speeddemon531's Full Review: The Black Album [PA] by Jay-Z
Before the haters chime in, let me get one thought off here: Jay-Z is a talented dude. Call him a sellout, call him responsible for commercializing rap, call him a big-lipped, commercial pop rapper-but don't sleep on his skills. Besides, none of the other stuff is totally true-well, except the big lips thing.
At any rate, since his 1996 debut, Jay has had the rap game on lock, dropping at least one album a year and collaborating with artists ranging from The Roots and Talib Kweli to Michael & Madonna. He's done this with a nimble tongue, a jutted-out chest style of assuredness, and a knack for turning up catchphrases ("Holla at yo boy", "Focused, man") wherever he goes. What many hip-hop fans (and music fans in general) find frustrating about Jay is his inconsistency. A look at his list of albums finds two certified classics ("Reasonable Doubt", "The Blueprint") amid a sea of albums that are on the high side of mediocre, with his most recent being the double-CD mess "The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse". Edited down to a single CD, this might have been a classic, but it was ruined by...Jay's ego? Probably. Anyway, inconsistent material aside,the dude's on top of his game-given grudging respect from the underground while praised by his peers.
Very rarely does anyone get to go out on top-by choice. Aiming to be the only MC to vacate his throne by choice (as opposed to falling off or getting murdered) Jay treats us to his 10th album (counting the "Unplugged" joint and the R. Kelly collabo), entitled "The Black Album". On this album, Jay treats us to the same mind-jarring inconsistency that has greeted many of his previous albums. The highs on this album are irresistible, and truth be told, Jay holds it down lyrically on just about every track on the album. However, he doesn't always make the wisest choices in producers, making this album a somewhat frustrating listen.
I suppose we can start with Timbaland. Now, let's not act like Tim hasn't been making y'all dance with damn near the EXACT same beat for the past ten years. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" just sounds like more of the same in terms of Jay/Tim collabos ("Big Pimpin", "N*gga What"). It breaks no new ground. The most disappointing track on the album, however is DJ Quik's "Justify My Thug". A corny electro beat does damage to both Jay's skills as an MC and Quik's rep as an excellent producer. Not to mention the fact that they thugged out the chorus to Madonna's Public Enemy-jacking 1990 hit.
However, for every minus there is a plus, and Jay provides us with several excellent moments here. "What More Can I Say?" is a song that's as blustery as it's title may suggest. With some dude singing the chorus like his record contract depends on it and Jay's on-point rhymes about his achievements and career, this song probably inadvertently reveals that Jay's true stylistic mentor wasn't Biggie (and Jay was rhymin' before Big anyway), but fellow Brooklyn MC Big Daddy Kane. I've always thought the two were similar from a rhyming perspective, and you can almost picture Kane's baritone spouting Jay's words, culminating in a few acapella bars bfore the chorus thunders back in. This track is an excellent case for rampaging ego-in a god way, believe it or not.
Forgive me for not being a serious hip-hop fan who's got a stick too far up his @ss to dance one in a while, but I kinda like the two Neptunes tracks on here. Yeah, they're doing ABSOLUTELY nothing new with their styles, but "Change Clothes" is a fun song, period. I guess it's the rare occurrence where I enjoy the fact that Jay's rhymes are kinda lazy. the track itself just has a celebratory, summery feel. "Allure" is a much moodier piece that matches Jay's mournful rhymes.
Jay's not played the thug angle too hard, which makes the R. Kelly-sampling "Threat" a bit unnecessary. It sounds like Jay's trying to come off like 50 Cent. And true thugs don't date Beyonce and hang in the South of France, so the track itself just sounds a bit unbelievable-in a bad way. However, the Kanye West-produced "Lucifer" more than makes up for it. Proving that Jay can still act menacing when he's inspired, West goes deep in his record collection to find an obscure old reggae record, loops it to perfection, and allows Jay to flow endlessly.
However, the album's best track is "99 Problems". On this track, the guitars and drums boom. It's the perfect track for driving down the freeway at night, playing at top volume, feelin' all hard. The song's producer? None other than DJ RR himself-Rick Rubin-cofounder of Def Jam, former 1/4 of the Beastie Boys, genius producer of the Chili Peppers and Johnny Cash. Plainly put, this is one of the best tracks I've ever heard Jay rhyme over, with a bit of an amped-up "Rock The Bells" feel to it.
If you ask me, "The Black Album" is probably the third-best album of Shawn Carter's career. There are definitely a couple of weak tracks on this set, including-oh, I forgot-an Eminem track ("Moment Of Clarity"), which continues Em's tradition of slow, dragging beats that can't be saved by Jay's lyrical proficiency. However, most of the album cements Jay's position as one of the most successful and talented MCs out, and if his wish is to go out on top, he comes damn close to achieving it.
Rating: 4 stars
Repeat: "99 Problems", "What More Can I Say", "Lucifer"
Skip: "Threat", "Justify My Thug", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"
Great Music to Play While: Picking up a copy of "The Very Best Of Big Daddy Kane" to fond out where Jay really got his style from.
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
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![The Black Album [PA] by Jay-Z](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/37/20/13/2002260915-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.