| The Blueprint | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jay-z
Label: Roc-a-Fella
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $4.22
You Save: $9.76 (70%)
New (50) Used (24) from $4.22
Avg. Customer Rating:  434 reviews
Sales Rank: 4102
Format: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 586396
UPC: 731458639626
EAN: 0731458639626
ASIN: B00005O54T
Release Date: September 11, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | The Ruler's Back - Jay-Z, Carter, Shawn | | • | Takeover | | • | Izzo (H.O.V.A.) | | • | Girls, Girls, Girls | | • | Jigga That N***a | | • | U Don't Know | | • | Hola' Hovito | | • | Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) | | • | Never Change | | • | Song Cry | | • | All I Need - Jay-Z, Carter, Shawn | | • | Renagade - Jay-Z, Carter, Shawn | | • | Blueprint (Momma Loves Me) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The Blueprint may be Jay Z's most captivating record since Reasonable Doubt, but its predictably detached mood reflects the master hustler's superior ability to trick out lackluster subject matter with lyrical complexity and brief flashes of manufactured introspection. The Blueprint, a solid mix of preprogrammed radio hits ("Izzo," "Girls, Girls, Girls") and better-than-average mid-tempo compositions ("Never Change," "Song Cry"), confirms the Brooklyn rapper's legendary status. Blistering flames of the Queensbridge/Jay Z feud fan high with "Takeover," a direct attack on Nas, set over the Doors' rock & roll burner, "5 to 1." "Renegade" provides the album's only full-on guest appearance. Jay and Eminem take this opportunity to address haters (within the industry and in the general population) who don't understand the mind of an artist. Jigga spells it out on the title track: "Reasonable Doubt--classic, shoulda went triple." The Blueprint might not be quite on par with Reasonable Doubt but it is reasonably good. --Rebecca Levine
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| Customer Reviews: Read 429 more reviews...
 His Best Album September 11, 2001
19 out of 32 found this review helpful
This Jay-z album ranks among the best he has ever done, matter of fact this is better than his last two especially that Vol 3 and take it even further Vol 1. I had this album for a week, so I had time to compare and yes it is the real CD, Muthaforget a bootleg.On this album, Jay-z has acquired a hunger to declare he is the greatest of all time, which him and NAS are, that why I hate to see the beef because of that garbage Mc Memphis Bleek sayin' NAS dissed him on the song "Nastradamus". Jay-z and NAS was just on a song together with Lord Tariq that appeared on mixtapes. Nas and Beanie was rappin together on Puffy's song for the album Forever. All this because of a Bleek MC. So on track 2 "the TAkeover" (Big up to Kanye West for production) Jay-z disses Prodigy and Nas. Then comes that garbage track Izzo (Kanye West). Then Jay-z starts to drop his best stuff ever written which is smooth track Girlz, Girlz. Then "Jigga that" (Just blaze on the track) is alright but the following tracks kick off the realest he has ever wrote "U don't Know" (big props to Just Blaze) which he establishes he is a hustler for real, I'll sell water to a whale. then Hola Hovito (Timbaland),"Heart of the City" (big props to Kanye west for production), "Never Change" (Kanye West again), "Song Cry", All I need" then comes Renegrade featuring Eminem who also does the production is one of the tightest colabos you will ever hear. Then "the blueprint" and a garbage remix of Girlz, girlz which is a hidden track. Jay-z establishes he is one of the greatest of all time, because "if I ain't betta than BIG I am close to him" from "Hola Hovito". Yes he is betta than BIG, but is he the GOAT? He has all the power, this album great production, beats, lyrics and only 1 guest appearance I think this put him up there with PAC and the album that started it all ILLMatic. SO wait for STillmatic we will see if he is betta than NAS because MONEY AND CLOTHES DOESN'T MAKE U A BETTA MCEE, LYRICS DOES and remember NAS has lyrics, so wait and see. Let's see what Prodigy has to say remember he is from one of the greatest groups ever Mobb Deep. SO you cowards don't ever sleep on QB. ONE.
