten of. this track is so emotional and you can hear it in jay-z’s voice All I Need - i love the 2pac reference and also bonnie and clyde is such a good fucking song. and the beat here is insane again, i love the bass guitar. Renegade - the violin!!! mwah. hey uh. is anyone else on this track? no bc eminem is literally the only feature on this fucking album. that is crazy. this song is goofy as Hell but eminem is on it so. Blueprint (Momma Loves Me) - really good. i’m not disappointed in this title track, it is more chill than a lot of the rest of the album but it feel celebratory, talking about the people in his life who helped him get to this point. and he didn’t even know how much better it would get. Lyrical Exercise - and we’re right back into it! i don’t even want to take notes i just want to listen. okay one thing i would’ve put eminem on this one tbh. Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2) - good. he was just having fun with this one. thoroughly enjoyed tho. 5/5. isn’t it obvious?

9.5/10 Wonderful. Banger after banger, almost half of this could be on a greatest hits Jay-Z in his pomp, all the producers in their pomp Kanye stuff just amazing Flow and lyrics brilliant, so much wordplay, double meaning, and dense references Basically no features, one perfect one. No skits. So much confidence there Best: Never Change

Jay Z has such bravado and machismo and its on full display here. It's also clear that he more than believes every word and he delivers on it in song after song.

Nas the Goat

Most notable thing to drop on 9/11

Liked this a lot! Quality rapping, great production and sample work, really dug the soul-heavy vibe. Kanye’s production credits were great. Never been a big Jay-Z guy but I get the appeal here. A very consistent album with few-to-no low points and lots of highs. I’ve been giving out a lot of 5s lately but… what can I say?

Jay Z - The Blueprint Turn the motherfuckin' music up! Mr. Beyonce (Shawn Carter, Jay Z) gave us an amazing album here. The only thing that dings him here is that this album brought us Kanye West. If you can get past that, it's a masterpiece in the hip hop genre. 5/5

One of the few hip-hop albums that could have done with more guest spots, in my opinion, although the variety of producers means that at least the beats and backings are changing. I loved the diss track - how cocky do you have to be to take shots at Nas by saying basically "yeah, Illmatic was good, what else you got?"!!

Ich finde das Album großartig. Ich kann es gar nicht fassen, wie toll das produziert ist. Voller Zitate, Überraschungen in den Arrangements, es ist nie langweilig. Und das unfassbarste ist: es ist ein Rap-Album. Da stehe ich nur bedingt bis gar nicht drauf. Ich setze jetzt eins drauf: ich habe das Album in einem Zug gehört, weil ich fasziniert war. Unglaublich. Inzwischen habe ich es dreimal gehört.

Jay Z’s best album imo

Absolute classic. Some of Jay Z’s best work on here

Good stuff

Great!

Own

It’s the blueprint- one of the greatest

Favorite Jay Z Record by far. Gets me pumped every time I listen, great to hear early Kanye Production as well.

Imagine making a rap album so good that even though it drops on 9/11, it sells over 400,000 copies in its debut week.

9/10

Worst songs: renegade for sure Best: everything else tbh

Nice.

You’d have to be living under a rock to not know Jay-Z. Apparently though, I might live under a rock. The only songs that I can think of that he was involved in are that one by Kanye about Paris (as a white woman, I don’t really want to type out the title…), and the intro to Umbrella by Rihanna. I don’t think I could name a song actually by Jay-Z. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: IZZO, Song Cry, Renegade This album felt pretty much flawless. There is a nice variation of serious and tongue-in-cheek humour, as well as a surprising vulnerability in Song Cry. I like the way Jay raps - seemingly lots of modern rap songs actually have the lyrics in their videos as they either mumble or rap too fast to understand. Jay isn’t particularly fast, but is very easily understandable which feels significantly more important if you want people to feel your lyrics. Overall, this album is up there with my all time hip hop favourites after this listen.

Heel fijn aan de oorballen

Great album. His delivery and voice appeal in a way most others don't. Only compaint is maybe it gets a little "samey" after a while.

Suprisingly dope! lots of good melodies here

classic

hell yeah man

Classic

One of the best hip hop albums.

Wow.

It's Jay Z. All you need to know.

