Review Summary: "The Ruler's Back".
After releasing a classic debut record with Reasonable Doubt, and four other records that never quite lived up to that success Jay-Z needed to whip up an album that reestablished him as one of the top rappers in the game. Like his rival Nas, he was falling upon the path of mediocrity with a fantastic debut along with records that continue to further degrade his status among the hip-hop community. Was it the beginning of the end for the Brooklyn rapper? Far from it. Still following the yearly basis of releasing a new set of material, Jay-Z threw to the masses his 6th album "The Blueprint" on the infamous date of September 11th, 2001. Considering the decline of his previous four records, the core hip-hop community had low expectations for this particular record. They couldn't have been more wrong, as Jay-Z released a record that cruised by his four other albums by a long shot and is up there with his incredible debut as his best set of material. No wonder "The Blueprint" is widely-regarded as one of the greatest rap records of the young 21st century, and no doubt one of the greatest of all-time.
Jay-Z, in his last four records saw him collaborate with producers like Swizz Beats, DJ Premier and Timbaland which led to solid results but never quite pushed the Brooklyn rapper to legendary status. In "The Blueprint" Mr. Carter looked up to guys like Just Blaze, Blink and Kanye West to help do the majority of the production along with others like Timbaland and even Eminem producing a track or two. It worked massive wonders as "The Blueprint" saw Jay-Z divert towards a more soulful and sample-reliant sound, unlike in "In My Lifetime, Vol.1" with its glossy beats of the jiggy-era and the rough, hard-core beats of his three other albums. The opening track "The Ruler's Back" showcases the change in sound, with samples drawn from Jackie Moore and Slick Rick along with a orchestral arrangement so grand and pompous it's easy to recognize it as the album's "grand entrance". Add that to the intelligent and incredible rapping from Carter and that formula sets the tone for the entire record. His excellent, swagger-like flow that is prominent throughout the album is able to keep the listener both interested and entertained, along with his fantastic ability to add structure to his verses.
"The Blueprint" never slows down, with its unique blend of soulful beats that earned both mainstream appeal and street credibility with all regions of the hip-hop community heavily praising the album and the critics proclaiming it then as "the album of the year". It maintains a balance of giving the commercialized joints along with the underground, appealing to every fan of the genre. Standout tracks like the Eminem-produced track "Renegade" see the only guest feature on the album with the Detroit rapper which turns out well, along with the Kanye West-produced track "Takeover". A diss track to two of Carter's rap enemies at the time, Nas and Prodigy, Jay-Z dedicates a verse to each rapper with lines dissing the two about the words they've said. With both hip-hop feuds essentially over with, it's amazing to listen to how Carter intelligently puts together rhymes that discredited these rappers. Other standout tracks like "Heart In The City (Ain't No Love)" sees another sample, this time from the Bobby Blue Band with Jay-Z slamming his critics and the refreshing "Izzo (H.O.V.A)".
"The Blueprint", whether or not it was intended, is the classic record Jay-Z fans and the core hip-hop community has been waiting for since his fantastic debut with "Reasonable Doubt". The atmospheric style portrayed in the album will never be replicated, with many trying to intimate it but of course never worked out. The impressive delivery and flow from Jay-Z is certainly something to behold, and furthers cements his status as one of the greatest rappers of all-time. Is this better than his 2003 record "The Black Album" and his 1996 debut "Reasonable Doubt"? That is debatable, but if you were to end the argument "The Blueprint" is up there with those two fantastic sets of musical bliss as Jay-Z's best material. He certainly created "The Blueprint" to making a classic and overall enjoyable hip-hop album with this wonderful comeback of a record.
