The Blueprint

Infobox Album
Name = The Blueprint
Type = studio
Artist = Jay-Z


Released = September 11 2001
Recorded = 2001
Manhattan Center Studios
Baseline Studios
(New York, New York)
Genre = East Coast hip hop
Length = 63:41
Label = Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam
Producer = Jay-Z (exec.), Damon Dash (exec.), Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.), Kanye West, Just Blaze, Bink, Timbaland, Eminem, Poke and Tone
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:309ss39qa3zg link]
*"The A.V. Club" (Favorable) [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/12925 link]
*Review-Christgau|A-|name=Jay-Z
*"XXL" Rating|5|5 (XXL)
*"Entertainment Weekly" (A) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,175535,00.html link]
*Pitchfork Media rating-10|8.7 [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/18836-the-blueprint link]
*PopMatters (Favorable) [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/j/jayz-blueprint.shtml link]
*"The Source" rating|5|5 link
*"Stylus Magazine" (B+) [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/jay-z/the-blueprint.htm link]
*"VIBE" Rating|5|5 [http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/2072460/a/The+Blueprint.htm link]
Last album = ""
(2000)
This album = "The Blueprint"
(2001)
Next album = ""
(2002)
Misc = Singles
Name = The Blueprint
Type = studio
single 1 = Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
single 1 date = August 21 2001
single 2 = Girls, Girls, Girls
single 2 date = October 2 2001
single 3 = Jigga That Nigga
single 3 date = January 29 2002
single 4 = Song Cry
single 4 date = August 16 2002

"The Blueprint" is the sixth studio album by rapper Jay-Z. It was released on September 11 2001 (a week earlier than planned, to combat bootlegging). Despite being overshadowed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, the album sold over 426,000 copies in its opening week, becoming Jay-Z's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the "Billboard" 200. It was certified two times platinum as sales stand at over two million units in the U.S. [Basham, David (March 29 2002). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1453141/20020328/jay_z.jhtml Got Charts? Jay-Z & R. Kelly, Cornell & Rage: Dynamic Duos — Well, Maybe Not] . MTV. Accessed May 24 2008.] [ [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=The%20Blueprint&artist=&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25 RIAA Searchable Database] . Recording Industry Association of America. Accessed May 24 2008.] Jay-Z boasted about the record's success on the track "The Bounce" from his following album "".

Background

"The Blueprint" was reportedly cut in two weeks, with Jay-Z allegedly writing the lyrics in two days. [Recounted by Jay-Z on the documentary "Collision Course" DVD. "Collision Course". Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Roc-A-Fella/Warner Bros./Machine Shop Recordings. 2004.] Jay-Z awaited two criminal trials for gun possession and assault. At the time he was engaged in feuds with Nas, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and others attacking him in song. Parts of "The Blueprint" became a battle album, particularly in "Takeover", 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 The Jackson 5. Exceptions include "Jigga That Nigga", "Hola' Hovito", and most notably "Renegade", a track produced by and featuring Eminem.

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. Most consider "The Blueprint" to be one of Jay-Z's best albums, holding it on a level close to that of his debut, "Reasonable Doubt". 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 "" (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. [ [http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid=1&csid1=2325 Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority ] ] 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", "Late Registration" and "Graduation".)

The song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" has later on been used in the movie trailer for the film "American Gangster", in which Jay-Z did not have a role. But later, based an album off the movie's concept which also became Number #1.

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".
* One of only a handful of albums to receive a perfect rating from both The Source and XXL.
* Ranked #12 in "Wire" magazine's "50 Records of the Year 2001".
*RS500|464

Track listing

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
*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

References