The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released November 12, 2002
Genre
Length 112:02
Label
Producer
Jay-Z chronology
The Best of Both Worlds
(2002)The Best of Both Worlds2002		 The Blueprint2
(2002)		 The Black Album
(2003)The Black Album2003
Singles from The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse
  1. "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"
    Released: October 10, 2002
  2. "Hovi Baby"
    Released: November 12, 2002
  3. "Excuse Me Miss"
    Released: February 4, 2003

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (stylized as The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse) is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album serves as a sequel to his sixth album The Blueprint (2001). Parts of the album were later reissued for his compilation album, titled Blueprint 2.1 (2003). The album debuted at number one, shipping with first-week sales of 545,000 units. As of February 2012, the album has sold 2,117,000 units in the United States.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[4]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
NME8/10[7]
Pitchfork7.5/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Spin9/10[11]
Uncut[12]

The Blueprint 2 received lukewarm reviews from critics.[13] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 64, based on 19 reviews.[2] According to Nathan Rabin, the record "led many to claim that [Jay-Z] lost his vise-like grip on rap music". In his review for The A.V. Club, Rabin deemed it "overreaching but surprisingly solid", featuring a first disc of clever pop-rap jams and a second that was "darker and more erratic".[14] Rolling Stone critic Christian Hoard said The Blueprint 2 was another "strong record from hip-hop's most dependable voice" but felt Jay-Z's flow was more impressive than the production, finding it "long on both bouncy funk and forgettable R&B samples".[10] AllMusic's John Bush believed Jay-Z showcased some exceptional songs but could not carry the 110-minute double album as consistently as its predecessor.[3] Soren Baker was more critical in the Chicago Tribune. He felt Jay-Z's reworking of other rappers' music ("It Was All a Dream", "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", and "The Watcher 2") was unimaginative while the rest of the album lacked his usual enthusiasm.[15] "It reminds me of nearly every other double CD", David Browne wrote in Entertainment Weekly. "It could have been a good single disc."[6] Robert Christgau named "U Don't Know (Remix)" and "Poppin' Tags" as highlights while writing in his Village Voice consumer guide that he was disappointed Jay-Z sampled Paul Anka for "I Did It My Way" when he could not get permission to use Frank Sinatra's recording of "My Way".[16]

Rollie Pemberton was more enthusiastic in his review for Pitchfork, writing that Jay-Z "weaves his way through every imaginable style and flavor with unyielding expertise".[8] Billboard hailed it as "the most ambitious and most fully realized album of his career",[17] while Q felt it surpassed his previous album.[9] In the opinion of Spin critic Chris Ryan, The Blueprint 2 found Jay-Z "tightening the screws of his delivery" and discovering a "bruising poetry in a flow that once seemed clumsily conversational".[11]

Track listing

Disc one: The Gift
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."A Dream" (featuring Faith Evans and The Notorious B.I.G.)
West4:12
2."Hovi Baby"
Just Blaze4:21
3."The Watcher 2" (featuring Dr. Dre, Rakim and Truth Hurts)
Dr. Dre5:55
4."'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (featuring Beyoncé Knowles)
West3:25
5."Excuse Me Miss"
The Neptunes4:41
6."What They Gonna Do" (featuring Sean Paul)
Timbaland4:54
7."All Around the World" (featuring LaToiya Williams)
No I.D.3:52
8."Poppin' Tags" (featuring Big Boi, Killer Mike and Twista)
West6:00
9."Fuck All Nite"
  • Carter
  • Williams
  • Hugo
The Neptunes4:19
10."The Bounce" (featuring Kanye West)
  • Carter
  • Mosley
  • West
Timbaland4:18
11."I Did It My Way"
  • Kendrix
  • Big Chuck
3:42
Disc two: The Curse
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Diamond Is Forever"
  • Ron Feemster
  • Big Chuck
3:56
2."Guns & Roses" (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
Heavy D4:26
3."U Don't Know (Remix)" (featuring M.O.P.)
Just Blaze4:27
4."Meet the Parents"
  • Carter
  • Smith
Just Blaze4:59
5."Some How Some Way" (featuring Beanie Sigel and Scarface)
Just Blaze5:37
6."Some People Hate"
Kanye West4:32
7."Blueprint2"
Charlemagne4:49
8."Nigga Please" (featuring Young Chris)
The Neptunes4:38
9."2 Many Hoes"
  • Carter
  • Mosley
Timbaland3:34
10."As One" (featuring Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk, Sparks and Rell)
Just Blaze3:49
11."A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier"
  • Carter
  • Williams
  • Hugo
The Neptunes4:42
12."Show You How" (bonus track)
  • Carter
  • Smith
Just Blaze2:59
13."Bitches & Sisters" (bonus track)
Just Blaze2:39
14."What They Gonna Do, Part II" (bonus track)
  • Carter
  • Darrell Branch
Digga3:47

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 8
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[19] 66
French Albums (SNEP)[20] 79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 61
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 49
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 52
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 23
US Billboard 200[25] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[27] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Grein, Paul (2012-02-29). "Week Ending Feb. 26, 2012. Albums: Half of the Top 10 | Chart Watch (NEW) - Yahoo! Music". Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  2. 1 2 "Jay-Z Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2002-11-12.
  3. 1 2 The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse at AllMusic
  4. ↑ "Review". Blender. December 2002. p. 156.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Album: Jay-Z: The Blueprint 2". Robert Christgau. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Browne, David; Drumming, Neil; Serpick, Evan (November 19, 2002). "H.O.V.A. Kill". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  7. ↑ "NME Album Reviews – Jay-Z : The Blueprint 2 : The Gift & The Curse". Nme.Com. 2005-09-12. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  8. 1 2 Archived April 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. 1 2 "Review". Q. January 2003. p. 120.
  10. 1 2 Hoard, Christian (November 12, 2002). "The Blueprint, Vol. 2: The Gift and the Curse". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Ryan, Chris (2003-06-24). "Jay-Z, 'The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse' (Roc-a-Fella) | SPIN | Albums | Critical Mass". SPIN. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  12. ↑ "Review". Uncut. January 2003. p. 119.
  13. ↑ Muhammad, Cedric (November 15, 2002). "Hip-Hop Fridays: In Defense Of Jay-Z And Blueprint 2". Black Electorate. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  14. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (2002-12-06). "The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse: Jay-Z | Music | MusicalWork Review | The A.V. Club". Origin.avclub.com. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  15. ↑ Baker, Soren (November 24, 2002). "The Blueprint 2 -- The Gift & The Curse". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  16. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 11, 2003). "Consumer Guide: The Prelude". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  17. ↑ "The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse". Billboard. November 30, 2003. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Jay-Z – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Jay-Z. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2 – The Gift & The Curse" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2 – The Gift & The Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2 – The Gift & The Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2 – The Gift & The Curse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Jay-Z | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "Jay-Z – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Jay-Z. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  26. ↑ "Jay-Z – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Jay-Z. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse". Music Canada.
  28. ↑ "British album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  29. ↑ "American album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
8 Mile Soundtrack		 Billboard 200 number-one album
November 24, 2002 – November 30, 2002 		Succeeded by
Up! by Shania Twain
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