Reviews (page 2 of 10)
Tänk att han gjorde musik en gång i tiden, och bra dessutom!
Really enjoyed this album. Just a good listen
It’s not horrible but it all kind of sounds the same minus a few songs. Gets really boring. Lyrics are pretty bad. Definitely dated. It’s definitely not a good look that the best verse on the whole record is the one that Jay-Z doesn’t rap. Don’t get why this is rated so highly. Tons of much better hip hop records on the list. 3/5
It was OK. After a while, all the songs sound too similar. Classic hip hop, and hearing eminem was nice, but it was too samey.
I remember listening to this album about five years ago when I was going through all the 1001 albums I hadn't heard yet. I say I remember, but in actuallity, the most memorable part was that I fell asleep for a moment, which was not a good thing because I was at work. That being said, Jay-Z is an awful human being (not in funny way), who does not deserve an ouce of the fame he has, and the music surely matches those descriptors. Some of the songs here were produced by a young Kanye West, another awful human being (in a funny way). Key tracks: Izzo (H.O.V.A.) All I Need
This was better than I thought. I always thought of Jay Z as hip hop lite. That being said, this did not have the initial appeal of PE, or BDP, but it was better than much of what I hear. Perhaps I should more actively seek current hip hop and not end at Wu.
Ya lo había escuchado.
Kanye beats der stadig lyder godt i dag
Havde regnet med at score den her højere, men tror bare ikke jeg er så vild med Jay-Z som rapper? Der er nogen helt fantastiske udødelige numre her, men også en del filler
Obviously some good songs on here, but there's sooooo much filler..
I’m saying this as someone who loves rap music, and talking directly ton everyone else on this site who appreciates rap. To all you boomer who only like the beetles keep scrolling this isn’t for you. Are there only rap fans left? Ok let’s have honest discourse. First, where the fuck does Jay-Z (jaÿ-z for some reason) get off doing an entire nas diss track like that? I don’t give a fuck if he averages a good album every decade, nas at his best significantly better than anything Z has in his bag. Here’s the fact of the matter. Jay Z (again jaÿ-z, super embarrassing) doesn’t doesn’t flow to nearly the same level nas or other contemporaries do. Not trying to hate but it’s legitimately a step below what literally everyone else is producing at this same time. This album has incredible beats. It doesn’t have great bars. He didn’t make the beats, it’s a good album but the frontman of it kinda sucks.
Repetitive use of samples. Some tracks have lyrics that are delivered in the same rhythm from the beginning to the end.
Easily his best and probably top 10 albums of all time, all genres
I don’t like hip hop but this is tolerable
Some good beats. Never a huge fan of Jay z s voice.
The world’s introduction to the production skills of Kanye West. The beats here are immaculate. Kanye and Just Blaze cooked so hard. This is my favorite Jay-Z album. His bars are memorable and it just sounds like he’s having fun. The fact that we still debate the “I sell water to a well/whale” line shows the greatness.
N é meu tipo de rap, mas renegade é bom
solid 3.5.
Very good hip-hop album, probably Jay's best alongside 4:44, I don't really come back to this one that often but it's very well produced
Favorite Track: Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Seems fitting that I got Illmatic only about a week ago, so it is still fresh in my mind when I hear it in the lyrics. That was an amazing album. This is...fine.
This album has a lot of fun tracks and really solid production and lyrics. Easy 8/10 for me
I'm educating myself on hip-hop. Do rap artists still brag about being millionaires? Seems a bit outdated, but I LURVE the beats Jay-Z chose here.
kinda nice but mostly boring tbh ! monotone rapper, & minus point for boring lyrics themes, couldn't keep me engaged at all
Très fort
Really only know Jay Z from the Linkin Park Collision Course album. So hearing his actual songs is weird.
Them f*ggots always playing on the rappers minds innit? So sorry to hear this. I guess it's excusable because erm homophobia is fine if it's in music that is litrally just a man talking over samples that are so much better than the content of his own album. Goodness, if only folks would try to sing mayhaps. And bloody Eminem turned up to make things worse
Jay Z’s accenting “huh” is cool but that’s all this album has going for it.
Some of the songs are good, but a lot do not stand the test of time
Immaculate production. Some great songs. Lots of stuff that hasn't aged well.
A great but slightly overrated album in a great but slightly overrated career
I know rap is an established musical genre but I just find it so tedious and immature.
Thought I would hate it more
I thought I would hate this but it was surprisingly pretty decent
need review and further investigation
The music production aspect is really high quality, but I'm not a big fan of Jay-z generally, and I get tired of his style of rap halfway through the album.
I’ve been told this album is one of the best. Nobody has explained why. I didn’t love it but didn’t mind it either. Jay Z’s music is arrogant and not that great in my opinion. I wasn’t even blown away by the production. Where are the beats?
I've been wondering a few times if any Jay-Z albums would appear on this list... He's certainly an influential rapper, as it's quite possible that the fake, overproduced hip-hop/rap that permeated the radio in the 2000s had something of Jay-Z as a starting point. The only genuine things on this album are the samples used and Eminem's presence on Renegade. 2 stars
Enjoyed
I would say that this is the hip-hop album I've enjoyed the most (with the exception of some albums that I feel are more hard rock and rap mixtures). I found this quite enjoyable and, even if it is a bit too long (as almost always with this genre), I think this was pretty ok. The arrangements and sampling are really smooth, and the delivery by Jay-Z is also nice. Overall, I think this is between 3 and 4 stars.
A banger
Maybe like the 10th worst thing to happen on 9/11? It's not dreadful, but it's pretty dull, and nothing stands out in particular. It's very basic -- a literal blueprint of Hip-Hop.
