Pros: Jay-Z sounds more inspired than in Kingdom Come; a terrifically executed concept album; soul-tastic production
Cons: An anemic first single, a lukewarm Weezy and a questionable Pharrell contribution tarnish the show
The Bottom Line: The fans who were disappointed with Kingdom Come might find solace in American Gangster: an album that finds Jay-Z seemingly more concerned with making better albums
balogun's Full Review: American Gangster [PA] by Jay-Z
Jay-Z was barely out of studio-album retirement, and already it was proving to be a rocky return. For a man who just never seemed to be toppled even slightly from his perch during his reign as hip-hop’s most enduring top dog, 2006’s Kingdom Come was a major let down. Although I will forever contend to my dying days that his “comeback” LP is not the artistic disaster too many have condemned it as—quite the contrary, it is a very good effort—Jay surely did not dispel such widespread theories when his next single, “Blue Magic”, hit the airwaves—an anemically-produced Neptunes track of hollow drums and sparse arrangement of synths, organs and orchestral hits that found Jay in the same flow of indolence (the Rakim inspiration notwithstanding) that tarnished Kingdom Come. And what was Pharrell doing singing a portion of En Vogue’s “Hold On” in such a corny fashion? This definitely wasn’t looking good. Jordan with the 4-5? Ha!—more like Jordan with the Wizards.
Behind the scenes, though, rejuvenescence was imminent. Catching an early screening of American Gangster—a biopic on the rise and fall of Harlem heroin kingpin Frank Lucas—and armed with a battalion of beats mostly produced by Diddy and his production team The Hitmen (specifically LV and Sean C), Jay-Z had found new inspiration. His tenth studio album, American Gangster, has become as much of an unofficial soundtrack to the movie as it is the merging element of a synthesis of his two best albums. Lyrically in alliance with the hustler days of Reasonable Doubt while sonically in tune with the '70s soul of The Blueprint, it is Jay-Z’s personal twist on the movie as he portrays himself as hip-hop’s version of Frank Lucas, and it results in one of the stronger efforts in his catalog.
Right after the harrowing “Intro”, which serves as a preface for defining the term “American Gangster,” Jay kicks it off with “Pray”--over the chilly backdrop of rapidly-moving strings and overdriven guitar, he narrates his impoverished beginnings, doing everything he can “to beat life, ‘cause [he] can’t cheat death,” even as he shows remorse for his coke dealing. It is his entrepreneurship—its manifestation in such a vice notwithstanding—that transitions into his success of “American Dreamin’”. The sampling of the subtle string-heavy Marvin Gaye cut (“Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again”) exudes a comforting sense of accomplishment that is marked by instant gratification…and the absence of a higher education. Why bother with college when he and his cronies had a multitude of Beemers?
And that is what accounts for the epoch—literally and figuratively—that is “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is…)”. “This is black superhero music right here, baby!” he proclaims. Indeed: It is a powerfully funky assembly of trumpets (You can grandly thank Diddy, LV and Sean C for that!) with Kanye West, Beyonce and Cassie joining in the festivities in the background—a indomitable party vibe that dominates the very middle of the disc.
So far, there are only a few bumps in the road. Although his appearance is not outright bad, Lil’ Wayne might want to chill a bit on the number of guest verses, for it is becoming increasingly apparent that quality is not on par with quantity. His usually charming croak is stripped bare by the skeletal 808 thump of Bigg D’s “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” (a remake of a portion of the Beastie Boys’ nine-part finale in Paul’s Boutique). And even though Jay-Z pays homage to his place of origin, it’s just not rousing enough to sustain interest. Similarly, the Neptunes stumble (again!) in “I Know”, although they (or should I say…Pharrell?) has Jay to thank for his wooing lyrics (and no, he's not singing about a girl here...) compensating from the stagnant synth-laden track.