A classic Jay-Z album

One of the best rap albums. Takeover the best diss track ever imo.

Certified classic. This album changed hip hop. Some of the sounds are dated but this was an undeniable juggernaut of a record when it came out. Personally I like other Jay Z records more but this one is still Goated

Production on point, so crisp. Jay-Z on form too, and this was at the time of the Nas beef. Top stuff. Can't believe the people here down voting for him telling his rags to riches story. Mad. And everyone else taking shots at Jigga, you only get half a bar...

An incredibly impactful album in the world of hip hop, The Blueprint takes the incredible lyricism of Jay-Z and puts it together with incredible production. This record never drags, it doesn’t leave you bored or wanting to turn it off at any point. Amazing album 5/5

Full album is straight heat; there's a reason so many people have him in their top 5. First 5/5 from me

They don't call him The Greatest Rapper alive for nothing.

Pretty good

A classic album.

100% classic. This album is the exact kind that should be on here. It's both amazing to listen to, and hugely influential. It's a shame how far downhill Jay has gone but this album is proof of how great he could be.

BANGER

So many good tracks on this album created by Kanye. Sidestory on it is hilarious too. Eminem murdered you on your own track. Firmly cemented Jay-Z as a top dog.

Finally! A true5 for moi. Jay-z shows his range and vision. One of the greats with an undeniably great album.

#1 10/6/23

This ISN'T his best album (wait until we ultimately get to RD) but there's a reason why its literally called what its called. The prime definition of what it means to become cemented in your legacy. This was the album that reminded the world (in its darkest period) that there was reason for the sun to shine. The genre of rap, got its own revitalization from the simple act of Jay-Z flexing his own chops. Add soul samples and strong instrumentation and its a match made in heaven. Truly a jack of all trades. 5 out of 5. Necessary hip hop listening.

The enerG! Each track makes you want to bounce ur head. Hip hop at its finest and an end of an era. The blueprint is a masterpiece. Too many bangers to mention so just try to stay still listening to this album. I dare ya. 5

This felt so improv'd, off the cuff, live. So unique for a rap album. Classic.

Bought this album when it came out. I like it quite a bit, I would say I like it better these days than when it came out.

Banger

A classic. Grew up listening to this with my family

"The Blueprint" by JAY-Z is an iconic masterpiece that continues to define hip-hop excellence. Released in 2001, it showcases Jay-Z's lyrical prowess, unmatched flow, and impeccable production by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Timbaland. Tracks like "Takeover" and "Renegade" display Jay-Z's storytelling prowess and introspection, while "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" reveal his personal growth and vulnerability. The album's impeccable sampling and innovative beats set a new standard for the genre. Two decades later, "The Blueprint" remains a timeless classic, cementing Jay-Z's legacy as one of hip-hop's greatest artists.

Genuinely shocked by how much I liked this album. Easily my favourite rap music I’ve ever listened to (excluding songs I like because I’ve heard them a million times). Tentatively favourite song Girls, Girls, Girls but I liked most of them so it’s hard to choose. Five stars instead of four because I like specifically this album, rather than liking it because of the genre. Also was not expecting to hear Japanese on this album!

Breeze and blast of 2001 Dexterous sampling and sumptuous strings

Listened to this straight through after work, thoroughly enjoyed it, made me want to learn more about the process for crafting the album. I know JayZ had different producers he worked with - how did they choose the musical sub themes? They really augment the lyrics and the meter, they include nods to a lot of R and B classics. Is it obvious my background is in classical music and I don't listen to enough rap to know how to write about it haha...

4.5

bangers

Nas is the goat Ye carried

Really enjoyed it. I like the samples in girls.

I got this album when it came out and I thought the parental advisory was so so cool. I really like All I Need and Girls Girls Girls Part 2. So many people have copied him since so it seems less novel.

This classic is the one album by Jay Z you need to listen to. It has clever wordplay and dope production. It is another album that showed us Kanye West's production skills.

it is indeed a Blueprint !

All time Jay Z album, all the stuff shows up on the unplugged special

Great. 5/5

Illmatic's better, but it's still a 5/5.

