cletta1201's Full Review: The Black Album [PA] by Jay-Z
”I was conceived by Gloria carter and adnes reeves/ who made love under the sycamore tree/ so which makes me a more sicker emcee/ and my momma would claim that at ten pounds when I was born I didn’t give her no pain” – Jay-Z on “December 4th”
By now any and everybody who knows me knows that I love me some Jay-Z. I do want him to succeed – I do want his “last” album to be his best – I want him to go out in a blaze of glory and now with my personal bias set to the side – here’s what I really think about ”The Black Album”.
Sean Carter (Jay-Z’s real name) deserves some acclaim. He’s built an empire around himself. Hated by many, loved by even more – everything he touches turns gold (or platinum) and even without Hip-Hop there is no doubt in my own mind that Jay-Z will continue to be a name you’ll here whether it be within the confines of music or business.
The Black Album By Numbers
14 tracks
10 producers
Truth of the matter is, ”The Black Album” is so good that it’s hard to pick a starting point to focus on. There’s not a “bad” song to be found here, a few tracks I might question for their inclusion, but nothing that’s so garbage that I’d call it a bad choice. But let’s be clear about one thing. This is no Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z’s first and most highly lauded work to date) and it shouldn’t have to be.
Times have changed, and any real fan of music has to allow an artist to grow and grow Jay has. Not only has a human being, but financially and those things that were applicable in the Reasonable Doubt days just aren’t what life’s about at this point. So, I feel that one needs to look at ”The Black Album” as just what it is. The end of an era.
In recent times I’ve become partial to the production styles of Roc-A-Fella producers Just Blaze and Kanye West, and in the first listens of my newly beloved “Black Album” – those tracks are real standouts. ”December 4th” is cut with dialogue from Jay’s mother, and tells the story of the young Sean Carter and how he grew to be who he is. Produced by the aforementioned Just Blaze, the production is the perfect backdrop to the story of the glorious emcee.
”Encore” and ”Lucifer” produced by Kanye West are hands down the best of what “The Black Album” has to offer. West is a genius behind the boards and his style is utterly complimentary to that of Jay-Z’s own. ”Encore” just feels like the closing credits to a great movie, with a backdrop of a screaming crowd and a blazing horn section – if this isn’t a single, someone is smoking crack in the back.
”Lucifer” (produced by Kanye West) has a hint of reggae and tells the story of battling the devil as well as the streets. This is Kanye West on top of his game and Jay-Z dropping verse after verse of unparalleled wit. ”What More Can I Say?” starts off in a gladiator-esque way and is Jay’s own “Rocky” theme. If I wasn’t over The Neptunes before, I am now. While their contribution on ”Allure” doesn’t scream crazy, tricked-out beat, ”Change Clothes And Go”, a song that could have been slightly humorous, just borders on annoying. ”Change Clothes And Go”, a song about not being pressured by a woman after an “episode” is lyrically above average, but production-wise just feels corny.
The Timbaland produced ”Dirt Off Your Shoulder” has a gritty, southern feel to it and is pretty damn good: ” as the best rapper alive/ nigg@ ask about me/ from bricks to billboards/ from grams to Grammy’s”, “Dirt..” is the requisite, I’ve come up from nothing track that you’ve become accustomed to hearing. ”Threat” (produced by 9th wonder) features a hysterical lead-in (and some great cut-ins from a pseudo thug). Here Jigga lets you know that he is not to be clowned, regardless of his status, but I have a nagging suspicion that there will be no thuggin’ at the hands of Mr. Carter.
Slim Shady himself Eminem, gets behind the boards again to lend a hand on ”Moment Of Clarity”. While I’m just not a fan of Eminem’s production style (cheap rip-off of Dr. Dre), it allows for concentration the lyrics: ”if skills sold/truth be told/ I’d probably be/ lyrically/ talib kweli/ truthfully I wanna rhyme like common sense/ but I did 5 mill/ I ain’t been rhyming like common since.”. For me personally, I think that’s one of the most insightful looks into the mind of Jay-Z and I have to respect him for the honesty.
"Problems" produced by Rick Rubin, has well – a Rick Rubin feel to it. It feels like an old Run- DMC beat and the hard rock edge suits Jay-Z. DJ Quick’s”Justify My Thug” (which features a sample of Madonna’s “Justify My Love”) is production wise boring and nothing I would expect from Quick, but lyrically – it’s another one of those moments where you get to see the real Jay-Z.
The final track in what has been an illustrious career is the excellent ”My 1st Song”. It’s a reflection on a career that has really been unparalleled. Produced by Aqua & Joe 3h Weinberger, I have to shed a tear as “The Black Album” comes to a close – just kidding, I’m NOT that big of a fangirl.
- Final Thoughts -
Honestly, one of the major difficulties in reviewing this album is that lyrically it’s not all that deep. On this his ninth album since 1996, it feels like the king is running out of things to talk about and it seems appropriate that he would. The 2003 edition of Jay-Z is not the same as the Jay-Z who made Reasonable Doubt, that was a 20-something, struggling to break into the music industry and after so many years of being on top (quit hating, you know he’s been on top) – it’s time to move on. God Bless The King.
Final Rating: 4.5 Stars
Great Music to Play While: Thinking About How Great Jay-Z REALLY Is.
The Black Album, Jay-Z s tenth and final solo disc, features tracks by Pharrell and Dr. Dre. Cross promotional tie-ins to the disc include the simulta...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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