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Underground > Radio & Music >

Jay Z - the Black and other Albums

  
  

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No star here laces
07:54 / 04.11.03
This has leaked.

It is absolutely fucking incredible.

I'm actually speechless.

Tracklist:

01:. Intro 01:21
02:. December 4 04:33 (prod. Just Blaze)
03:. What More Can I Say 04:55 (Buchannans)
04:. Encore 04:11 (Kanye)
05:. Change Clothes and Go 04:18 (Neptunes)
06:. The Threat 04:05 (Timbaland)
07:. Soundtrack 04:06 (9th Wonder)
08:. Moment of Clarity 04:24 (Eminem)
09:. 99 Problems 03:54 (Rick Rubin)
10:. My Name is Hov 02:53 (Just Blaze)
11:. Justify My Thug 04:04 (DJ Quik)
12:. Lucifer 03:12 (Kanye)
13:. The Theater 04:52 (not sure, Neptunes or Dre)
14:. My First Song 04:45 (Aqua)


Some random shit:

The last song on the album is called "my first song" and is all about treating the last thing he ever records as the same as the first. It makes me want to cry because I think he actually means it.

"Justify my thug" has the following lines which make me grin like a loon:

Mr President, there's drugs in our residence,
Tell me what you want me to do
Come break bread with us
Mr Governor, I swear there's a cover-up
Every other corner there's a liquor store, fuck us up

"My name is hov" has the line "I'm Che Guevara with bling on" and hov certainly seems more hungry, angry and almost political on this album. It's raw...

"Lucifer" - Kanye West is god.
 
 
No star here laces
08:04 / 04.11.03
"Moment of clarity" - eminem production, sounds a lot like "lose yourself" same building tension thing. Could be getting old, except Jay is godlike again. And weirdly he's repping Talib Kweli and Common Sense

"The music business hate me cause the industry aint make me"
"I dumb down for my audience to double my dollars
They criticise me for, but they all yell holla"
"I'd probably be.. Talib Kweli
Truthfully I'd like to rhyme like Common Sense"

It's like the most articulate critique of the undie scene I've heard. Jay is basically saying he decided what was important to him, and although he knew he could out-do all those guys on all the technical aspects that hip hop nerds go on about, that wasn't what he cared about.

Actually the whole album is just so.. honest. Quite scary. Jay Z knows he has universal respect, he knows this is his last recording, he can get the best production talent in the industry and he's just going to sy what he wants to say. It ought to be horribly self-indulgent but it isn't at all. It's like,this is the brass ring that all those musicians out there are going for. If you make it, really really make it to the level where the industry is in the palm of your hand, this is what you can do. This is talent will out, and it raises serious questions for the indie aesthetic as the home of self-expression...
 
 
No star here laces
08:07 / 04.11.03
Euch. "99 problems" is awful. It sounds like fred durst banging on a dustbin.
 
 
No star here laces
08:22 / 04.11.03
The Theater

"Man I'm high off life, fuck it I'm wasted"

"Son it ain't even fun no more, I'm jaded,
Man it's just a game I just play it to play it"

Bittersweet enjoyment of fame - loving it but simultaneously sick of it...
 
 
No star here laces
08:29 / 04.11.03
Waaah. Am bursting to talk about this but none a you fuckers is home.
 
 
illmatic
09:35 / 04.11.03
I can't really talk about it I'm afraid as I've heard fuck all. The only thing I've heard so far is "What more Can I Say" via Flux's blog and I wasn't that keen on it on first listen. It just didn't seem to have the energy and power that my favourite Hip Hop tracks had. Passable, but not incredible. Will give it another go though. Tch, I dunno, the amount of music I'd totally dismiss wihout Barbelith. Looking forward to hearing the LP.

Weird. Jay Z rapping he'd be like Common Sense - do people agree with this, do you think he's that talented? Got skills like say Biggie, or Kool G Rap? What are people's opinions?
 
 
The Falcon
12:14 / 04.11.03
I dunno. I read an interview in which Jigga claimed simply to carry all his lyrics in his head; that he never wrote them down/learned them, per se. If that's true, it's a pretty remarkable feat in and of itself.
 
