The Blueprint 3 Review

The other day, Wes Blaze called me and told me that Jay-Z on The Blueprint 3 remind him of when Michael Jordan came back with the Washington Wizards. At first, I wasn't sure if the comparison fit. But the more I thought about, the more I realized how eerily similar MJ and Jay-Z's careers have been. Both had an excellent rookie season, with Jay-Z dropping Reasonable Doubt (A classic in every sense of the word) and MJ averaging a ridiculous 28 points a game his rookie year with the Bulls. Both men have been in the game for a long time, with a long list of credentials. Both have a retirement under their belt, and both weren't quite as sharp when they came back from their short hiatus (I am referring to MJ's second retirement). Now when MJ returned from his second retirement with the Wizards, he still averaged 20 points a game. But he was older, slower, and a far cry from the man who won 6 championships. Jay-Z, upon returning from his retirement, put out Kingdom Come, which is many people's opinions, is his worst work to date. He then rebounded with the excellent American Gangster, and now he has brought us The Blueprint 3. Like MJ with the Wizards, there are some great tracks on the new record. But, there also a few flops, and it seems to be a far cry from his first Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt.

The CD starts out strongly with "What We Talkin' About" followed by "Thank You," which is one of the best tracks on the CD because it evokes memories of older Jay-Z. The beat is reminiscent of a Reasonable Doubt cut and Jay's flow is vintage Hova. I happen to be a big fan of Jay's two singles, D.O.A (in which we find Jay using his legendary status to tell shitty rappers to stop making music. It's like Emmit Smith telling Tony Romo to be a better leader. When a legend calls you out, you listen) and "Run This Town." "Empire State of Mind" might be my favorite track on the album, as Jay takes us on a journey through New York City, his birthplace. As someone who has frequented New York and loved every minute of it, you can really hear the passion Hova has about his hometown. Alicia Keys kills the chorus, completing this stellar track.

Sadly, the collaboration with Young Jeezy is a bit boring, finding nothing lyrically new from either one of them even though the beat is a definite head bobber. "On To The Next One" finds Jay stepping up his lyrical game, but the repeated chant of "on to the next one" that makes up the beat gets a tad annoying as the song progresses. Swizz Beatz doesn't seem to have a ton of variety with his sound these days.

The Blueprint 3 rebounds with another of my favorites on the album, the Drake-assisted "Off That." With Jay waxing poetic about what isn't hip anymore (you hear that Pac Man Jones? We don't make it rain anymore, we off that) over a sinister Timbaland beat, it's one of the best on Blueprint 3.

"A Star Is Born" is another gem on Jay's latest effort, as we find Jay-Z reminiscing about his favorite rappers and commenting on the current stars in the game. He then hands the mic over to a true upcoming star in J. Cole, his first signee to Roc Nation. Cole goes in with his 16 bars, Cole starts off his rhyme with this ridiculous rhyme pattern: “The flow cold as the shoulders of gold diggin’ hoes when a broke nigga approaches," and then continues to tear up the rest of his verse

Unfortunately, the rest of The Blueprint 3 begins to slide downhill very quickly. The chorus on "Venus vs. Mars" is just plain boring and uncreative, while the beat on "Reminder" makes me skip the track immediately. "I'm Already Home" showcases a great chorus for the Lonely Stoner, aka Kid Cudi, but Jay sounds bored as he raps, and his lyrics suffer because of it. "Hate" isn't bad, but Kanye, for the second time on the CD, outshines Jay-Z, who comes pretty weak when Ye' brought his A game. "So Ambitious" is horrendous. I can't believe Pharell spent any more than 10 minutes on this beat, and why Jay chose this one over the hundreds of others he was probably sent is beyond me. Hov's boring lyrics match the boring beat, making this my least favorite track on the CD. I feel like I need to say 'pause' when I listen to "Young Forever" but Mr. Hudson comes through with the vocals. Jay though, once again, is uninspiring with lyrics, leaving you with mixed feelings as the CD comes to a close.

In the end, The Blueprint 3 is not a bad CD by any means. But we all know Jay could have done better, a lot better. Lyrically, I don't think Jay came very hard on this CD. Jay has never been the guy to drop witty one-liners on you, but he was creative and gritty. His ability to tell street stories through his music is what gave Hova his rise to fame. I just don't see or hear that same grittiness on The Blueprint 3. For now though, the good songs will be bumping in my car, and it is still definitely worth a buy. Like MJ with the Wizards, it leaves you thinking back to the old days when Jay and Mike were taking over the game single-handily.