madtheory's Full Review: American Gangster [PA] by Jay-Z
It’s not hard to comprehend why Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z felt enamored enough with celebrated criminal Frank Lucas to mirror his album, American Gangster, after the Denzel Washington / Russell Crowe biopic of the same name. Both started out as small-time drug dealers that ascended to Olympian heights of success by staying two steps ahead of their competition and years ahead of their time. The irony is that the constant parallels that Shawn Carter tries to force between himself and his newfound idol is the main reason this album fails so miserably.
Jay-Z’s idea of pouring himself into the protagonist’s shoes for this LP certainly seems like an attractive one at first. However, the manner with which he constantly beats the concept into the heads of the listener through his verses and era-appropriate musical selections leaves much to be desired, not to mention the fact that playing the role of an untouchable drug kingpin is not exactly fresh territory for Shawn Carter. He rehashes the usual drug fantasies revolving around the pursuit of mountains of snow, Beamers, and a block to rule over on “American Dreamin,’” Diddy’s Hitmen production camp mercilessly hacking a beautiful Marvin Gaye song into an unremarkable two-bar loop, then covering their tracks with plastic synths and other equally artificial accoutrements. “Say Hello” is more of the same, Jigga lyrically stroking a bad guy self-image over anthemic strings and horns.
Even the collaborative joints albums fall flat on American Gangster. Sporting a banging boom-clap combo, Jay’s ode to his hometown “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” had the potential to be a hot remake of the Beastie Boys classic, but Louisiana-native Lil Wayne is given far too much time on the mic for his poorly written, sandpaper-rough ‘em-singing.’ Also, Roc compatriot Beanie Sigel wastes an opportunity to spit something of substance on the in your face “Ignorant Sh*t,” especially considering the ignorant sh*tstorms he constantly subjects himself to. Fortunately, Jay saves the day with a bit of unexpected thoughtfulness in the denouement: “I missed the part where it stopped being about Imus, what do my lyrics have to do with this sh*t? …are you saying that what I’m spitting/ is worse than these celebutantes showing their kitten, you kidding?”
Despite the album’s shortcomings, Jigga does manage to include a few tunes worth adding to your MP3 player of choice. The sultry “Party Life” succeeds as an eight-bar slow-flow, Jay swirling a liberal dose of pimp swagger into his normal braggadocio. Also, more than anything else on this LP, “Falling” epitomizes what a true gangster epic is all about. He describes the meteoric rise of an unnamed gangster (although the story naturally mirrors Lucas’) and the subsequent fall once his suspicious activities turn him into a blip on the FBI’s radar. The Hitmen redeem themselves somewhat here, their uptempo drums and descending tones capturing the impending rapid descent described in the lyrics.
To put it simply, Jay-Z is better than this. Superimposing his own hustle over Lucas’ was a stretch for Jay to begin with, and the premise becomes more transparent and less tolerable with the passing of each track. The production offers no respite either, as somehow Jay’s production staff manages to make some of the most influential music from one of the most revolutionary eras in black music sound tedious and tiresome. American Gangster is nothing more than an expensive ego-trip; an attempt to further inflate Jigga’s already over-exaggerated hustler mythos. See the movie, but leave this on the shelves.
Track Listing:
01. Intro
02. Pray
03. American Dreamin’
04. Hello Brooklyn 2.0 feat. Lil Wayne
05. No Hook
06. Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)…
07. Sweet
08. I Know
09. Party Life
10. Ignorant Sh*t feat. Beanie Sigel
11. Say Hello
12. Success feat. Nas
13. Fallin’
14. Blue Magic
15. American Gangster
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