Yes
incredible rap album. not my favourite of his but still a solid 9/10. first listen tracklist ranking: 1. Renegade 2. Takeover 3. Heart of the City 4. U Don’t Know 5. Song Cry 6. Lyrical Exercise 7. Never Change 8. The Ruler’s Back 9. Izzo 10. Girls, Girls, Girls 2 11. Blueprint 12. All I Need 13. Hola’ Hovito 14. Girls, Girls, Girls 15. Jigga That N****
Keien Songs gehört, die mich verstehen lassen das der Jung so respektiert ist. Halt Rap Songs, und guter Flow, aber auch nichts was mich verblüfft hat.
Hat sich gut gehalten, finde ich. Gute Beats.
Ganz angenehmes Rap-Album mit ein paar guten Songs
Nothing against Mr Jay Z but this just isn’t my bag! It might well be great but it isn’t a genre I listen to or particularly like.
675/1001 2026.08.07 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 Será muy bueno en lo suyo, pero no es para mí. No soporto más canción y media...
All I can think about is this album coming out on 9/11 and Takeover being the first plane in the beef with Nas
Eminem saved this album!
First time listening to this - I'm generally not a fan of commercial hip-hop/rap but seeing as I give commercial rock a free pass, why not this? The first thing that I notice is that the sound is HUGE. Walls of sound, Phil Spector-like production. Samples are great, ranging from the Doors to Bowie to lots of vintage soul tracks - you could play a game with it - showing his respect with the music that he grew up with. Tracks like "Takeover", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Heart of the City" are great, but it's outdated overblown commercial-friendly duds like "Jigga That Ni&&a" and "Hola' Hovito" that water down this release. The CD age sucked. So much filler on what could be solid albums overall. Also not a fan of this style of braggadocio. I get that it's part of the tradition of rap. Maybe feuds were cool then, but they are honestly embarassing in this day and age. Sometimes he sounds less "tough" and more like that annoying person in the post office or the DMV that loudly complains about the wait taking too long. The lyrics are also pretty iffy throughout, especially towards women, but so is plenty of 70s and 80s rock. So? So what! He might be playing different characters from time to time to exaggerate some of the views. I ended up liking this. It's a bit overblown and cocky but it's fun and definitely threatening enough to make me enjoy it for what it is. Even Jay-Z's story is interesting, going from rags to riches, and surviving some pretty hard shit in between. He pretty much earned his place as perhaps the leading mainstream sound in East-Coast hip-hop and mafioso rap in the US. He would go on to do great things - such as his stint as Def Jam president and CEO, where he helped launch Rhianna's career (among others, like Kanye West, who produced this album (!)) as well as founding Rocawear, 40/40, Roc Nation, and more. An American success story as good as any.
Absolute bangers
Izzo is iconic.
First jay-z album that isn't the linkin park collab. Enjoyable enough, though I don't know enough about hip hop to judge its lyricism, or judge it vs other albums. 3* Highlights: izzo
This blueprint is really faded. I can't build anything from it. ★★
Never been a big active listener of Jay z but I truly grew up surrounded by this. I knew the vast majority of the songs here. Very strong first half, the last three songs kind of fell off. Overall strong album
I just really don’t like rap in general and this just seemed to be another rap album to me that I tolerated to listen to.
Kõva 00ndate alguse album, mulle väga meeldib. Instrumentaalid/muusika on juba ülihea ja siis JAY-Z on oma hea flow'ga alati täppis. 4/5
1er album de JAŸ-Z que escucho, muchos dicen que es el mejor album y concuerdo, la produccion detras de este album es de otro mundo, con beats de el mejor Kanye y las mejores rimas de JAY-Z, 5 estrellas por lo disfrutable que es y lo importante que fue en su dia para el hip-hop ⭐️ Mi Cancion favorita: Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)
Being the age that I am, the late 90s and 00s played an extremely important role in shaping the person I am today. Media coming out at this time is no exception. 00s hip-hop, with JayZ and the like being the main force, certainly shaped my thoughts on the genre as a whole. In other words, I very much didn't enjoy it, and this experience poisoned the entire genre for me. While I've come to appreciate some of the positive traits of late 80s/early 90s hip hop, such cannot be said for the 00s. Gone are the positive messages of _A Tribe Called Quest_, and _De La Soul_. Instead, we're glorifying pushing drugs, gloating about how amazing you are, and having enough money to throw at lawyers to beat legal charges. Oh and don't forget the sexism, homophobia, and racism. Gone are the fun, playful beats. Instead, we get aggressive monotony - a single, loud sequence of notes repeated through the bulk of each track's duration. If I were ten years older, maybe I'd have had a much more positive opinion of this genre. But alas, rubbish like this was my formative experience. 1.
there are only so many songs about being called jay z that a girl can take
Jay Z couldn’t possibly have foreseen that he’d be releasing this on 9/11 but there is a certain ineffable quality to the act of releasing an album that day that isn’t even all that good. Not bad enough to be outright dismissed, not good enough to be “justified” in hindsight. Thoroughly mid.
Renegage
Bastante fuera de serie y fuera de mi rango. Song Cry el premio Nota: 3.1
Jay-Z is one of the very few rappers who have even come close to producing good music. The samples and soul interludes on “The Blueprint” are really strong; “The Ruler's Back,” “Izzo,” and “Girls, Girls, Girls” are particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately 1. Shawn Carter still decides to rap instead of properly finishing the songs. 2. Apparently, only male guests are worthy of a proper mention in the credits. 4/5 for the backing tracks 1/5 for being a jerk That makes 2.5
Ajudou mt no meu set
I guess this was big when it came out but it sounds to me like a high school football locker room. However washed up Nas and Prodigy may have been by this point, they put out some of the smoothest, freshest sounding music of the 90s - that Jay-Z not only felt comfortable coming at them with something as gaudy and graceless as this, but was hailed for it, is … maybe it’s best not to speak on it. It’s got that early Kanye production going for it at least, though I feel like Kanye’s breezy, almost sassy style fits his beats better than Jay-Z’s indefatigable smugness.
