Welcome to Jay-Z Extravaganza

Well, “Rumor has it, the blueprint classic / couldn’t even be stopped by Bin Laden!”. Jay-Z is back with his next album, “The Blueprint 2 – The Gift and the Curse”. Let’s say it to everybody’s face: It has it all.

Let’s have a look at Jay-Z’s concept: A double album, two disc, one called “The Gift” and one called “The Curse”. And I wouldn’t call it a concept, if the names wouldn’t mean anything: While the first disc goes in an easier, more pimpin’, more credit card, more ladies-oriented direction, “The Curse” should show every damn rapper that it might be a Curse that Jay-Z is blessed with the flow – the second disc is hotter than the first one, but they both hit about 1000 degrees…

The producer roster is just a who is who: Timbo, the Neptunes, Just Blaze, an unforgettable Kanye West, Dr. Dre, No I.D… Every one of them does his own work, gives the album his own type of music, but due to the fact that they don’t really do the same type of sound, the album never gets boring.

The Gift

“A Dream” is an ode to B.I.G. and the best posthum feature of a Biggie verse so far. The Kayne West beat is an anthem, a hymn, a joint with this little twist of melancholy supported by Faith Evans singin’ the hook – great opener. “The Watcher 2” – a follow-up to Dre’s track featuring the doctor, Truth in the hook and Rakim in the last verse. And a contemplating Jay-Z redefining the term flow. “Bonnie & Clyde” featuring Beyoncé Knowles (my biggest hope in the R’n’B at this time of age) is just for radios and radioheads – but hot nonetheless. “All Around The World” with LaToiya Williams is the credit card track, “Poppin’ Tags” with Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista is a fast double-timer proving skills, and “The Bounce”, produced by Timbaland, proves self-esteem instead and talks about the people who see but just don’t know before the first disc ends with “I did It My Way”, a clever remake of Paul Anka’s same titled version of the song – once again a hymn, similar to the original.

The Curse

Enough for the happy shit, now it’s serious business: “Diamond Is Forever”, the first track, is a darks start and shows the game he is about to go for his 8th ring (of course without forgetting the mentioning of Phil Jackson when it comes down to rings). Lenny Kravitz might be too much of a heavyweight to get just this amount of musical presence on his collabo with Jigga – nonetheless, he does a great job, and Jay-Z too. M.O.P. team up with Hova for the remix of “U Don’t Know” – and their guttural style just brings even more fire to the track. “Some People Hate” might be the best joint on the whole album – Kanye West with a somehow oriental beat and Jay-Z going against the world – spitting in the faces of all the haters. “Blueprint 2”, the next track in line, is cocky, arrogant, contemplating, dissing the media and – first and foremost – the so-called prophet Nas. I guess he won’t be able to respond to this track, it’s killin’…

 Well I’ma stop here and won’t mention all of the tracks – 25 on the whole double album – ‘cause there’s enough words for all y’all to get it – it’s a classic. Even one might dislike the one or the other track – that’s okay, there are 25 joints, dudes!!! And most of them persuade, as far as production, but definitely also as far as the lyrics are concerned! The hundred million man did it again!

****** out of SIX SHOTS.