A monster album that would live up to it's name and would define hip-hop's sound for the next decade. Bombastic, braggadocious, and bad enough to back it up. The instrumentals on this thing are legendary. The lyrics tight and sharp. A classic from day one. In the context of this list a hip-hop album has to essentially be perfect or earth shaking to be counted. While not perfect, this album rises head and shoulders above table scraps from The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Unlike many on this list, this one is required listening.

Jay-Z’s Blueprint ticks all my boxes. Nostalgia factor is high but so it the relistenability. I actually sighed in appreciation of his world weary lyrics like “I don’t want much, fuck I drove every car. Some nice cooked food. Some nice clean drawers.” It’s beyond charming. I love the flow and most (not all) songs aged beautifully because the production is just so on point, thanks to Kanye. It’s two artists at one of their peaks and I had a great time listening on my cycle to work.

One of the best hip-hop albums of all time.

Hov's 2nd best album after reasonable doubt. So many classic songs on here. Rhyming, production, flows, cultural significance. Heart of the City, Song Cry, Never Change top 3 songs. Feel like people's reviews on here are so quick to diminish anything that isn't some 1970s british band. Recent albums I've gotten like this or Buena Vista Social Club (Cuban multigenre) have had unnecessary low ratings. I can't always relate to what the Stones are singing about in the 1960s but I appreciate the music and it takes me to a moment in time. Just because you didnt grow up where Jay did doesn't mean you cant relate to Hip Hop music. Open your mind

2nd best rap album of 2001, just behind Labor Days by Aesop Rock, with some of the best production in the mainstream at that time and Jay in peak form

Art!

Great album, on a level with Reasonable Doubt if you ask me

Top 3 Jigga album, probably numer 1 for me, incredible soul production from Just Blaze, Kanye West and Bink!, great raps that show Jay had layers to him, and of course Eminem stole the show on the only feature on the album, variety, content and shure, Takeover and Girls, Girls, Girls has aged poorly but they are still good songs

Yes, the themes are repetitive. Yes, more than a few of the bars didn't age particularly well. But god damn is this a classic nonetheless. Super fun album, incredible production, top notch flow. Really, really glad I got to finally listen to this front to back. Favorite track: Heart of the City

Classic

Classic album, Jay-Z cemented his legacy on this one and made some great songs! 9 out of 10

Not a fan of Jay z but this is good

5.0 - Come oooooooonnnn!!! This is the most fun I may’ve ever had listening to an hour of music ever!

This is a classic. Bought it the first week it was out!

Hov's most acclaimed album, and for good reason (though Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album & American Gangster give it some tough competition) favs: "Renegade", "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)", "Blueprint (Mama Loves Me)", "Song Cry", "Takeover", "All I Need" least fav: "Jigga"

One of my favorite MCs. Reasonable Doubt and this one are easily his best. Just the way he laughs in the beat to the first track shows his skill.

All time

easy 5 stars - a classic

Man some of these lyrics age like milk, but what a masterpiece.

Many songs on there that I recognise

Discazo.

My favorite Jay-Z album

I like to rate rappers in three main categories: lyrics, technical skills and performance. Jay-Z is a very good lyricist and his technical skills are excellent but the category he most shines in is performance. There's never any question who you're listening to when he's on a song. He has one of the most recognizable voices in music and he infuses his verses with personality and humor. I'd have a hard time naming a more charismatic rapper. This album has gotta be his best. He's at the height of his popularity here and he doesn't take it for granted, though he does sound relaxed. He's enjoying himself in a way that I find infectious. On a great Jay-Z album like this one, I end up smiling and laughing a lot. The beats are fantastic too. Great use of sampling with big, catchy hooks that make this accessible as a pop album. Sometimes the beats are so good that it can be hard to focus on Jay-Z's rapping. You can get lost in the greatness of the music. Which brings me to the elephant in the room. Kanye produced a third of this album and those tracks are all phenomenal. I haven't listened to any Kanye music since his bizarre appearance on the Alex Jones show a few weeks ago and I've been avoiding it. I figured this would be a good way to test the waters since he's mostly in the background. But man, "Never Change" made me feel sad. The best is so quintessentially Kanye -- chopped up soul samples with hard-hitting drums. It reminds me why I fell in love with his music. Listening to it again was like hearing a voicemail from a friend I've lost touch with. There's an unresolved tension for me with Kanye though. It's upsetting to hear music that I love and to think about what's happened to the man that made it. But I also don't fully understand what's happened to him. Have we finally lost him completely? And what have we lost him to? Right-wing extremism? Mental illness? Was he always despicable, deep down? The story doesn't feel like it's over yet, for better or worse, which leaves me in a weird place when revisiting his music. I can't quite compartmentalize my feelings yet. It feels too soon to be able to separate how awful I feel when I think about him from the joy his music has given me over the years. But revisiting this album at least reassured me that I wasn't wrong about how great he was. "Takeover" goes so hard, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" is one of the greatest pop-rap songs of all-time and "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" is still one of the songs I'd play for someone who thinks they don't like rap to convince them they're wrong. Those songs, combined with the other hits on the album make this a classic in my book. Side note: Jay-Z's use of the other f-bomb at 0:24 on "Heart of the City" feels late for that word. It's an unfortunate fact that a lot of old-school rap tosses the word around but I was surprised to hear it here on an album from 2001.