It took me a long time to get the hype around Jay-Z. For years I only really liked The Black Album, I thought a lot of the other stuff was just kinda okay. But recently I've come around on him, in large part thanks to this album. It's not my personal favorite, but I think it really is the epitome of who he is. It has the lyricism he came up with, but it also has the more mature and gentle production of his later years. It really feels like you're getting the best of both worlds from him. Favorites: Takeover, Song Cry, Renegade
Classic NY rap; throwback nostalgia by this point.
I have never been into rap or hip-hop, but I want to like it. This album encapsulates why. Musically, it is interesting. I was originally against sampling (looking at you Vanilla Ice), but I have to admit that rapping over, say, “Five to One” by The Doors is kinda cool. The beats are interesting and catchy, and it even has some hooks and ear worms. I get why it was popular. But lyrically it has a lot to be desired. It has a lot of clever turns of phrases, even, but the subject matter I just can’t understand. Lots of “look at me I am the best” and “n-word this” and “biatches and crime” just turns me off. That’s where I stand with this album and with the genre as a whole.
Too much misogyny for me to spend a lot of time digging into lyrically. and this style of rap describes an aesthetic or lifestyle that’s both unfamiliar and uninteresting to me. But I do enjoy Jay Z’s voice and in his interview on the recent iteration of the Letterman show, on Netflix, I appreciated hearing about Jay Z’s experience with therapy and learning how to be a better husband and father- something he said hadn’t been modeled to him growing up. But one of the more popular songs on this album include these lyrics: “Shit, I'm a man with pride, you don't do shit like that You don't just pick up and leave and leave me sick like that. You don't throw away what we had, just like that. I was just fuckin' them girls, I was gon' get right back. They say you can't turn a bad girl good but once a good girl's gone bad, she's gone forever….” Umm yeah. Enough said.
not that bad
Solid. A couple of bangers… Jay Z hasn’t ever held my attention outside of a few hooks that make me say, “oh, yeah…” but, this is good record.
The streets couldn't wait...
Apex level NYC late 90s, early 00s hip hop. Jay Z is real sure of himself, beats are solid, not as many hooks, but good production, good craft.
In places, it’s juvenile and kind of dated, but J has personality and charisma in spades, with a crucial dose of vulnerability. And the rap pop still pops.
The lyrics are occasionally clever and the beats are solid, but outside of those positives, I’m struggling to get on board with The Blueprint. The only thing I can think it was a “blueprint” for was 50 Cent; monotonous, single gear rapping, with little to no personality of delivery. Also the samples don’t always land. The odd smart rhyme aside, it doesn’t take too long to get fed up listening to Jigga or Hove or whatever it is he’s calling himself bragging about being rich/better than everyone, yet at the same time expecting all “his people” to throw their hands up. I know these are hip hop tropes and you might think I need to get over myself, but I have hundreds of hiphop albums that I can fully enjoy, many of which are guilty of employing some or all of these cliches.
The music is well produced, the samples are good, the best bit can't go wrong to be fair but then he raps. Obviously heard of him but not his actual music, and colour me well, underwhelmed. It’s obvious, poppy, common denominator kind of rap, like the rap version of the most formulated middle of the road rock - hit all the expected spots, "radio friendly if that's still a thing. Guess no problem with that, just a bit so what in the end, but 47m listeners a month? Baaa It's corporate vs Real grass roots. All capitalism dream stuff, guess he knows that subject at least. It was ok in the background but nothing that made me consider return or exploring his catalogue. 2 Star
Poor
Some meh songs
“I’m like the dog I never speak but I still listen” great bar Loved the Kanye produced songs on here. Overall great album definitely Kanye level quality
Peak hip hop
I cannot see the appeal. Sure, the production is really good in some songs, and some instrumentals are actually great... but I just get tired by this man's rapping. At some point, it does not matter how brilliant the production can be if you lose the interest in what you are actually listening. And this album is really uninteresting, both, musically in the way it sounds and in what he is talking about. It is just a fact of not connecting at all with this album, and, I do not think it is either that good for me to not see the greatness in it. This album cannot be that good if the only good thing is the production. Mainly because, at the end, it would not matter who the artist is. And I have not seen anything else than a pretentious person with so much talk and nothing relevant to say.
Fantastic.
Rate: 10/10.
I liked beats on this album. Jay Z is killing it
It's not my favorite Jay-Z album, as I think I was too young when it first came out to appreciate it as an album. The singles are great, and the album is a significant part of his canon, but without a standout (to me) track I don't know that I can give it a perfect score.
The songs I like I really like and the songs I dont like I REALLY dont like.
Loved this. Not a dull moment. A few cringy lyrics but it is almost thirty years old. I will definitely be listening to this more.
This is a great album (with a nostalgia bump for me).
Fuck pedos
Some moments of fun and inventiveness. but I'm not a fan of the lyrical content or the backing. Overall, shallow, vapid and repetitive - if you have heard a quarter of these songs, you have heard them all.
A great album, though I like 4:44 the best
another hood classic! 4/5
Interesting this pops up after ICE CUBE's Predator as I almost called that the Blueprint for real. However, I love this album and have listened to it a ton. I definitely wish there was more social commentary, but Hov doesn't really roll that way--still not enough to not give it a 5.
Really not my thing, but I listened to the whole album to see why everyone loves him so much. The production quality, beats, and lyrics are all great. It’s just not written for me - a middle aged white dude.
