When an artist releases a classic album, a flurry of positive and negative effects will come their way. On the one hand, they will have proved themselves as a great artist capable of making a great body of work, and most of the time they will also sell a lot more records too, and will get more hype around their next album since the expectations are so high. Also, they might start to get more recognition from their superiors, and be able to even work with some of them, surely any young hip-hop artist's dream. On the other hand, however, it puts a hell of a lot of pressure on said artist to follow up a piece of work widely deemed as a classic. Some (like A Tribe Called Quest and Mobb Deep) deliver with ease. Some (like Nas) don't ever quite match said classic but still maintain relevancy with some great albums. And some will drop some bullshit and drop off the face of the Earth shortly thereafter (see, sadly, quite a few members of Wu-Tang Clan). But there is another way. The way of releasing a blatant sequel to your classic album right afterwards so that you can build traction off the name of that album, and continue it's sound without having to switch things up with potentially fatal results (which could well have to happen with a completely differently titled album - see Mos Def's The New Danger and Common's Electric Circus). And this was the route that a certain Shawn Carter (known to fans of Glastonbury Festival as Jay-Z) decided to take when he was forced to follow up the absolute undisputed classic that was The Best Of Both Worlds- uhh- I mean, The Blueprint.
Jay-Z, also known as Jigga Man, also known as Hova, released his seventh studio album The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse (yes that's the title, and don't you forget it) in late 2002 in the midst of some interesting times in his life. Firstly, he was coming off of a classic solo record with The Blueprint and a bloody godawful collaborative album with R. Kelly called The Best of Both Worlds, that had supposedly been released with a subsequent world tour in mind, at least until Jigga found out that Kelly spent much of his free time pissing on underage girls, and decided to cut ties with him completely. Of course this didn't stop him once again teaming up with the bastard in two years time anyway, but that's a story for another day. The tour went ahead with just Jay and his friends, and was a success, but Hova still had something else on his mind. He had just been annihilated on record by fellow MC Nas on the song "Ether", and try as he might, he couldn't manage to record a radio freestyle that could sway the public his way again. So there was that. And on top of all of this, there were now quite a few rumours that he was actually dating the at the time fairly well-known Beyonce, who we all know would have turned into one of America's biggest superstars in just a few years time. Safe to say, there was a lot of things for Hova to be writing about during this period.
But still, did we really need a double album? Well, apparently so, at least in Hov's mind. And so we come to The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse, Jay's first, and as of now only, double disc album.
The idea for a double album actually came from one of Hova's many friends in the industry Young Guru, known for mixing and mastering on a plethora of mainstream releases throughout the late '90s and 2000s. According to him, it would help Jay to reach legend status since both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. had double albums. He apparently forgot that there were more incredible rappers than that whom Hov should be aspiring to, but I guess Nas was a taboo name in the offices at that time. Still, the idea for a double album was in Hov's head, and not even the strongest of tweezers could pluck it out (although they clearly tried, evidenced by Hov's apparent rubbing of his head in pain on the back cover of this thing). He then decided that a double album wasn't quite ambitious enough - what he needed was a concept album, and so then came the ridiculous title, one that reflected Hov's writing: a lot of positive ("The Gift") and a lot of negative too ("The Curse"). Since this is a mainstream hip-hop release, the concept isn't followed through very clearly at all, but still, props to him for giving the fans something to look for.
This album is long, and since I've already spent a while introducing it I can't really be bothered to list out the notable collaborators here like I often do - anyway, it's nice to switch things up now and then. No, I think it's now time for me to get into this tracklist, and see whether this album is as good (or as bad) as I remember. C'mon, let's get going!
Disc One: The Gift
1. A Dream (feat. Faith Evans & Notorious B.I.G.) (prod. Kanye West)
Over a triumphant beat from a pre-solo work Kanye West that sounds absolutely astounding in my opinion, Hov drops one of his best opening verses, recounting a dream he had about The Notorious B.I.G. to someone who apparently isn't supposed to run his mouth about what Jay is telling him. The rhyme schemes, flows and vocal deliveries Jay uses here are all absolutely impeccable, and I can say without guilt that this is one of my favourite verses from him. I also love it's meaning - it's Hov reminding himself that he doesn't need to listen to the critics and people who wanna down him, and instead he should remember that he's still a legend whatever happens. It's a great opening verse, and Faith Evans' passionate delivery during the chorus enhances the song's appeal, as do the Biggie scratches. Unfortunately, the song loses a lot of its momentum when the second verse comes in, which any self-respecting listener would recognise as the first verse of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy". I mean, really fellas? This song is great and I like the outro too, but that Big verse was really not needed.
2. Hovi Baby (prod. Just Blaze)
3. The Watcher 2 (feat. Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts) (prod. Dr. Dre)
Now, ain't that a line-up to go down in the history books. Of course, Hov did team up with Dre before, but still, Jay-Z and Rakim on a song produced by Dr. Dre? That's fuckin' dope. This is of course a sequel to the opening song from Dr. Dre's own album 2001, and it's weird that the sequel actually ends up bettering the OG. Dre's instrumental feels even more polished than the two beats we've heard prior, which is saying a lot, and yet it still retains the funky bounce of the original "The Watcher", which is a great thing. Hov starts things off here with a very long verse that takes shots at a certain Cam'Ron, while Dre spits a verse someone else wrote, and Rakim ends things on a high note with a fantastic contribution. The singing on here from Truth Hurts is also beautiful. Really, really great stuff.
