Jay-Z rallies up a crew of all-star collabos in his latest album “Blueprint 3.” Besides the badass lyrical voice of this famed hip-hop superstar, you’ll hear Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, Swizz Beatz, Luke Steele, Kid Cudi, Pharrel Mr. Hudson, Drake, and Kanye West up in the mix. Although he pulled a major douchebag move at the MTV VMA’s this past Sunday, Kanye is far from a douche when it comes to producing an album. With his innovative mind gracing the majority of the tracks on “Blueprint 3,” Kanye falls short of disappointing us here.
The album’s street single “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” is the fuckin’ jam. Auto-tune is musical magic that can make anyone into a singer, Jay-Z calling it out is just all the more reason to favor his legit ways. One of the partial inspirations for Jay-Z to write the song was hearing Auto-Tune being used in an advertisement for Wendy’s fast-food chain. It made him feel that what was once a trend had become a gimmick. Besides the honest bold lyrics, the saxophone makes this song and instant banger.
Damn it to hell! Alicia Keys can collaborate with a bum singing “Old McDonald” and still make it sound like a million bucks. That woman has the most fierce female vocals around. Needless to say, the beat and melody of “Empire of State of the Mind” is pretty damn amazing on its own. This song is the kind that will constantly get stuck in your head, but the shit’s so hot it don’t bother you one bit.
With a bit of an 80’s pop-lockin’ feel, “Off That” featuring Drake is a tight jam sure to inspire some carboard breakin,’ Beat Street style. I just might have to bust out the robot if I ever hear this jam up in the club. Oh wait, I don’t go to the “club.”
Dripping with sexed up beats and clever innuendos, “Venus vs. Mars” makes opposites attract a sensual act in the pop world. “Me I’m from the apple which means I’m the Mac, she’s a PC, she lives in my lap.” Only Jay-Z can make owning a PC vs a MAC sound so sexy.
Just like when you’re running a marathon, you gots to pace yourself and let that energy ride the entire 26 miles. Though Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3” is full of innovative flair and instrumentals that have definitely ventured out of the box, it seems to run out of gas toward the end of the album. The first half is far more engaging track-for-track. But toward the end I found myself loosing interest. Needless to say, the final quarter of the album is heavier on the rap and lyricism with little to no musical fabrications (sans “Forever Young”), taking it back to the original “Blueprint.”
Delivering another solid album, “Blueprint 3” is yet more gold spun out of the creative mind of Jay-Z―always pushing the limits and creating a domino effect in the music and style of other like musicians.
Pros: “On to the Next One” featuring Swizz Beatz is all sort of fresh. With dope ass beats that will get your head bobbing, don’t be surprised if you see some ladies embark in a series of booty-claps.
Cons: I can do with out “Real As It Gets” featuring Young Jeezy. Not a fan of Young Cheezy and everytime I hear this song, I get distracted by Naughty By Nature’s “Hip-Hop Hooray.”