Déjà écouté, j’ai l’a priori d’un bon album mais un peu vieillissant L’intro est très bien et l’enchaînement sur take over est excellent. Pour le coup c’est moderne pour du 2001 Les chansons 4 et 5 sont plus comme je m’attendais. C’est pas mal mais vieux U don’t know : épique Ah je me souvenais pas d’eminem dessus 8/10
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 👵🏻
Shawn Carter magnum opus and it’s so hov it’s awesome. Heart of the city, song cry, renegade,takeover,izzo. Just a list of truly out of this world songs and it’s so great. This is so New York and one of the best hip hop albums ever. It’s got diss tracks great samples. It is so pompous so full of itself it feels like a victory lap truly. Every song is so confident about how great he is and let me say deserved, man wasn’t even the powerhouse billionaire that he is now and he already knew his impact. The blueprint is jay z giving lessons the blueprint of how to be successful how riches have changed him and how he is changed. It’s an amazing case study as a record. Songs like girls girls girls yeah they are dated but it’s exactly how jay z felt at the time. This wasn’t a debut this was a 6th album. He was already in his groove big pimpin was out. I mean he is still in his prime with tons of money. It’s truly amazing and god hip hop was so good. There is no love in the heart of the city love comes from the quiet moments. I feel really good about this week in music
Kanye’s beat is the strongest factor.
Solid album. I prefer The Black Album from him more... I did forget how good The Blueprint was though. It just has a great flow to it. Great album to drive around and listen to.
....maybe a different album has better stuff.
Dear God, more rap music. What sins have I committed to earn this? An album hailed as great a quarter-century ago has aged like milk in the sun.
Jay Z is not a particularly interesting or skilled rapper, but he sure knows how to make a hit song (and a lot of money).
🙌 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.
The Blueprint is far from the best hip hop album around but i still think it holds it's own better than i thought i would have. Jay-Z is definitely a really talented rapper and this album shows it off pretty decently but still has a lot of little things that hold it back. The lyrics are definitely not the greatest in a fair bit of the songs with constant uses of the typical hip-hop buzzwords like the n-word and all the sex terms. The production was a bit lacking in the first half but when Hola' Hovito came on, it got a pretty decent step up. I was initially gonna give this album a 2 but as i kept hearing more and more good tracks, i felt that i could bump it up a star. Best Song: Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love) Worst Song: Girls, Girls, Girls
Mostly juvenile. I didn’t really appreciate most of the lyrics - again they’re very juvenile. There’s a few good tracks, but way too much here is strictly related to “the rap game.” Insider industry petty business nonsense. Probably a 2.5.
I like it overall, but not amazing
Great record, but I'm a little Jay-z-ed out
Some of these beats were great but generally this dragged for me. I'm not sure why this guy's lyrics are so highly rated.
My favorite Jay Z album and easily one of the top 20 best hip hop records in history
Oh no. Mainstream 2000's rap. My arch nemesis. I'm pretty sure the only thing this album is a blueprint for is clean as a whistle, boring, bombastic, radio rap that makes money in spite of itself. Rap wasn't meant to be mainstream. Jesus christ, the Nas "diss" song with those fucking stabs of "LAAAAAME." What are we doing? Those sound like the guy from Disturbed singing "Sound of Silence." I miss when Jay-Z was doing posse tracks with Big L featuring rap all-stars like "The Microphone Nut." The nut was the author of the bar "Because to me, death is like sex, and if my brain was a deck of cards, I'd be missin' a whole deck." Amen, brother. Amen. Why aren't there any Microphone Nut albums on here? The happy, 1930's Disney melodies, the softer than baby skin electronic beats and the frankly underwhelming rap, make this album (and this bum's whole catalogue) a blight on one of the most exciting and emotion-laden genres of music developed in the last century. Repeat the chorus again, Ja"Ÿ." These idiots are lapping it up! Music for guys who like cigars and have said "we own this city" while in their 118 dollar a night hotel off the strip in Las Vegas. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Perfect for blasting the woofers out of your Toyota Echo with 12" spinners while driving around Shediac, NB (rollin' on 12's).
Bien para no ser un estilo que me guste
No music, just rap!
I don’t like Jay Z, I don’t like his voice, I don’t like his mongaloid face, I don’t like his P-Diddy 2.0 sec pest vibe but separating the artist from the art this album has some merits. Ignoring the boastful self mythologising some of the underlying tracks are good, there are some great sample choices and tunefulness that makes it understandable why some hip hop fans revere it. 2.4
Not for me. It may well be considered a masterpiece of the genre but there is very little for me to relate to on this and it lacks the charm and style of the old school rap that I do like.
I know that the deep seated patriarchy of rap means that the majority of rap is talking about how great you are, how successful you are, how much money you have and/or how much better you are than other men doing the same thing as you. But Jay-Z takes this to a whole new level of chest puffing and strutting. Almost every track mentioned one of the following: How Jay-Z has made it his own way, how Jay-Z has a higher creative output than other rappers or how Jay-Z has made more money than other rappers. He is absolutely his own hype man. Which I realise is part of the culture, but does it have to be everything? It all just feels a bit hollow. (2.750)
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.
Interesting but I had a difficult time getting through the album.
I shouldn't be surprised given Jay-Z hype but here I am. It started good but not amazing, then in the middle (around "Never Change" and "Song Cry") it hit so hard for me. It sort of slowed down from there, but the tide remained just above 5.
Well, I get it now. I really hadn't understood what the big deal was about Jay-Z. Better late to the party than never, right? What a tremendous album. The lyrics are great ("Takeover" is vicious), the delivery is top notch. And the production is second to none. Brilliant to use soul samples so heavily. The album is a touch long, but that's a minor thing. Brilliant.
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.
Nice production, but boring rap.
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.
i liked the instrumentation and production, but i'm just not very impressed by jay z as a person or a rapper.
I can't believe I thought Jay Z was cool in high school. Good beats and flow though.
A rap album that I enjoy. The singles hold up well, and the deep cuts were fine if not all that exciting. 3.5, rounding down.
još jedno dosta ugodno iznenađenje što se repa tiče... premda mi tekstovi i samo repanje nije baš neš, svaka pjesma, kao što sam nekako i za kanyea rekao, jako dobro zvuči, stoga će dobiti trojku
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.
