The Blueprint

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Blueprint may be Jay Z's most captivating record since Reasonable Doubt, but its predictably detached mood reflects the master hustler's superior ability to trick out lacklustre subject matter with lyrical complexity and brief flashes of manufactured introspection. The Blueprint, a solid mix of pre-programmed radio hits ("Izzo", "Girls, Girls, Girls") and better-than-average mid-tempo compositions ("Never Change", "Song Cry"), confirms the Brooklyn rapper's legendary status. Blistering flames of the Queensbridge/Jay Z feud fan high with "Takeover", a direct attack on Nas, set over The Doors' rock & roll burner, "5 To 1". "Renegade" provides the album's only full-on guest appearance. Jay and Eminem take this opportunity to address haters (within the industry and in the general population) who don't understand the mind of an artist. Jigga spells it out on the title track: "Reasonable Doubt-classic, shoulda went triple". The Blueprint might not be quite on par with Reasonable Doubt but it is reasonably good. --Rebecca Levine

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2006-05-27 rating:
THIS ONE TOOK JIGGA BACK TO THE TOP, ARGUABLY HIS BEST, CLASSIC
after jay z had dropped reasonable doubt, a classic in every sense, and in my lifetime, a very underrated good album,it seemed he had fallen off, he dropped hard knock life vol, 2, which lost major points for having a guest appearance on every song, and the terrible(and i hate to say it) vol.3, jay z obviously took a long look at his mistakes, and made 1 hell of an album, this is album is a(as is the title) a blueprint for modern rap, jay z hired some brilliant producers for this, such as just blaze, the then unknown kanye west(this album made him the most wanted producer aside dr dre) and timbaland, and is lyrically excellent on it too, this album is extremely complete, as in, jay z is not afraid to show his soul to the world, and he raps about a variety of different things, the mood of this album is very soulful, and has beautiful samples on it, and, as i said before, the lyrics are brilliant, and after listening to this, you actually realize the lack of realy lyricism in alot of modern(commercial) rap, the album kicks off with the rulers back, the title is very self explanatory, jay z spits nice lyrics over nice production, the producer of this uses trumpets very nicely, the takeover comes next, arguably the best song on the album, which is a lyrical bashing of nas and mobb deep, nice doors sample, and jigga really comes ferocious on this, next is a track everyone knows, the radio hit h to the izzo, even though it is a radio hit its still a very good song, jay z basically talking about the struggles of hustling, next up is girls girls girls, another radio hit, and a very funny description of all jay zs girls, not my favourite track, but still worth a listen, after that its jigga that nigga, a track designed to get the club bouncing, very good timbaland beat, jay z has some very nice punchlines, and flows well, next is u dont know, a classic track, great just blaze beat, one of his best, and jay z comes hard rapping about his environment, and some very clever verses about, well, hustling, next is hola hovito, another radio track, very good timbaland beat, jay z basically adressing haters, next is the brilliant heart of the city, very good uses of samples, and jay z adresses haters on this, and pays tributes to some of his influences, never change is next, a great song basically about the struggles of hustling and crew loyalty, brilliant sample, yet another great track, song cry is a classic love song, apparently about a real life ex girlfriend, jay z is very personal on this, next is all i need, a good song repping the rocafella click, not my fav, but listenable, renegade, is arguably the best song on the album, jay z is lyrically at his best, and eminem is very good on it too, jay z spits very intelligent and introspective lyrics about the ghetto, and the stuggles of the ghetto, next is blueprint(momma loves me)jay z paying tribute to all the people who helped him in life, familiy and friends, overalll this album is terrific, order it now

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review by: sickmc date: 2006-05-17 rating:
JAY Z'S BEST
Wow this album is Dope!every track is hot even the 2 extra ones.
for me resonable doubt and this are by far his best albums,I also like the black album but it ant as good as them.
BEST SONGS:THEM ALL!

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review by: date: 2005-11-26 rating:
almost a classic
this takes Jay z back to the top. every song could be a hit. the standouts are h to the izzo, takeover,you dont know and hola hovito. every song has hot production and good lyrics.
the rulers back 4/5
takeover 5/5 great song aimed at nas and mobb deep about nas's weak rap skills
h to the izzo 5/5 nice radio hit
girls girls girls 5/5 funny radio hit about all his chicks
jigga that n***a 4/5 catchy radio hit
u dont know 5/5 very clever lyrics and nice samples
hola hovito 3.5/5 good song
heart of the city 4/5 great production good lyrics
never change 5/5 song about ghetto struggles good production and lyrics
song cry 5/5 sensitive song about an ex girlfriend
all i need 4/5 gangster song nice tune
renegade 4/5 good song addressing the haters
momma loves me 4/5 good song about his life

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review by: Hip Hop Head date: 2005-07-09 rating:
Hova Da God!
Yo Jay-Z is ILL!

And Blueprint proves this, he's been hot since Reasonable Doubt. And all the haterz been saying he's turned commercial(WOT!?!). And i just found this out today, that there r 2 extra tracks at the end of Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)! Takeover was a great diss, he destroyed Nas (Only for a while) on 1 verse! But Nas did come bak hard and he did come out on top.

There is only 1 fault on here, when he spits "And If I Ain't Betta Than BIG Then I'm The Closest One" nah nah BIG was the greatest rapper. All of the songs on here r great, just buy it!


review by: magpies_f_champions_league date: 2005-02-22 rating:
JAY-Z AT HIS BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is one of the best albums around, and is Jay-Z at his best. You never normally get albums where they could all be released as singles but this is one you can. It has Izzo on it, which is one of his best songs ever and other great songs like Girls, Girls, Girls and Renegade. A must buy!

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