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: The ruler’s back, Takeover, Izzo, U don’t know, Heart of the city, Never change, Song cry, All I need, renegade, Blueprint

Amazing album.

I mean, being a hip hop fan this is an easy 5 stars. certified classic

Great Jay-Z album - not sure if this is because of the excellent choice of sampled songs (samples are based on great songs) but of course the way these songs are sampled by Jay-Z / Kanye West is very smooth as well.

Jay-Z’s Comeback masterpiece. This is one of those albums just click. Up there with the best hip hop albums

I listened to this A LOT in college. Before Kanye turned into a crazy person, he was an all-time great producer and I'm pretty sure this is the first album I heard him on.

"The Blueprint" is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. Of note, it was released on 9/11/2001 to combat bootlegging. It had quite a list of producers including Kanye West, Just Blaze, Blink, Timbaland, The Trackmasters and Eminem. The album was noted for being soul-centric and sample reliant which was a shift in rap at the time from more keyboard driven. Yeah, the sampling which is more soul-based and the lyrics are both excellent. High, high production levels here. The albums has received and continues to receive a lot of very high critical praise and the Library of Congress also selected it to the US National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historically or aesthetically" importance....the first album of the 2000's. Jay-Z comes out thanking everyone for their purchase on "The Ruler's Back." A soul intro. Free and easy sounding. The horns gives this almost a theme from "Rocky" vibe. "Takeover" just has some creative sampling. "Five to One" by the Doors with Jim Morrison screaming "Come on" and a distorted sample of David Bowie's "Fame" making it purposely sound like "Lame" as Jay-Z discusses rappers Prodigy (Mobb Deep) and Nas...lol. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" was the first single and samples The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." Nice easy groove. Jay-Z raps about helping other blacks with his record label and how drugs ruin lives. The mood lightens up with the second single "Girls, Girls, Girls" with some hilarious backing vocals by Q-Tip, Slick Rick and Biz Markie. Also, a great sample chorus of "High Power Rap" by Crash Crew and a sample of "There's Nothing in This World That Can Stop Me from Loving You" by Tom Brock. The song is about Jay-Z's (Ahem) promiscuous lifestyle. "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" has a great beat and soulful feel. You got to watch your back. A Bobby Bland sample. "Song Cry" was the fourth single and is just a great slow, melodic ballad. My favorite song on the album. About infidelity and neglect. Jay-Z at his most vulnerable. A sample of Bobby Glenn's "Sounds Like a Love Song." The only guest appearance on the album is Eminem on "Renegrade" and he just kills it. A song he orginally wrote with Royce da 5'9". Jay-Z has the first few verses as tells about his fatherless upbringing. Eminem then takes over and goes after the hypocrisy of the public outcry against him. This album is consistent and an enjoyable listen throughout. Not a dull moment. Its critical appeal has only grown extremely high over time. An obvious high recommendation.

Like this way more than I recall. At the time, I was more into MF Doom, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and Eminem. Kind of avoided Jay-Z, but this reminded me that I need to listen to more of his catalog.