皆さん, я пожалуй выступлю как ренегат и буду тут немножко holler: По-моему все рэп альбомы выпускают по одному чертежу на адском конвейере издевательства надо мной
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.
3.5, нормально, слушать приятно, хоть и не фанат подобного
OK in small doses
It’s a classic
i really enjoyed this but i thought it was interesting that this came out on 9/11/01
Cringe. Talk about one-note. All that self-serving bravado derailed any chance this might have had to be taken seriously. Definitely some insecurities to be examined here.
God I can’t stand Jay Z. His stuff has never impressed me, and I for one could never understand how he ended up with the Queen.
Tämän ajan hiphop on minun heiniä pakko myöntää, nykyään tätä vanhempi. Jayn Nasille vittuilu kirpaisee edelleen. Ei tuon flowssa ole mitään niin erikoista mitä se itse pitää itsessään. Erikoinen mies, jolla luurankoja kaapissaan. Nämä kaikki laskee pisteitä
Is he gonna use the cigar guillotine on the mic? So we have this to thank for Kanye I suppose. :D That said, there’s a monotony to Jay’s “legendary flow” that sometimes feels at odds with the material - the more poppy material like Izzo. At the time of its release, I liked the clarity of Jay’s rhymes/delivery and repurposing of soul music, particularly amid Eminem, nu metal, and gangsta rap, but in retrospect...Jay’s kind of an adolescent dick eh?
a good album. Never was a huge east coast rap guy and only know Hov from his older stuff when he went commercial and from being more of a mogul than musician. Only really knew Izzo and Heart of the City going into this but the rest of it was pretty solid. Liked Takeover and Song Cry the most.
You earn respect, fuckwit, you can't demand it. Some good 'beats' let down by a weak arrogant voice.
Greedy guts
Great Album!
On paper, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵 has everything going for it. A legendary reputation, a roster of producers that includes Kanye West, Eminem, and Timbaland, and one of the most celebrated rappers of his generation. Unfortunately, the album never really clicks with me. The production is consistently strong, but I rarely find myself genuinely excited by what I’m hearing. Track after track passes by competently enough, yet very little leaves a lasting impression. I kept waiting for the album to reveal why it’s held in such high regard, but that moment never quite arrived. I can appreciate its influence and understand why so many people consider it a classic. As a listening experience, though, I find it surprisingly dull.
It was good. Just not for me.
Que se yo, pasable. No es mi género favorito de música.
Recently listened to this for the first time and quickly found out why it is often considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time. My personal favorites were “Izzo,” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “Hola Hovito,” and “Heart Of The City.” Also what an unfortunate release date for one of the biggest rappers out of New York.
Not for me.
It was fine. No real hits on there. Bit of a pointless inclusion
I am sure this album has some musical significance, but honestly, JayZ was never my rapper of choice, not much else is appealing in his case except his lyrical prowess, and let's be honest - someone else can do that and much more on top of it too... 2 due to Eminem colab, otherwise it would have been 1 😏
Was expecting 1 star, got much more
Es klingt einfach überbewertet und langweilig. Die Beats sind nett, aber nichts Besonderes, und Jay‑Z wirkt oft, als würde er routiniert runterspulen statt wirklich etwas zu sagen. Kein Funke, kein Druck, kein Moment, der hängen bleibt.
unexpected banger - someone who usually doesn't like hiphop / rap music
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
não gosto de nada que o jay z fez, acho chato e mais do mesmo da época dele (que talvez ele mesmo tenha sido o responsável pela criação xD) a produção do (DEUS O TENHA) kanye west em algumas músicas faz um pouco de diferença nesse aqui ainda assim, achei chato pra caralho, pra mim o jay-z tem responsabilidade enorme na enshittificação do hip hop dos anos 2000 e esse álbum representa isso fortemente
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.
I’ve never been super into the East Coast stuff, but there are some good tracks here. The best ones were produced by Kanye
I’ve never had a calling to hear JAY Z’s music, after hearing the full album I still don’t have any intention to keep hearing him
I'm ready to admit I didn't really want to listen to this in the first place because uhh Jay Z but then after girls girls girls I literally could not bring myself to continue it gave me the ick so bad and I don't feel bad about it in the slightest
I did not like it very much. I find the grandstanding cringe. But look at our reviews! A one! A two! A one, two, three, four!
the last two hidden tracks imo suck so I'm ignoring them as a preface. this album is frustrating. At times it is so so amazing and awesome and then there is like a song or two that feels out of place or just not in flow with rest of album. The secret guest star near the end was very welcomed. I think a 3 is fair 9/11 happened after this album dropped btw
great album. wont ever listen again due to the epstein of it all
Not bad. 3/5
Best Track - "Izzo (H.O.V.A)"
I'll never understand how this guy (or this genre) is so popular
I think you had to be around when this came out to really appreciate it. It was so fresh and clean cut compared to the type of rap being put out at the time. If you try to compare it to what's happen to since, yeah it won't stack up, but it influenced a ton since it was release. But, I'll cop to it not aging super well; doubly so because Jay-Z has been on the periphery of some pretty shady shit.
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.
What a lame man, a cheater, hypocrite, and a misogynist.
His best album
Historically not into rap music but my girlfriend will kill me if I give this anything less than 3 (best I can do)
JAY Z can write a tune. Loses points for homophobia and megalomania.
Find yourself someone who loves you as much as Jay-Z loves Jay-Z. Way too long, some wack-ass lyrics ("we can get paid longer than Pippen's arms"), but the beats are amazing and there's some bangers sprinkled about.