"You Don't Know" what you're doing..... September 18, 2001
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
After 5 CDs, Jay Z is trying to say that he has "The Blueprint" to the hip hop game. If you look at what Jay Z has done in the past few years, it's hard to argue with what he has to say. "Reasonable Doubt" clearly is his best release of all time. You had classics like "Brooklyn's Finest" w/Notorious BIG, "Can't Knock The Hustle" w/Mary J Blige, "D' Evils", "Can I Live", "Dead Presidents", etc. Jay Z has always found a way to reach hip hop fans. Even on "In My Lifetime Volume 1", when fans said that he was slippin' a bit when he tried to make a CD after his friend, Notorious BIG died. He still had classics like "Where I'm From", "You Must Love Me", "Imaginary Player" and "Streets Is Watching". Since then, Jay Z has been releasing his CD's on basically a yearly basis. He released the "Streets Is Watching" soundtrack and appeared on various songs. The best being "It's Alright" w/Memphis Bleek and "Murdergram" w/DMX and Ja Rule. The multiplatinum "Volume 2: Hard Knock Life" included "Can I Get A..", the impressive title track produced by the 45 King, "Coming Of Age (Part 2)" w/Memphis Bleek, and "Money, Cash,..." w/DMX. "Volume 3: The Life And Times Of Shawn Carter" was considered to be too commercial for some folks, but he still had the classic "Do It Again" w/Beanie Sigel and Amil, "Big Pimpin'" w/UGK, "Come And Get Me" and "It's Hot". The last 3 were produced by Timbaland, as well as the Nutty Professor 2 smash, "Hey Papi" w/Memphis Bleek and Amil. On his last release, "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia", Jay Z's CD featured Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel on various songs and was fueled by The Neptunes' produced 1st single, "I Just Wanna Love You" (Give It 2 Me). On "The Blueprint" Jay Z uses Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink for most of the production and he mixes some of the prior formulas used on his past few CDs for his new one. After one listen, you can tell that Jay Z was looking for a more soulful sound on this CD. This may be a disappointment to fans of Jay Z's hardcore sound. You won't find that on many songs on this CD. It seems like Jay Z is more relaxed and feels like he is #1 in the rap game and he can resort to that sound when need be. Clearly the best track on the CD is the Just Blaze produced, "You Don't Know". This song is one of the best tracks that Jay Z has ever made. Just Blaze created a great track and Jay Z takes it from there with his tale of hustlin'. "Renagade" with Detroit's finest, Eminem is also a nice track where the two go back and forth to the Eminem produced beat and tells how they have "Never been afraid to say what's on their mine now, any given time of day". This is a nice collaboration between the two rappers. "Girls, Girls, Girls" has Jay Z doing another thing that he does best and that is telling us stories about the ladies. He invites Q Tip, Slick Rick and the Diabolical Biz Markie to join him on the hook and the results are good. The most daring song on his CD has to be the Kanye West produced "Takeover" where he disses 2 of the best rappers out now, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas. He dedicates a whole verse to each rapper. This beef apparently started with Nas apparently dissin' Memphis Bleek. Now it has escalated into Jay Z dissin' Prodigy and Nas for words they have said. This could get ugly eventually but I hope that everyone will keep this one on the microphone and in the studo and not out in the streets. Other highlights on this CD include "Song Cry", "Blueprint" (Momma Loves Me) which will remind folks of Jay Z's "Where Have You Been" and Beanie Sigel's "Still Got Love For You", "All I Need" and the bonus track on the end of "Blueprint". Overall, Jay Z fans will be pleased. This is another installment for Jay Z. Can he continue his run and stay on top? That remains to be seen.
Jay-Z - The Next Blueprint Of Rap? December 9, 2001
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Well, we do know one thing, Jay-Z has gotten off the below average album slump which includes "Vol 3: The Life and Time of Shawn Carter" and "Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000-)." The same day the Sept 11 incident happened, Jay-Z released his new album, The Blueprint. Yall gotta admit, Blueprint is better than any Jay-Z album OTHER than "Reasonable Doubt" which is really Jay-Z's only real masterpiece. More than 2/3 of the album is sampled which is not all that bad but it would have been better if he would have used his own beats. Here's the rating of all the tracks:1. The Ruler's Back - Jay-Z's surely the king of the intros. Nice way to start off the album (8/10) 2. Takeover - One of tha best songs on the while album. He samples The Doors "5 to 1" and he lyrically murders Nas and Prodigy of Mobb Deep. (10/10) 3. Izzo (H.O.V.A.) - When this song first came out, it was good but now it's really played out but it's aight. (7/10) 4. Girls, Girls, Girls - Another great song. It talks about all the girls he's been with and the catastrophes of the relationships. This songs also featured Q-Tip and Biz Markie and the hook (9/10) 5. Jigga That N*gga - Funky beat. Jay-Z is lyrically great on the song. The first song on the album that's not sampled. (10/10) 6. U Don't Know - Crazy Song. I like it very much though. (8/10) 7. Hola Hovito - The beat produced by Timbaland. I lve the beat but I don't know where Jay is lyrically (7.5 outta 10) 8. Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love) - For some reason, I love the hook and Jay-Z is good lyrically on this track. (9/10) 9. Never Change - The track is about Jay and that he hasn't changed one big since he's been out. (8/10) 10. Song Cry - The next single. I really care for this track that much but is barely average. (7/10) 11. All I Need - The track is excellent. Not a sampled song thank god. I love the track and that beat. (9/10) 12. Renagade - Probably tha best track of tha album. Eminem steals the spotlight for Jay-Z from Jigga still is good on the track. Em produced the track very well here. 13. Blueprint (Momma Loves Me) - An autobiographical track about Jigga's life. Includes bonus songs such as Breathe Easy and Girls, Girls, Girls remix (10/10) Like Jay or not, you need to give this man some respect. Without Jigga, the rap game wouldn't be where it's suppose to be. After 2Pac and Bigge past, Jay as tooken the throne. I cant wait to see what Nas comes back with on "Stillmatic" but anyways, GET THIS ALBUM FOR SURE.