What an album this is. Magnum Opus. Favourite song - Takeover and Song Cry One for a run - Izzo One for Karaoke - Girls, Girls, Girls

Jay-Z’s finest album and a hip hop classic. The record is packed full of catchy hooks, nostalgic soul samples and wicked beats, all created to let Jay’s rhymes shine, almost float over the top (Kanye’s influence all over this album, take a bow). Thematically, there’s a lot of score settling and bragging which could tire but there’s enough humour and wit throughout to keep it engaging. Jay also shows respect to the old school, with allusions to classic lines from hip hop’s past throughout and guest spots from Bizmarkie (RIP), Slick Rick (a huge influence) and Q-Tip on Girls, Girls, Girls. The album doesn’t fall into hip hop’s usual trap of being absurdly long and as for collaborations there’s only one in Eminem who, let’s be honest, on this track, murders Jay on his own $#!+, just like Nas said. But it’s a welcome change from albums stuffed with guest stars spitting weak verses and the absence of protégés Memphis Bleek and Beanie Segal is a relief (has any successful rapper discovered any decent rappers cause I ain’t heard any. The Outlawz? Junior Mafia? D12? Please…). Jay fouled up the formula on the tedious double album follow up imaginatively titled Blueprint 2 (with an impressive Roots collaboration on Blueprint Unplugged and an ill advised Best of Both Worlds collaboration with, er, R Kelly in between). Blueprint really captures Jay’s verbal dexterity and his whip smart lines brilliantly who perhaps for the first (and only?) time lives up to his billing as best rapper alive.

Amazing album. Standouts "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "U Don't Know", and "Heart of the City".

classic jay-z rhymes with funky, hype and svelte backing. gotta love the digs at Nas, though maybe the digs at women haven't aged as well

fav tracks: Song Cry, U Don't Know, Girls Girls Girls

Classic. Nothing else to tell

8/8 blues printed

Amazing!

Great album. Great production and Hov is at his best with his lyricism.

Best Tracks: Takeover, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Girls Girls Girls, U Don't Know, Hola' Hovito, Heart Of The City, Song Cry, All I Need, Renegade One of the best non-experimental rap albums. Production is insanely good. Jay-Z is good not great, but I don't think anyone could make something bad with these beats. Not a bad song on here.

The Rulers Back cheia de ideias, riff, vocais. Jigga That Nigga fantástica! Hola Hovito tem um synth muito bom. All I Need tem uma percussão interessante.

Hard to believe this is 2 decades old. Every song on this album is a masterwork and a breakthrough for rap that changed the game and level set the bar up into the sky. Triumphs. Ain't no love in the heart of the city is one of my favorites. All the references and shoutouts. Marvin Gaye, Jim Morrison, and many hauntingly beautiful samples I didn't know before I looked them up like Bobby Glenn's 'Sounds Like a Love Song'. The Blueprint is an album in my general rotation even today that I listen to when I'm feeling frustrated by everything and I want to rise above the chaos. Renegade is awesome. Eminem fits right in. Girls, girls, girls is the weak link in the album that I don't think will stand the test of time. Beasties did it on License to Ill and it doesn't hold up.

so cool

Loved it.

New York, 2001. So many so-called kings of the borough but only one looked as if he needed something to prove. And, for that, he laid out the blueprint and wound up making history. Not even the world shifting, beyond tragic events of the album's release date could halt JAY Z's inevitable trajectory as the true successor of Biggie's throne. Some may call this his greatest album (though others before or since have the right to assume that position) and it cannot be denied that The Blueprint set in motion a chain of events that would end up defining its makers and its genre for better or for worse.

fadão

It's been a long time since I came back to this album. Historically, I've always preferred Reasonable Doubt to this album. However, listening to this after getting a better understanding of the history of hip-hop, it's really hard to deny how incredible The Blueprint is. It has plenty of hits, but it also features a lot of the production styles that would be featured during the next decade of rap music. The name The Blueprint ended up being prophetic in that sense. I don't hand out 5 stars to many albums, and I wasn't anticipating doing it for this album, but I can't think of a single argument for why this album doesn't deserve it 5/5

I wish this was a bad album so I could make a joke about it being the worst thing to happen on September 11 of 2001 but unfortunately it's really good. The production is great on almost every song (some are very early 2000s) and all of the features are excellent too. renegade and u don't know are my favs

I don't even know what makes this so good, but it's so good. It's pure swagger, and they use real instruments. The music itself is much more complex than most rap music, and Jay-Z is just so . . . smooth, I guess is the word. I kinda hate that a lot of the credit goes to Kanye West, but whatever - he knows how to produce an album.

