The Blueprint
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Blueprint | ||
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| Studio album by Jay-Z | ||
| Released | September 11, 2001 (US) | |
| Recorded | 2001 | |
| Genre | East Coast hip hop | |
| Length | 63:41 | |
| Label | Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam | |
| Producer(s) | Jay-Z (exec.) Damon Dash (exec.) Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.) Kanye West Just Blaze Bink Trackmasters Timbaland Eminem |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Jay-Z chronology | ||
| The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000) |
The Blueprint (2001) |
Jay-Z: Unplugged (2001) |
The Blueprint (2001) is the sixth album from rapper Jay-Z. Originally intended to be released on September 18, 2001, the album's release was pushed forward one week to September 11, 2001, in order to combat widespread bootlegging. Unfortunately, the album was released on the day of the terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Jay-Z's native New York City. Despite being overshadowed by the attacks, the album eventually went double-platinum, and sales stand at more than 2.3 million copies in the US, becoming his fourth consecutive album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200. Jay would later boast, "Rumor has it, The Blueprint classic/Couldn't even be stopped by bin Laden" on the track "The Bounce" from his follow-up album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse.
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[edit] Overview
The Blueprint was reportedly cut in two days. Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession, another for assault. At the time he had become hip-hop's most attacked artist, with Nas, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and others attacking him in song. Parts of The Blueprint became a battle album, particularly in "Takeover", on in which Jay-Z attacks Nas, Prodigy, and all manner of persecutors, set to the hard rock of samples of The Doors' "Five to One". "Takeover" closes with the line "To all you other cats throwing shots at Jigga/You only get half a bar, fuck y'all niggas" as a blanket response to all his enemies not mentioned elsewhere in the song.
In The Blueprint, Jay-Z and his producers turn to vintage soul, fueling almost every song with a stirring vocal sample: Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin and the Jackson 5. Exceptions include "Jigga That Nigga," "Hola' Hovito," "All I Need," and most notably "Renegade," a track produced by and featuring Eminem. "Renegade" was the only track with a guest rapping appearance, and many fans and critics feel that Jay-Z was overshadowed by Eminem's visceral, assonant rhymes. It also differs in tone from the rest of the album, featuring a much darker beat.
[edit] Critical Reception and Impact
The Blueprint contained a unique and balanced blend of soulful samples that had both street credibility and mainstream appeal, thereby garnering praise from all quarters of the hip-hop community and receiving special recognition from critics. Upon its release, The Blueprint was rated as Vibe Magazine's "Best Album of the year", and even received a 5 mic (out of 5) rating from The Source (a distinction reserved for hip hop classics). Pitchfork Media named it the 2nd best album of 2000-2004, behind Radiohead's Kid A. The popularity and commercial success of the album established Kanye West as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated producers. Furthermore, The Blueprint signaled a major stylistic shift in hip-hop production towards a more Soul/R&B-centric and sample-reliant sound, creating a number of imitators who attempted to emulate the album's atmospheric style. Prior to The Blueprint, mainstream hip-hop producers had largely eschewed music sampling in favor of the keyboard-driven Timbaland sound (characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music), due to the financial and legal issues associated with copyright laws. The Blueprint, however, revived musical sampling as a common practice in hip hop music and dislodged the digital keyboard-driven production style as the dominant sound in hip-hop music [1]. Kanye West would later incorporate some of the production and sampling techniques he used on this album into his own solo albums (see The College Dropout and Late Registration.)
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Featured guest(s) | Sample(s) |
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| 1 | "The Ruler's Back" | Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrel Phil Hurtt Bunny Sigler |
Bink |
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| 2 | "Takeover" | Shawn Carter Kanye West John Densmore Robby Krieger Ray Manzarek Jim Morrison Lawrence Parker Alan Lomax Eric Burdon B. Chandler R. Lemay |
Kanye West |
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| 3 | "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" | Shawn Carter Kanye West Berry Gordy Alphonzo Mizell Freddie Perren Deke Richards |
Kanye West |
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| 4 | "Girls, Girls, Girls" | Shawn Carter Justin Smith Tom Brock B. Relf |
Just Blaze | Additional vocals: Q-Tip, Slick Rick and Biz Markie |
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| 5 | "Jigga That Nigga" | Shawn Carter Jean-Claude Olivier Samuel Barnes |
Poke and Tone | Additional vocals: Stephanie Miller and Michelle Mills | |
| 6 | "U Don't Know" | Shawn Carter Justin Smith Bobby Byrd |
Just Blaze |
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| 7 | "Hola' Hovito" | Shawn Carter Tim Mosley |
Timbaland | ||
| 8 | "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" | Shawn Carter Kanye West Michael Price Dan Walsh |
Kanye West |
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| 9 | "Never Change" | Shawn Carter Kanye West Bobby Miller |
Kanye West | Additional vocals: Kanye West |
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| 10 | "Song Cry" | Shawn Carter Justin Smith D. Gibbs R. Johnson |
Just Blaze |
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| 11 | "All I Need" | Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrel |
Bink | ||
| 12 | "Renegade" | Shawn Carter Marshall Mathers |
Eminem | Eminem | |
| 13 | "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" | Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrel Al Green |
Bink |
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Track 13 contains two hidden tracks: "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)" produced by Just Blaze, and "Girls, Girls, Girls (Remix)" produced by Kanye West.
[edit] Album Singles
| Single cover | Single information |
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"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" |
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"Girls, Girls, Girls" |
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"Jigga That Nigga"
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"Song Cry" |
[edit] Music videos
 Jay-Z with girls in "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" |
 Jay-Z in "Girls, Girls, Girls" |
 Jay-Z in "Song Cry" |
[edit] Charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 1 |
| Top Canadian Albums | 3 |
[edit] Accolades
- Ranked #2 in Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of 2000-2004".
- Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 of 2001".
- Ranked #7 in Spin magazine's "Albums of the Year 2001”,
- Ranked #4 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001"
- Ranked #12 in Wire magazine's "50 Records of the Year 2001".
- In 2003, the album was ranked number 464 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[edit] Personnel
- Slick Rick - Vocals
- Biz Markie - Vocals
- Q-Tip - Vocals
- Richard Huredia - Mixing
- Tony Dawsey - Mastering
- Jimmy Douglas - Engineer, Mixing
- Timbaland - Producer
- Jason Goldstein - Mixing
- Poke and Tone - Producer
- Jonathan Mannion - Photography
- Tony Vanias - Recording Director
- Damon Dash - Executive Producer
- Shawn Carter - Executive Producer
- Eminem - Producer / Vocals (Renegade)
- Kanye West - Producer, Vocals
- Kareem "Biggs" Burke - Executive Producer
- Just Blaze - Producer
- Jason Noto - Art Direction
- Victor Flowers - Organ
- Josey Scott - Vocals
- Shane "Bermy" Woodley - Assistant Engineer
