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Underground > Radio & Music >

Jay-Z: The Blueprint 2

Matthew Fluxington

10:10 / 28.06.02

In case some of you weren't aware, there are some new Jay-Z recording floating around on various file sharing services right now, they are from a special advance promo of this fall's The Blueprint 2. The songs are "South Philly Niggaz", "Show You", "Calling My Name" and "Early in the Morning".

I'm not sure how I feel about them just yet - I really love "Calling My Name", which has this thumping one-note bass line and a piano sample that sounds extremely familiar but I can't place it. It sounds a lot like late 70s Elton John or something. It's really smooth and sweet, it isn't entirely unlike a mellow "Takeover" with a little dash of "Hard Knock Life". This song, like the other three just don't sound finished yet - I hope they aren't. All four are promising, but seem to be missing something, they lack the 'oomph' of other recent Jay-Z music.

Measured up against the best songs off of The Blueprint, this stuff is neither here nor there. I hope Hov's saving the best for the actual release and is just trying to throw us all of with this promo.

05:23 / 10.11.02

I just fished up the whole album. The first track A Dream is just one big long Biggie sample (and the line "Blow up like the world trade/ born sinner..." seems to have been edited into "blow up like the born sinner"). Dead air? thats the best they could come up with? Hrmmm.

Gonna go give the rest a listen...tell you about it tomorrow.

08:32 / 11.11.02

Has no one else heard this yet?

The tracklist:
01-A Dream (feat. Faith Evans & Notorious B.I.G.)
02-Hovi Baby
03-The Watcher 2 (feat. Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts)
04-'03 Bonnie & Clyde (feat. Beyonce Knowles)
05-Excuse Me Miss
06-What They Gonna Do (feat. Sean Paul)
07-All Around The World (feat. LaToiya Williams)
08-Poppin Tags (feat. Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista)
09-F**k All Nite
10-The Bounce (feat. Kanye West)
11-I Did It My Way
01-Diamonds Is Forever
02-Guns & Roses (feat. Lenny Kravitz)
03-U Don't Know Remix (feat. M.O.P.)
04-Meet The Parents
05-Some How Some Way (feat. Beanie Sigel & Scarface)
06-Some People Hate
07-Blueprint 2
08-N***a Please (feat. Young Chris)
09-2 Many Hoes
10-As One (feat. Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Sparks & Rell)
11-A Ballad For The Fallen Soldier
12-Show You How (Bonus Track)
13-Bitches & Sisters (Bonus Track)
14-What They Gonna Do Part II (Bonus Track)

"My gut feeling is that we've got another Wu-Tang Forever on our hands"-Fluxblog.

I think he might be right. I still haven't made it to disc 2 yet but the beats on disc one are all over the place (I'm going to have to buy the thing just to find out how many different producers are on this record) and there are enough guests to start a small party. Hmmm.

And yet...after listening to it (well, the first half) for the last couple of days its quickly growing on me. I've even taken a liking to A Dream (even though I wish Jay would give the Biggie stuff a rest).

Two things only slightly related to this album:
1. A Dream has me thinking that hot producers could put Biggies lyrics over new beats and I'd buy Ready To Die a hundred times over.
2. I really hope the rumor that Dre is producing Rakims next album is true.

22:53 / 12.11.02

my brother and I got this album a day early, and were anticipating it so much that we had already listened to it 3 days before on mtv.coms first listen station...Im extremely biased because in my opinion, jay z cannot be touched as an emcee, but in my opinion this album surpasses the blueprint, no questions asked...you've gotta ask yourself to start off how in the hell is jay gonna top blueprint 1 in the first place...I think his answer to this question would probably be (and you can tell by the new album) Ive got to go off the deep end with this one...and thats exactly what he did...he has broke every rule with this album and just destroyed his competition...nobody can do what hes done or does, and hes proven it...youd be hard pressed to name another rapper who can flow over jays off the wall beats with such precision and grace. his flow is unmatched...there are still a few tracks Im trying to grow accustomed to, as it is with any album thats beyond the norm, but Ive learned over the years that even my most favorite albums I usually HATE before I love them, because all those albums break the mold...they are unlike anything that I really appreciate when I first get them...again Im extremely biased, but I expect this album to be criticized in the biggest way, just because its so different

09:46 / 13.11.02

jay z cannot be touched as an emcee

You're insane. And do you really think the beats are that different? Seems like the usual suspects commiting the usual crimes to me.

Regardless, I expect this album to be criticized because its too long, has a couple of crap tracks back to back (Guns & Roses and U Don't Know [Remix]), has too many guest spots (M.O.P., please go away), and there isn't a, I dunno, cohesive feel to the whole thing. Its like a collection of singles rather than an album. That said, there are some really good tracks and I'm sure I'll be rocking this thing for quite a while once I burn it down to a single disc.

Matthew Fluxington

12:06 / 13.11.02

I pretty much agree with Bio K9 - I wish I could offer a more detailed opinion, but I just haven't been listening to the album much, mostly because there's not much there that is enticing me to go back over it, and also because I feel so disappointed that listening to it makes me a little upset.

I'd feel better if it weren't called The Blueprint 2. The Blueprint was a cohesive album in which nearly every song had a consistent feeling and quality, and didn't rely on guest stars, it was all about Jay-Z. Jay's rhymes are alright on this record, but the music is uninspired, and the guest stars rob the album of focus.

"A Dream" is good, but you know what? "Juicy" is a lot better. I don't need a new remix of that song, there's no reason to trot Biggie out posthumously AGAIN. It's tasteless. The song would have been fine without the Biggie "Juicy" verse.

Near as I can tell, the only song that is truly great on this album is "Meet The Parents", that one comes together very well musically and lyrically. It reminds me of '96 Wu Tang, which certainly helps...