But by the end of the first half of the album, the American Gangster is satisfied with where he is at in life. “They ask if you ashamed/[…]/I can walk down the hall of mirrors in Versailles/And be so satisfied when I look myself in the eyes/No shame, no sir!” he admits in the eerie funk of organs, guitars and congas of “Sweet”. In fact, the line between music and hustling is somewhat blurred by this point. “Please don't categorize this as music,” he pleads in the solemn “No Hook”. “Please don't compare me to other rappers/Compare me to trappers; I'm more Frank Lucas than Ludacris!” The hints of penitence are clearly gone; he’s too busy “tearing the coast up” with his big boats and going to a lounge with his girl Beyonce to slow-jam to the “Party Life”. Yep, Top Dog in town—he’s like a young Michael Jackson, and these other suckers is Tito.
No wonder the latter half brims with cockiness, and he has his boys in tow. Beanie Sigel shows up, if only briefly, for “Ignorant S**t”, in which Just Blaze does a wonderful job sampling the ending part of The Isley Brothers’ oft-sampled “Between the Sheets” (instead of the section made famous by Biggie’s “Big Poppa”). The soaring strings and synths are more than enough to highlight Jay-Z at his grittiest in the entire album: “And with that said, I will kill n***as dead/Cut n***as short, give you wheels for legs/I'm a K-I-double-L-E-R/See y'all in hell, shoot n***as straight through the E.R.!” Returning the favor of “Black Republicans” off his Hip Hop Is Dead LP, Nas lends his welcome support in the beautifully unsettling organ thump of No I.D.’s “Success”, where Jay-Z’s gloating (e.g. “Even If I fell, I'll land on a bunch of money!”) is matched word-for-word by Nas’ (e.g. “Google Earth Nas; I got flats in other continents!”).
The cockiness does have its limits, though. He has the nerve to be a social commentator, making the umpteenth parallel between the ugliness in rap music with that of Terminator movies (“Ignorant S**t”), even though he does make interesting points in the slow soul of “Say Hello”: “We ain't doing crime for the sake of doing crimes/We moving dimes ‘cause we ain't doing fine/[..]/Tell [Al Sharpton] I remove the curses/If you tell me our schools gon' be perfect!” Behind the façade, his conscience is still gnawing at his very soul. And for a guy who rose in such a way to prominence, his downfall is, as Bilal sings in the sparkling soul of “Fallin’”, “inevitable”—the American Gangster is finally brought down for his horrendous vices, drawing the auditory experience to a close.
Or is it over? Unfortunately the aforementioned “Blue Magic” is one of the pair of tracks tacked on to the end of American Gangster. Thankfully, though, the very title track itself, closes it all—Jay-Hova himself is as if resurrected, flowing over a triumphant sampling of Curtis Mayfield’s horn-n-strings-helmed “Short Eyes”. “I might break, but I don't fold, ‘til I hold the sky in my hand. Yeah that's my goal!” proclaims Jay, a few seconds before the album ends in a sprinkling of piano notes.
Far from an alarm that he might want to relive his younger unruly days (Come on, at the end of the day, Frank Lucas is one of the last guys anyone should emulate!), American Gangster instead finds Gray-Hova thankfully settling into his role as elder statesman and art-advancement enthusiast. He’s done it all: the chart-topping singles and albums; the numerous multi-platinum certifications and industry accolades; and with this record, even tying the King himself for the most #1 albums. It’s now more about the art; there is not one cut in the album that blatantly screams “Hit single!” It is indeed one cohesive audio-movie of a record, drawing parallels (and even blurring the lines) between he and Frank Lucas, with all due thanks mainly to Diddy and his Hitmen who provide the commercial sheen that goes perfectly with the milieu of success. This goes to prove that Jay-Z has finally answered to the detraction that dogged most of the first act of his recording career: matching substance with style, and confirming his place as one of the greats of hip-hop. Chalk up American Gangster as what Kingdom Come could have been: a proper comeback album.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Intro
2. Pray
3. American Dreamin’
4. Hello Brooklyn 2.0
5. No Hook
6. Roc Boys (And the Winner Is…)
7. Sweet
8. I Know
9. Party Life
10. Ignorant S**t
11. Say Hello
12. Success
13. Fallin’
14. Blue Magic [*]
15. American Gangster [*]
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