The Blueprint September 22, 2001
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Despite all that Jay-Z has accomplished in terms of commercial
success, street credibiity and record sales...most hip hop heads
are reluctant to call him the best in the game.
Why?
Well, for two reasons:
1) No matter how good Vol 1, 2, 3 and the Dynasty were, they
never reached the classic level of Reasonable Doubt.
2) The material on those four albums seemed too geared toward the
MTV crowd than the underground peoples.
With album #6...the rap game has officially been put on lock.
The Blueprint doesn't boast the normal list of big name producers. It isn't filled with party joints and commercial
hits (besides H to the Izzo). It isn't a promotion for Jigga's
Rockafella family. Guest spots are limited.
It is JAY-Z, pure and simple. The result is his best album since Reasonable Doubt, hands down.
Surprisingly, most of the songs on this album are slow and full
of emotionally introspective lyrics (similar to some of his past
work like Regrets, You Must Love Me and This Can't Be Life.)
And of course, there is the outstanding diss track Takeover and
Eminem drops in for a couple verses on Renegade.
My favorite track is Song Cry, where Jigga recounts mistakes that
led to him losing the love of his life.
In summary, Jay Z can no longer be considered just a consistent
performer with one classic album.
It's time that even the underground fans start recognizing the
king.
 Don't believe the hype (The Source, etc.). January 17, 2002
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
It's very important to note that what makes this album Jay-Z's most significant album since 'In My Lifetime Vol. 1' (and some critics may say since 'Reasonable Doubt,' but I feel as though 'In My Lifetime' was his best effort to date) are the old samples utilized throughout this album, such as I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 (Izzo H.O.V.A.), I Love You More and More Every Time by Tom Brock (Girls, Girls, Girls), I'm Not To Blame by Bobby Byrd (U Don't Know), Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City by Bobby Blue Bland (Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)), Common Man by David Ruffin (Never Change), Sounds Like A Love Song by Bobby Glenn (Song Cry)..those old samples are what makes this album. The lyrics, rhyme schemes, song concepts, vocabulary are all monotonous. Nothing that you haven't heard on any of his previous records or the status quo of hip-hip and music in general. What's funny is that he uses several unknown producers who samples nothing but old songs in the same manner as each individual producer employed on this Jay-Z album which leads me to believe that this album was a conscious effort to get that 5 mic rating and street credibility...after all, who would diss an album with unpopular samples from Bobby Glenn, David Ruffin???...smart move Jay-Z...at least for the ignorant casual listenership of music in general, but for others, we can see right through you. The aforementioned songs are only likable and listenable due to the old samples. Everything else is nothing but 'garbage.' The NaS and Mobb Deep diss track, 'Takeover,' is trash also. Just like NaS said: 'Eminem murdered you (Jay-Z) on your own ish (CD)...' in NaS' 'Ether.' NaS was referring to 'Renegade' featuring Eminem (and produced by Eminem). Eminem put Jay-Z to shame on Jay-Z's own album. What a shame. I wish that Jay-Z would have kept his style/charisma/vocabulary/rhyme schemes in evolution to the better part of 'In My Lifetime. Just think about it: If Jay-Z would have dissed NaS and Mobb Deep the same way that he flowed in 'Imaginary Fame' from 'In My Lifetime,' it would have made it very difficult for NaS to respond, but Jay-Z came with trash, therefore he exposed himself to humiliation. This whole album is a major embarrassment to NY, Roc-A-Fella, etc. It seems that Jay-Z has lost whatever boastful skills that he exhibited on 'In My Lifetime' and 'Reasonable Doubt,' permanently. The hidden songs ('Breathe Easy' which features a 1996 Cormega-used sample and 'Girls, Girls, Girls Remix' are nothing either). Don't believe the hype (The Source, etc.). This Jay-Z album is nothing special!
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