 
The Falcon
12:18 / 04.11.03
I'm checking some shareware for this, and there appears to be a 'Black Album (Prequel)', with different tracks, as well.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:37 / 04.11.03
That prequel is just a street bootleg of older songs. Pay it no mind.

I've heard 9 songs from the album so far, and I'm amazed. Just totally stunned. This is the REAL sequel to the Blueprint. I really don't want this to be the end.

If you move REALLY fast, you can get the first half of the record here.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:54 / 04.11.03
You seriously don't like "99 Problems," Jefe? I love that one, Jay sounds amazing on it. It seems to be an early favorite over on ILM right now too...
 
 
bio k9
04:41 / 05.11.03
 
 
bio k9
04:47 / 05.11.03
Track 10 is called Interlude or Public Service Announcement on the copies I've seen. #13, Allure, appears to be a Neptunes track.
 
 
No star here laces
06:03 / 05.11.03
Flux, the heavy handed rock guitar thing just turns me right off. It sounds so dated and horrible.
 
 
Bear
06:52 / 05.11.03
Not sure if this is the correct track 10 isn't the one mentioned above, but it seems to be the real deal?

Right Click - Save As 76mb

No speakers though so I can't comment but thought I would pass it on...
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
12:24 / 05.11.03
I see what you mean, Jefe - I tend to get turned off by that sort of heavy handed use of guitar on hip hop tracks myself, but I think they got a really nice tone on the guitar on this song, and it just works with the song and the lyrics. The dynamics just sound right with it.

Allure = The Theater, by the way.
 
 
Not Here Still
16:50 / 05.11.03
I take it the Rick Rubin producing the 99 Problems track is the Rick Rubin of Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill fame?

Forgive my ignorance of producers and all that, but didn't he pretty much quit hip hop and head of to produce rock bands and Johnny Cash instead? Or has he kept his oar in on the quiet?
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
17:44 / 05.11.03
Rick Rubin's production credits.

Rubin has produced a host of famous records.
 
 
Not Here Still
18:15 / 05.11.03
Cheers for that Flux, and yeah, no dispute there - I own quite a few Rick Rubin produced records.

I was just wondering - and looking at that list would seem to (more or less) confirm - how much hip hop Rubin produced nowadays.

Not loads, which would seem to suggest that he was picked for his old-school sound (samples of 'When the Levee Breaks" + loads of guitar, etc.) It is more a case of 'Girls' rather than 'Girls, Girls, Girls' and makes me think he's been picked for nostalgia reasons by Jay Z. Then again, I haven't heard the songs and my computer is too crappy to dowload on, so I should perhaps shut up until the album hits the racks...
 
 
illmatic
13:55 / 09.11.03
I'm listening to "My name is Hov" right now, it's fucking hot! Really looking forward to this LP.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
23:21 / 16.11.03
Yeah, the organs on that track are just superb.

Have finally got a copy of this (albeit one which is scratched already so I can't listen to '99 Problems' - damn, but I guess that's the universe's way of telling me I need to buy a copy), and damn it does not disappoint. Favourite track at this stage: either 'My Name Is Hov', 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder' (Timbaland does it again, utterly sick electro sound which I cannot wait to hear in a club setting - also, given the merely good Neptunes tracks on here I think Tim now is officially in the lead in their brilliant little competition to see who can make more jaws drop and bodies shake), or 'Lucifer' (again, the beat is HOT, but this also has some of the best lyrics I've ever heard from Jay-Z: "I can introduce you to your maker / Bring you closer to nature / Ashes after they cremate ya, bastards / Hope you been readin your psalms and chapters / Payin your tithes being good Catholics").

And I think the only problem with 'What More Can I Say' is that no matter how good the track is, I don't think it can possibly live up to the intro - one of the coolest, most approproate re-appropriations of film dialogue ever used on record:

"Are you not entertained? ARE YOU NOT entertained?!?"

I am.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
07:01 / 17.11.03
Inevitably, having belittled the Neptunes tracks last night, today 'Allure' is really starting to grow on me. That's a nice hook.

Oh, and Flux said:

I really don't want this to be the end.

But like it says on the intro, "all things must conclude... all things must come to an end." Everything ends, Flux. Everything.
 
 
No star here laces
08:41 / 17.11.03
A few words from the man himself...