# Album Name: Blueprint # Artist: Jay-Z # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: I love how everyone hates on clapton etc for being racist yet i dont see many comments on Jay-Z for his antics. Anyway, this album isnt for me. Its long, its boring, the lyrics are terrible. It hasnt aged well at all. Not the worst thing ive ever heard but i didnt enjoy it. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No
I decided to stop on the second song since I simply couldn’t vibe with this.
I never listened to much Jay-Z but man the Kanye sound in this makes me wonder how much of Kanye's sound he made and how much he learned. Not a masterpiece but has its moments.
A lot of catchy songs. Jay-Z is good at what he does. Lyrically it doesn't stand the test of time, but what he does with his flow is well done. Jay-Z has his bars that can stick in your head, but it's the beats that really shine. There are a couple weak tracks. This was a very influential album at a time and place.
Smooth and cool and fun in a vacuum, but probably hits a lot better for people with knowledge of the genre and its history. The soul sample-based beats are great, and it took a bit for Jay Z's rapping to connect for me, but like with a few of these it just needed to marinate overnight and for me to give the tracks another listen out of order. Lyrical highlight was probably song cry. Standouts: takeover, girls girls girls, song cry and renegade
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.
Not sure how I felt about this one. Some very well made songs, but didn't particularly resonate with me or keep me interested. I think I have to give it sort of a low rating but it's entirely entirely subjective thing.
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.
Jay-Z sounds as bored as I do with his music.
This guy thinks a lot of himself and doesn’t seem to fully respect women. The raps are pretty solid though!
Immaculate production, but this kind of braggadocio is really off putting to me.
Ruim. O advento do CD permitiu que qualquer um fizesse álbuns de 1h+. Umas são melhorzinhas que outras mas muito repetitivo.
Credit where credit is due.
This is the album that properly got me into Jay-z’s music. I love his laid back style of delivery and nothing complements this more than Kanye’s production. Takeover manages to deliver a listenable dis track, which shouldn’t be taken for granted. The big hitters though are clearly Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls and Never Change. The production and selection of these tracks is solid gold and highlights what a great producer Kanye was before he was engulfed by his ego (although Bully shows the talent is still in there if you can separate the person from the music) Heart of the City, Never Change and Song Cry are as strong as you get in the middle of an album. They are an uplifting trio of songs. Renegade delivers a different type of song with it matched more to Eminem faster style of delivery than the rest of the album. It provides an interesting counterpoint to the classic samples used elsewhere and works as an outlier but the strengths of this album are firmly with the more upbeat productions
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.
I wrote a really long review of this that was all thoughtful and balanced and shit, but then accidentally lost it. So: I can tell it is technically very good, and I like a lot of the sampling, but it's not really for me. 3/5
I was curious to see how well this was going to hold up, and it does not disappoint. JAY Z is firing on all cylinders here, the production is fantastic, the lyricism is great. I had a great time with this whole album, and it made me realize that even though it was incredibly popular when it came about, I never actually sat and listened to the whole thing, and man I've been missing out. Heart of the City I think encapsulates the whole listening experience, at least it hits a particular chord with me, I wont lie that its nostalgia speaking but the sampling is just so good. This era of hip-hop was really something else.
Landmark hip hop album. I’ve never given it a full listen and I was blown away. Takeover was incredible and Heart of the City is obviously the standout track on the album. I also enjoyed Renegade and Jay Z addressing criticisms of his music. Great listen overall
Hi hum hip hop from J
Very easy to see why this is considered one of the best hip hop albums of all time.The flow is excellent.The rhymes are witty.The production is top, notch.The beats are cool.It's a little bit long, but that's every hip hop album
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
[05.26.2026] 06.07.2026
Fame/Lame…really? Girls, girls, girls…Appetite for Destruction. Is there anything original on this self grandiose album? Not for me.
No thanks.
для любителей рэпа.
One of the best hip hop albums of the 2000's
I don't wanna listen to this again 1 star
it wasn't great when it came out. still holds up in that regard.
Fine, but nothing groundbreaking
This was ok, not really my kind of rap album
Most rappers are braggadocios but for some reason Jay-Z’s self-aggrandizing on this record is more irritating than usual.
Medio una garcha. Tendría que escuchar el de dr dre y este otra vez para ver con cual me quedo. La comparativa es por ser hip hip, obvio...
It was a nice album; I can see why it became such a hit.
Can't believe this is so popular. I was uninspired.
Fuck a billionaire making music about how rich he is.
One thing I've learned from doing this challenge is that rap albums struggle to avoid sounding dated more so than other genres. I predict when I read the reviews for this one that it will get knocked down pegs for a few reasons: 1) Jay-Z is perceived differently in the 2020s than he was in the 90s. He's no longer a kid from Brooklyn who made it. He's one of the biggest, richest celebrities in the world. Hearing him rap about how he made it from the streets to the penthouse is just kind of dumb in retrospect. Not his or the album's fault necessarily, just how it goes sometimes. 2) As a result of #1, not only are people tired of hearing richie's rap about being rich, we don't need any more Jay-Z. Not that his style was unique in the 90s but it's definitely overdone now. What was somewhat interesting about Jay-Z was his retro samples into beat loops. Again, now just a byproduct of it's time. 3) Rappers focus a lot on pop culture. Deuce Bigalow would have been a mainstream reference in the 90s but now, even though it might come across as obscure, it's just cringey. Speaking of cringe, slang like "fo shizzle" is so locked in time it's not even funny. 4) Modern day rappers aren't immune to this either but some of the lyrics are downright offensive. Back when misogenism was cool, rappers like Jay Z reigned supreme. Nowadays it's like "Dude I bet Beyonce owns you, stop acting like you're a pimp." All that said, it's impossible to ignore the impact this album has had. Tons of hits, propelled Jay-Z to the mainstream (arguably "Hard Knock Life" had more of an impact but that's one song versus an entire album), and along with Kayne, made Motown samples the go-to hooks for rap for a long time. Like many of the rap albums on this site, if you consider it solely as a product of its time, it's not bad, but we are here for the best albums of ALL time and this one is not likely to make the final cut.
mlp zionista pedófilo abusador amiguito de Epstein
Nope for this one
I like some of the beats and the samples, but the lyrics are boring and pretty heavy on the misogyny.