Maybe his best. Great beats, he can definitely spit it (but taking on Nas? Sheesh...) And a nice Em guest spot.

Listened to it a couple of months back for the first time... checks out

Loved it!

The title is apropos. It is The Blueprint for where Hov went next in his career. Some great singles and highlights mixed with underrated b-sides. A few fillers along the way.

Classic. Stonewall classic full of hip hop nosebleeders. Love it!

Classic. No skips.

It is a pure joy listening to someone this on top of their game

God MC, me, Jay-Hova

Great stuff, I don't know his discography that well but he sounds at the top of his game here. I like that this was, in part, a response to being dissed by a bunch of other rappers. I think we know who got the last laugh.

Classic Hov. Love Eminem’s verse on Renegade and never change

cold asf

Classic. I wore this out back in the day. Fun to listen to again.

There's no denying the absolute badassness of this one. Izzo alone rockets it up the list.

Never been much of a Jay Z fan, but I think this album had changed that. It is top tier hip hop in every category. Just a monolith of excellence.

Jay's second best album, but still a 5. Only critique is Girls, Girls, Girls hasn't aged well but otherwise the album is really strong from beginning to end.

One of my all-time favorite albums. Period.

Schwächste: Jigga That N. Beste: Takeover Spasigste: Izzo

Classic, filled with bangers.

Hova!

A classic of the genre.

Great album.

Vraiment un bon album de jay-z. Renegade a elle seule fait monter la note mais l’album est tellement buen construit et c’est un classique du rap. 4.95

None needed

How can I give this album anything less than 5 stars?? The Blueprint just shows the magic that is Jay Z.

Best so far

CLASSEEK!

Old school bangers

More familiar with The Blueprint 2 prior to this, but still so good. (And H to the Izzo is the worst song on this album tbh.)

Undeniable HOVA

Pivotal

“God MC, me, J HOVA” with beats from Ye, Just Blaze, and that one Eminem. Issa classic

Classic, probably Jays best work

C’mon. Classic.

another hood classic! 4/5

Nice samples. Good beats. Meaningful lyrics. Just classic hip-hop.

I've heard this album quite a few times. Heart of the City and Renegade stood out today. 4/5

If I had to introduce someone to Hip-Hop, this album seemingly checks all the boxes. Not even crazy lyrically, there’s just some absolute aura in Jay-Z’s delivery on this one. Backed by some insane Kanye production, Jim Morrison and Jackson 5 jump scares, what more can you want from a 2000’s hip hop record released on 9/11? Bro people in these comments really just hate hip-hop. Sorry bro we can’t listen to Mick Jagger growl every day 👵🏻

🙌 Super well produced I like the Jackson 5 sample in Izzo and how it keeps sounding like Michael Jackson could come in and sing his line I keep thinking it sounds like Kanye just to find out he produced a handful of these songs so that’s cool Best album of the genre I’ve listened to for 1001 so far Favorites: izzo, takeover, hola hovito, the rulers back

Listening to this right after good kid maad city really puts into stark contrast the difference in approaches. Jay’s beats (h/t Kanye apparently) are the true star. They’re so full, soulful, thoughtfully crafted. Lyrically, with the exception of the title track and Song Cry, it’s really a one note album. “I’m so tough I work so hard and get money and girls” blah blah blah but the beats are exceptional so it makes up for the lyrical monotony.

This was one of the first 5-10 albums I ever owned. One of my favorite things about the best rap albums is the sheer variance and variety in beats and songs, but they just all hit. I don't even remember 80% of the songs, but they work just as well today (for me) as they did 25 years ago, and I think even a bit better.

You can really hear the Kanye production and it’s fantastic over a Jay-Z bar. However, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Jay-Z and his style, but he definitely paid for the way for future artist that I consider the greats.

Somehow I had never really listened to Jay-Z, but now I get the hype. It's neat hearing Kanye's production before he went solo too. Great lyricism, fantastic beats, and a consistent sound across the record. This is going in rotation.