Precis: link is to a New York times article in which Jay says that hip hop has got corny and there isn't enough competition out there to keep him interested. He reckons his best work was done 6 years ago, and its time for him to quit. He laughs at the suggestion that it's a publicity stunt "I'm sure I could think of something better than that!"
 
 
Not Here Still
17:41 / 19.11.03
Fuckin' hell, this is bloody great stuff. I've listened to hardly anything else since Monday, which is rare for me; but damn, what a good album. It certainly kicks the shit out of the Blueprint Two, that's for sure...

As i've said before on the board (I think it was the Strokes thread), I'm a moment man when it comes to a lot of music; and damn, this album is full of classic moments.

Musically, December 4 (because I like horns) is great; brilliant opener, and while Mrs Carter is on there talking about her boy, it's not the usual 'momma loves me' shit, it's actually interesting to hear. Dust Your Shoulder off is another musical highlight; those weird synth washes are the kind of touch that those who just rip off Timbaland's sound wouldn't go for, and make the track for me...

As for 99 Problems; I reckon your guitar allergy might be doing you a disservice there, Jefe; what about that beat? The guitar makes up less of the track than you think at first, and that bit about being pulled over by the cops is great. And, like I suggested before, if you're going to go for a producer with that old school Beasties guitar and drums vibe, Rubin is the man you'd go for...

Threat is brilliant lyrically; I was rewinding that loads to see if he'd said what I thought he'd said; namechecking David Blaine, the Rat Pack and the Las Vegas mob, Joe Pesci and that "I'll kill you/ commit suicide/ and kill you again" line; Justify My Thug, as has already been pointed out, has some genius stuff in it; and I really love that bit at the end of, I think, What More Can I Say, where the beat drops out and he's going on about his influence on pop culture.

Personally, I don't like Lucifer much, but that's more because of the way the Max Romeo sample's used than anything else; and while The Neptunes are meant to do no wrong, I think "Change Clothes" is a bit of a Countdown track - it's good, but it's not great. Which is a shame, because most of the other tunes on this are great. Probably why almost every producer gets mentioned on their track...

More when I can formulate my thoughts a bit better, perhaps when I can play the album while I'm posting. One final thought though; has anyone noticed how many mentions of Biggie there are on this album? I know he gets mentioned by Jay a lot, and I know his is a big shadow to step out of (no pun intended) but, well...
 
 
Not Here Still
17:47 / 19.11.03
BTW, for those of you who haven't seen the album in the shops; it literally is a black album, all packaging is black, the CD itself is black, everything - nice touch.

And the CD inlay booklet has an excerpt from the 'forthcoming' Black Book, which looks to be a novel. Intersting thought...
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
17:53 / 19.11.03
I've been thinking about this, and they REALLY should have made "99 Problems" the first single for this album. If they put that song out as a single, it's going to be a MONSTER hit.
 
 
Not Here Still
18:05 / 19.11.03
I've got a feeling it's a bid for Eminem's audience, if that doesn't sound too harsh; it's not meant harshly, it's a great track.
But it is also a formula that has served Eminem well; a rock/ rap crossover, multiple characters in comic situations, stuff like that...
might just be me; just my thoughts, ladies and gentlemen.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
19:45 / 19.11.03
More thoughts...

'My Name Is Hov' reminds me very much of Method Man's awesome 'Shaolin What?' in its flawless density: two minutes of tightly-packed lyrical brilliance. It contains probably my favourite one-liner of the year - "flyer than a piece of paper bearing my name" (do you see?) - just before Jay may or may not confirm those Beyonce rumours - "got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain". Jigga, you tease.

'Dirt Off Your Shoulder' - oh my God, Timbaland did it again. I think it's interesting to compare this to previous Tim/Jay collaborations: 'Hola Hovito' was great, possibly my favourite track from The Blueprint, but it didn't exactly sound like your typical Timbaland track - I'm not sure what it did sound like, but it got round the problem that arguably many MCs don't know quite what to make of the speed/rhythm of Tim's beats. That doesn't seem to trouble Jay-Z here: the bit where he stays on top of the track as Timbaland starts throwing in these crazy glitchy scratches and rewinds - "I drop that BLACK album then I BACK out..." - it's just a thing of wonder. Jaw-dropping.