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.
Good lyrics
I don't get the appeal, hard to listen to. I'm guess I'm not a fan of Jay-Z's rapping. The lyrics aren't all that either.
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
Like I understand why he’s considered one of the best, I just didn’t connect with this at all
The Ruler’s Back was great but I wasn’t particularly drawn to anything that came afterwards. I guess I only know the biggest Jay-Z songs (arguably also his most sell out ones) and didn’t love the overall style here. Also his name was weirdly styled currently as JAŸ-Z on apple music. what is that umlaut doing there?
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.
It’s fun I’m sorry but it’s fun ok what do you want from me
The blueprint to a decent album, without the nostalgia of listening to it in my youth I cant rate it too highly.
Bordering on 4 but looping back to the annoying Girls Girls Girls killed it for me
Из всех вот этих вот реперов из конца 90-х Jay Z всегда не вызывал у меня увожения, и всё такое. Какой-то холёный воннаби "ghetto boy" который очень хочет казаться "tuff" но для меня это лишь следующая переходная стадия к каким-нибудь Drake из десятых, которые окончательно стали рэперами попсарями с автотюнами и модными биточками. А чё у нас тут? Ну типа, я не понимаю зачем это слушать сейчас, если вы не фанат Жей Зи только. Вторичный рэпчик, про очередного черного который типа "got bitches", cruisin' по району на каком-нибудь бриллиантово-золотом мерседесе. Хоспади, да скока-ж можно то уже. И это якобы "величайший рэп альбом" и всё такое? Побойтесь Бога.
I’ll tell you who’ll never change - Len Houmous, that’s who! 4.0 9/15 Never Change
I’ve got nothing. Recognizing his many accomplishments in music, and his ability to stab an enemy in the stomach in a crowded room… and get away with it… I will give the man the respect he has earned. Fuck it, 2 stars. Same old rap crap.
Better than I was expecting. The production is so good but I’m not the biggest fan of Jay Z as a rapper. Some parts feel dated, especially Renegade. High 3.
A bit of a hard listen, just too long and didn’t really enjoy his flow. also tough that this album came out on 9/11. 3/5
Some of this did not age well. Still a great album though
Not my thing
Classic!
Totally underwhelmed actually - so much good rap music came out of this era and a lot o it credits this as the blueprint (haha) but it falls so flat
sounds good and jazz comes at hola hovito
Classic J
Fantastic record. Real meaning in the lyrics. Mature topics discussed, real life experiences recalled, and all done in an honest frame. Plus some playful lyrics, too. This is a complete album. Perfect. No notes.
It's crazy that Jay Z sounds old school now, but I guess that's the world we live in. There's so many goofy, corny instrumentals and backup vocals. Izzo in particular just oozes cheesy 90s pop rap. Still, it's very well done for what it is. Unironically the Eminem song might be my favorite song, especially for the change-up in the lyrics.
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.
"victory lap" rap is pretty lame but this was pretty good and Jay-Z can make pretty decent music. Sometimes the lyrics were fun, sometimes the beats were good, the Em feature was enjoyable. It's hard to argue that the album isn't INFLUENTIAL but nothing about it specifically was stylish or unique or made me want more 6.5/10
One the great American (living) songwriters according to New York Times and according to me too I suppose!
The Blueprint for destroying an entire culture ...
From the Vault #12 (February 5, 2026) Yet another pre-written review. As I've also mentioned in my review of "Welcome to the Afterfuture", I'm pretty sick right now, so please excuse the sickobabble or delirium which may or may not be in this review. We're already into 2001, and I'll be into 2002 just one album after this. I've never listened to Jay Z, unsurprisingly, though there's probably one or two songs of his that I've heard through the radio. I'm pretty sure he has a tough, hardcore sound without necessarily belonging to gangsta hip-hop, though I could be mistaken. Anyway, let's get into it. I'm struggling to form an opinion on this. It's just another hip-hop album, which is a genre I'm ostensibly not a fan of. The instrumentals are alright. There's a good level of variety and kick to them, even if the soul stylings aren't exactly my thing. I could also immediately tell this was an album co-produced Kanye. It has that irreverent, operatic feel which is plastered all over his discography. Jay Z is somewhat lacking as a vocalist. He doesn't have much in the way of charismatic or catchy vocals, which makes him sound bog-standard as a result. On a more positive note, I could appreciate how this album encompasses every aspect of New York in its lyrics. I've always thought New York was a bit of a shithole - especially in current year, but I can't knock someone for being patriotic. Overall, the album is fine but failed to hook me. Book time. The original entry for this album mentions Diddenstein and misspells his name as "Sean Coombs", which is pretty funny. I guess the curator of this entry knew that he was chasing the coom all along. The album is all about life in New York. Has a "...rare vulnerability." Wikipedia says this album released on 9/11. That's a rough release window. It also features a ton of prominent hip-hop producers, was well-received by critics, has received enduring acclaim, launched the careers of Kanye and Just Blaze, marked a pivot in hip-hop towards a soul-centric sound and revived sampling in hip-hop. Yup, these are all good qualifiers. I cosign this inclusion.
"Production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem," Yeah, I can tell. I thought actively that this sounded like everyone worked to give this guy a great album and Jay-Z isn't good enough for it. Phenomenal production, but Jay Z adds very little to it. Also peep that release date..."Yeah Jay this album is gonna blow up"
This album’s production is really well done and put together. I will say the first leg jay z was not it but the second leg he was in a flow state and cooking.