I'll tell you what old Jay does superbly well - musically, there's a real sense of urgency and vibrancy. All across this, there's a mix of horns, samples and synths (I think?) that give it an absolutely irrepressible bounce. This is especially true on U Don't Know and Never Change, which are real standouts. They have a style that's also right there on Crazy in Love or Empire State of Mind. On top of that, he's got an unparalleled lyrical flow. There are the usual gripes on here about the choice of subject matter - it definitely implies greater depth than it delivers - and length, but I think this might be right up there with the best hip hop we've had.

So much to admire in the sound, but as with some other hip hop albums of the era, the lyrics prevent me from fully enjoying it. I have no need for diss tracks and it's crazy to me that an album from 2001 has the word "squaw" in it. Left me feeling sad.

Кайфовый альбом, очень ровный, без провисов. Izzo - до мурашек. Конечно тут повлиял мэшап с linkin park, который я обожаю с детства, но и в оригинале звучит великолепно, "бит лютый ваще". Ну и в целом очень приятное впечатление, 4,5

Бесит жейзи, но альбом прик.

i really enjoyed this but i thought it was interesting that this came out on 9/11/01

Great Album!

The Blueprint is the rare hip hop album that manages to be both an impressive display of rapping and a genuine crowd-pleaser. Jay-Z's rhymes are thoughtful and his flow is smooth, while the beats are catchy, filled with lush soul samples and hooks. It boasts a satisfying diss track, which is better than "Ether." It has introspection on "Song Cry" and "Renegade," which features the best verse of Eminem's career. It also contains a lot of simpler lightweight tracks. But even those are full of charisma, even when the lyrics are less vital (or worse - "Girls, Girls, Girls" has not aged well). It's a confident album that backs up its confidence. Picking Jay-Z's best album is though, but this is certainly in the conversation, and it's a prime example of why he's often brought up as one of the greatest.

I didn't exactly takes sides in the Jay-Z vs. Nas beef but Ether was the superior diss track to Takeover. At the time the singles on The Blueprint were a bit too clean for me, and I'm still not thrilled to hear them (Izzo and Girls Girls Girls in particular) but the rest of the album is still pretty undeniable. Jay's raps sound dated at ties, but are buoyed by the production of Just Blaze and yes, Kanye.

Rv

pô. eh massa, vai. botei de fundo e fui fazendo outras coisas, casou bem até. os beats são massas, os samples legais, o flow dele eh mei xoxo, mas tudo bem. a produção do kanye eh NOTÁVEL demais..... mas eh, não eh ruim não. tem que ter BOLAS de chamar seu album de BLUEPRINT, é ego demais, credo. algumas são meia boca, mas as que são boas, são boas mesmo. eu achei bem bacana, até.

great album. wont ever listen again due to the epstein of it all

Best Track - "Izzo (H.O.V.A)"

great production, great flow, great arrangements, technically impressive lyric writing but the content doesn't really do it for me a lot of the time.

I find a lot of hip hop to be irritating and/or boring. This was great, particularly musically.

This album is catchy as hell. It feels like Jay Z has been around forever, so it kind of surprises me that this came out post-2000.

I could've sworn I own this, but apparently I don't. That I can't remember speaks to how often I've listened to it, though that's not a dig on the Blueprint. This is Jay-Z at his prime. "Izzo," "Hola Hovito," and "Heart of the City" are all standouts, and I had forgotten about the Nas dis track, which is still savage. Solid from start to finish.

His best album

Honestly haven't listened to a ton of JayZ before. Still made me feel nostalgic for that time period. Solid lyrics and flow, for sure.

Litt overraska over kor godt æ likte å høre på det her, og også kor dypt inn i ryggmargen stemmen til Eminem treff, på tross av at det e minst tyve år siden æ hørte nokka særlig på han (og også da ikke så mye som gjensynet skulle tilsi). Det e nok det her som e min type rap, mest, ikke så skittent som en del anna, relativt streit, om enn med mer misogyni og den slags enn æ skulle ønske, as per usual.

This guy thinks a lot of himself and doesn’t seem to fully respect women. The raps are pretty solid though!

Credit where credit is due.