(That's before we even get onto the subject of what a great club track this is, and how cool it's going to be if people start actually doing a little "brushing dirt off your shoulders" dance...)

'Allure' - at first I was too busy thinking about how familiar the Neptunes beat on this is, and thinking about how they've not really done anything amazing on this album - but then the hook insinuated itself into my brain and I realised hey, this is some great songwriting here. And then it dawned on me that the lyrics are fantastic: basically, it's Jay-Z talking about how every time he "solemnly swear[s]" to quit misbehaving, the "allure of the game keeps calling my name", and pulling him back in. Now, a less rapper or even this rapper on one of his lazier days would have just left at it at that, and there would probably still be some merit in it. But what he does here is to generalize the idea beyond just the specific temptations of his own vices ("the life") and talk about the other kinds of tasty bad behaviour that human beings find themselvesirresistiblyy drawn to, whether it's women having affairs with married men, or James Dean "dying young, leaving a good-looking corpse". As with much of the new RZA album, this is all about acknowledging that being bad might just be an inescapable part of the human experience - that every now and again, you have to let off that steam.

Which is also a concern in 'Lucifer', but if I start on that then I really will end up breaking down the whole album track by track...

I think 'Change Clothes And Go' is growing on me too - it has a very light touch to it, very shiny and poppy, kinda like 'Frontin'... Might make sense more as a single than it does on the album. Although I agree that '99 Problems' should be a single too - anyone know if there's a single/video out yet?

Also: that bit on 'Justify My Love' where he says "my apparel could stop God" and then this crazy ominous sound comes to be followed with "God forgive me, but..." etc - WOW.
 
 
crogdad
16:52 / 20.11.03
and how cool it's going to be if people start actually doing a little "brushing dirt off your shoulders" dance...)

I've actually used this gesture on the dance floor before. It's very effective and must be accompanied by a sort of smirk that implies that the dirt is coming from the fellas around you messing up your game. I got it off my brother.....I have no idea where he picked it up.

On the Black Album, I have nothing else to add, but I'm enjoying it a lot after two listens.
 
 
Not Here Still
17:44 / 20.11.03
Just to check - the Common Sense he's going on about here is Common, as he's now knwonw?

I Used To Love H.E.R., Like Water For Chocolate, Electric Circus etc? Interesting... Unplugged was with the Roots, wasn't it?
 
 
crogdad
20:39 / 20.11.03
Yeah, Common used to be called Common Sense and Unplugged was with The Roots.
 
 
PatrickMM
16:10 / 10.11.07
Anyone heard American Gangster? I'm on the second listen now and really enjoying it. The 70s sound is fantastic, and Jay's flow is as good as it ever was. If nothing else, the man knows how to open an album. The intro is an incantation, drawing you into the world of the drug game, and you get to hang there for the rest of the album. It's less single driven than the Black Album, more thematically and sonically cohesive. It's the best hip hop album I've heard this year.
 
 
Jackie Susann
19:12 / 12.11.07
I'm not so enthusiastic about it. I think it's a problem when the best verse on a new Jay-Z album is Nas'.

Old cribs I sold, y'all drive by like monuments
Google Earth Nas, I got flats in other continents

Shit yes! Album is so-so, should have given Beans longer on Ignorant Shit (problem when best song on new Jay-Z album is five years old, etc.)
 
 
Alex's Grandma
00:36 / 13.11.07
Common used to be called Common Sense

And I bet he still wonders why people don't like him, why he doesn't get the props that seem to come so easy to the likes of Fiddy.
 
 
Jackie Susann
02:53 / 13.11.07
Did you really spend four years working on that line?
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
09:55 / 21.11.07
I've only heard three or four tracks from American Gangster so far, but I don't think the fact that Beansie and Nas get good verses off on two of them necessarily overshadows Jay or makes it an unappealing album! He has some great lines of his own on both 'Ignorant Shit' and 'Success', and I like the over-arching concept of both of those - neither of them are 100% new, but he just seems to take both ideas further than before, with the borderline stream-of-consciousness buzzword cusswords in the chorus of the former, and the level of unimpressed dissatisfaction in the latter (made all the more striking given his actually hard-to-surpass level of success). The bit in 'Success' about the pointlessness of eating and drinking expensively when you're just going to expel it all later is brilliant, I think.
 
  

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