Oh man Jigga. haha
Production was solid, rapping is fine, but I nearly fell asleep, feeling high and dry. It wasn't much to remember, a lot to forget. This did not leave an impression in my head.
Yeah, it’s good. It’s confident. I don’t know how to define rap or even say why an artist is good or not. Here’s a Pitchfork review that seems to get it. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4216-the-blueprint/
Meh
It’s an interesting album. If you took Jay Z’s rapping away and just had the underlying tracks, it’s a pretty great, solid album. With his rapping it’s downright terrible.
Fine. I’ve enjoyed some of his big singles but for some reason this album did not grab me.
A classic, must listen.
A near masterpiece.
I don't usually like rap/hip hop but this was actually okay
Slaps
Der har aldrig været noget særligt der fangede mig ved Jay Zs vokal eller lyrik, og jeg har altid fundet ham kedelig på mange af hans egne projekter. Der er dog en masse at anerkende dette album for, og lyden er helt tydelig skelsættende.
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.
Har formentligt sat et kæmpe aftryk på, hvordan genren lyder efter dette album. Det er godt, men det siger mig ikke det helt store.
* 90 Tidlig 00’er hip hip fra øverste hylde. En ægte opvisning i arrogant møgsvin attitude, gennemførte soul-y beats og ubesværet eksekvering. Ekstra kredit for optage hele skidtet på en forlænget weekend.
Jeg begik den store fejl at gå ind og læse gruppens anmeldelser, før jeg lyttede til albummet. Jeg var i chok. Jeg havde ikke behøvet at genhøre albummet, men det her er en af de aller bedste, når han er aller bedst. Kæmpe indflydelse, kæmpe spiller, kæmpe chef.
Jeg må indrømme, at jeg altid har syntes, at Jay Z er helt horribelt overvurderet. Jeg har aldrig rigtig set lyset. Til gengæld sker der noget i dag. Det er som om, det er lidt bedre, end jeg husker det. Stadig ikke helt deroppe, men det er ikke dårligt. Jeg vakler mellem 3 og 4 stjerner. Jeg lader dog *ikke* tvivlen komme den anklagede til gode i dette tilfælde. 3.7
Jeg er solgt - det spiller altså ret godt for Jay Z her
Lidt for meget umlaut over det her, der var dog rigelig "aha, aha", klassik Jay - men intet imponerende
okay album. Havde nok forventet lidt mere
Needs more Beyonce. 3.5.
Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5
Tylsä ja täysin yhdentekevä. Niin kaukana omasta maailmasta kuin voi olla. Ei tosin kauheasti ärsytäkään. Jonninjoutava. 2/5
If I didn't know any better I would think this Jay-Z fella didn't like this other fella named Nas. This is fine if not overplayed at the time. This came out my senior year of high school and it. was. everywhere. I still remember going to parties at my friend's house and all of the Jay-Z and other early 00 hip hop would be playing but when my buddy wanted everyone to leave and be hanging out with his closest friends we'd put on Yessongs and somehow that would clear the room. It was a simpler time.
Not bad, not the best
Not the best but cant give a 3.5
chlop co zna tylko slowo nigga aha nie wgl srednio mi sie podoba :( bit ok ale denerwuje mnie trocge
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.
Jay Z just comes up short for me. Nothing seems original and it all just seems flat.
Para nada el hip hop, no entiendo como esta basura puede llamarse musica
oh i’ve heard this before. don’t remember it much. when it comes to jay z, i like 4:44. don’t visit the rest very often.
2/10 Not for me. The samples and production carry the album, with some creative beats (The Ruler's Back's wind instruments, Heart Of The City), but I struggled with the content throughout. Girls, Girls, Girls has aged terribly, and many tracks lack the flow and substance to hold attention. Renegade is the standout, though mostly because Eminem's verses highlight the gap in delivery. A rough listen. Best track: Renegade Will I revisit?: No
Jay Z is one of the kings of samples and interpolations, and this album is all over the place with what it pulls from. “Takeover” alone bringing in both the Doors and David Bowie is ridiculous. It has that big, confident feel the whole way through, like he knew exactly what kind of album he was making. “Izzo” is one of my all time favorite Jay Z songs, so that already puts this album in good standing with me. “Girls, Girls, Girls” has some of the funniest lines on the whole thing, and “Song Cry” is such a specific kind of breakup song that only Jay Z could write it that way. Favorite song: “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”
It is OK. I can see back when this came out it may have meant more, now it does not stand apart from anything else.
This is...SO great.
Solid
00’s Hip Hop
The lyrics dont really resonate for me. The bravado and boasting about himself, money, drugs, and girls feels empty and shallow.
I now understand why I DO NOT like this. I don't find his lyrics to be relatable. The flow is fine, the music/beats are fine. I just do NOT care about anything that comes out of his mouth. I don't care that he has money or how many records or drugs he sold. I don't care how great he THINKS he is, he's just alright. I don't care about his beef with Nas. I don't care about his designer material possessions. I DON'T CARE. Just a cocky asshole making music for cocky assholes. 2
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.
Really solid rap album
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Renegade I can tell you right now, even though I like hip-hop, I'm not listening to the Collector's Edition. I can't devote 4.5 hours to Jay Z (I try to do every album at least twice). This album has some good songs (and a really good feat. by Eminem) but I think it suffers from being too long and simply not being as good as both The Black Album and Blueprint III. I expected to both recognize more songs and ideally enjoy more songs, but I found it very same-y instead.
Is the most important aspect of any plan.
At Girls, Girls, Girls I'm like "this is an incredibly straight song about a topic that interests me" but I was enjoying the overall music so I was hoping the lyrics would pick up. Then at Heart of the City we hit "men shouldn't be jealous, that's a female trait" and my face contorted to previously unknown configurations.
This is kind of cheating but I refuse to listen to Jay-Z