Something this generator has taught me is that rap is very hit and miss as a genre for me - and there is often no rhyme or reason as to why I’m a fan of something or not. This was very much a hit for me. Right from the opening track, which I loved, this was strong. It also has more songs on it than I remembered - “Izzo”, “Girls, Girls, Girls”, particularly. I loved all of the samples, which I’m learning is definitely is a “me” thing - a really well used sample elevates a song, and Jay-Z has a lot of them here. The album isn’t as strong in the second half as it was in the first, so it’s probably a 3.5 album - but it’s better than a 3* in my mind.

Just finished The Blueprint by Jay-Z and it was pretty good. I liked most of the songs and of course much different to my usual music so it was a nice change to listen to. Top three: Izzo (H.O.V.A), Blueprint (Momma Loves Me) and Takeover

This album is really good, very cohesive, everything is well done. However I wouldn't say that it's like the best rap album I've heard or that it really set itself apart. Like whatever it's doing, it's doing it really well. It feels deeply rooted in the moment as well, a lot of mentions about a DA trying to get him on made up crimes. But I'm going to be honest, I don't really think it does anything to deserve a 10/10 album, in so much as production doesn't really stand out, and while his raps and flow are really good I feel like they could be better. Dont get me wrong, I think it's pretty close to a 10/10, it just isnt quite there. 8/10

One of the best hip hop albums of the 2000's

One of the things that I'm noticing most from this list is that most albums can benefit from being shorter. This album is really good (its Jay-Z for crying out loud), but it started to lose my interest a bit at the end. There are very few albums that need to be over an hour long, I think 30-45 minutes is the sweet spot.

I will also be giving blue print a 4! Enjoyed it a lot some great hooks some dodgy lyrics idk enough about the genre to contextualise it against others for comparison but broadly into it.

Renegade, and essentially the whole album went hard and I had a great time

added a couple of tracks to my rotation 👍🏻

U Don’t Know is great. Some other songs are great too. Nas made him look stupid for Takeover though.

I’ll tell you who’ll never change - Len Houmous, that’s who! 4.0 9/15 Never Change

Some of this did not age well. Still a great album though

Classic J

extremely capable rap album. favorite song is Blueprint (Momma Loves Me). happy mothers day

Rating: 8/10 One of Jay-Z's best albums. It's long but it's got lots of good tracks, split between Just Blaze, Kanye, and Bink production, and I think it's clearer than ever now that Kanye's songs are the serious high points of the record, and basically shows off what he could achieve and what would come with his incredible sampling and chipmunk soul sound of The College Trilogy. Enimem also comes in for the sick feature, and it's got the closer with the shoutout to mothers, which we got on Mother's Day so I'm thinking that was done on purpose.

One the great American (living) songwriters according to New York Times and according to me too I suppose!

Slaps

Altså det er jo bare instant NBA 2k-vibes. Totalt hype! :P Efter to gennemlytninger må jeg sige, at jeg nok er vokset fra Jay Z, og det nok var noget jeg dyrkede og så op til, da jeg var 14-15 år gammel. Synes der findes mange før og efter ham, der både skriver, leverer og producerer bedre. Med det sagt, må jeg 'put some respect on the name' og give 4 små stjerner.

Jeg er solgt - det spiller altså ret godt for Jay Z her

Needs more Beyonce. 3.5.

Not the best but cant give a 3.5

this time we've got a hip-hop album from mr. jay z. dealing with his own bullshit couldn't stop him from recording and releasing this collection of tracks. a good majority of tracks are produced by kanye west, and you can really really hear it with a lot of these songs. i thought it was pretty good! songs about life on the streets and disses against a few big names. there's a lot of tracks here that are easy to bump to. he's got a real dingy, dragging way to how he raps, like all the other guys are syncopated and walking with the beat, then here comes jay z, behind and almost inching them, dragging a foot on the pavement. jay z is blunt and he doesn't give a damn if you're mad about what he says to you.

Yet more brit pop. At least this is more synth electronica. Still not amazing but slightly better. Didn't outstay its length, but could have been more engaging. I really was not a big fan of the vocals. Also the only way I can describe the emotion of this is by Fukayama's end of history. this is a record of joy untainted by everything bad since, a record from a perceived, but not actually, better time.