4. '03 Bonnie & Clyde (feat. Beyoncé Knowles) (prod. Kanye West)
5. Excuse Me Miss (prod. The Neptunes)
6. What They Gonna Do (feat. Sean Paul) (prod. Timbaland)
An absolutely excellent song, and by "absolutely excellent" I mean "utterly dismal", naturally. This song sucks - Timbaland's beat barely qualifies as music, instead just consisting of weird synth stabs and annoying drums, and this chorus is one of the most painful I have ever heard. I mean, Sean Paul? Why?? Jay manages to slightly bring the track up with a stellar third verse, but unfortunately this only just about makes up for his terrible performance in the first verse. And what the hell is going on with that breakdown at the end? Seriously, this is the definition of godawful, and if you do like this song, I'd be shocked. Please let me know if you do like it, and if so, why? Or perhaps more importantly, how much did Jay-Z pay you to do so?
7. All Around The World (feat. LaToiya Williams) (prod. No I.D.)
Boring, generic piffle. A song about travelling around the world can be good, as Murs proved with "International", but unfortunately with a terribly boring beat and hook, this one really does nothing for me. I'm disappointed in No I.D., too. I mean, seriously man? You produced two of Common's best albums, and then this is what you've got for Jay-Z??
8. Poppin' Tags (feat. Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista) (prod. Kanye West)
Another astonishingly stacked lineup, one that to a modern audience might seem even more enticing than that of "The Watcher 2". It's weird to think that Killer Mike was actually a popular rapper back then considering the impact of his 2010s work, but that's just how the ball rolls I guess. This song bangs, and considering the incredibly low quality of the previous two songs, it's nice to hear something that sounds like it actually had some effort put into it. The instrumental on here from Kanye instigates the Dirty South flow that all three guests are known for, but forces Hov to change things up like he did on "Is That Yo Bitch?" three years prior - and he does a good job, albeit not as good as the three guests. Twista brings the best verse on the song in my opinion, but Killer Mike and Big Boi both drop their fast and slightly drawly verses with perfection too, so don't worry about that. Sure, Sleepy Brown's hook isn't brilliant, but it certainly isn't bad either, and will grow on you after a few listens. Tech N9ne said on his 2008 track "Why You Ain't Call Me" that he would loved to have appeared on Hov's "Renegade", but really I think this track would have been the best fit for him. Can you imagine that?
9. Fuck All Nite (prod. The Neptunes)
Yes, that is how he spelled "night". Ugh. This mindless filler is listenable, so that's good, but I want to focus this review on one particular section of the song that I noticed to be particularly fucking stupid. The line goes: "she called me her emergency dick-in-a-glass, haha (Hehehe) / I had to laugh for a second". So, what this means is that Jay either came up with the terrible, terrible nickname that is "emergency dick in a glass", and thought it was so good that he had to highlight it with a laugh and a pause afterwards, or he was actually called this by a girl he was sleeping with. Either way, that's fucking hilarious, but not really in the way Shawn apparently intended. Anyway, as I said, this one is the most forgettable on the disc, but hey, at least it's not as terrible as "What They Gonna Do".
10. The Bounce (prod. Timbaland)
Notable for including the first actual verse from Kanye West on a major label record, even though the back cover doesn't credit him for his efforts. Hell, he doesn't even fall in the "additional vocals" - the credits in the booklet list his name nowhere on this song. Crazy stuff - imagine hiding a Ye feature like that nowadays! Well, perhaps not right now nowadays, but you know what I mean... Anyway, this is a pretty fun track - Jay's lyrics are a lot more in-depth than you would expect considering the club-ready instrumental and hook, and Kanye's verse is fairly fun as well, even though he would get a lot better in the future. Hov's opening bars do come across as a little disrespectful to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy, but on the other hand the lines "for those that think Hov fingers bling-blingin' either haven't heard the album, or they don't know English / they only know what the single is and single that out to be the meaning of what he's about" are really, really good, and reflect the generic attitude that rap is all about showing off, just because some radio singles purvey this. This song is actually great - and don't ask me what Timbo thought he was doing with "What They Gonna Do", because he kills this beat.
11. I Did It My Way (prod. Jimmy Kendrix & Big Chuck)
Jay-Z finishes off the first disc with a song that prominently samples the very recognisable Frank Sinatra tune "My Way", only it's not actually the Frank Sinatra version being sampled, but rather the less recognisable but actually original Paul Anka version. This is the only song on the first disc to be done by no-name producers, and with that in mind it's pretty impressive just how great this beat is - it's intense, and fits well with some of the lyrical content on the track. And, in typical Hova fashion, this is the most serious song on this whole disc, as he discusses numerous positives and negatives of his life at the time, with the most notable moment being where he addresses the stabbing of Lance "Un" Riviera, which Jay allegedly committed at a Q-Tip record release party (for Amplified) after Un supposedly leaked the Vol. 3 album. That part is interesting as hell, but don't let it fool you - the rest of this shit is too. The intro goes on for a bit too long, but other than that this is surprisingly great considering the strange sample choice.
Right. On to disc two.
Disc Two: The Curse
1. Diamond Is Forever (prod. Ron Feemster & Big Chuck)
No, this song does not sample Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever", but weirdly it would only be three years after the release of this track when Hov showed up on the remix to a Kanye West song that utilised that exact sample. Interesting, huh? Much like the last song on the first disc, this cut is produced by two much lesser known producers (one of whom is mutual between the two songs), and once again the beat is surprisingly great. This intense instrumental is the perfect way to open up the second disc, intriguing the listener into wanting to hear more, and Hov utilises the beat to talk about his current stance over the rap-game, and also the rough story of how he got to where he is now. Hell, even the chorus is pretty catchy, if the delivery is a bit stupid. Yeah, this song is great, and a nice surprise for the hip-hop fans that actually put the second disc on (because those pop fans that bought this off the strength of the singles certainly wouldn't have).
2. Guns & Roses (feat. Lenny Kravitz) (prod. Heavy D)
Now, it's not the most ridiculous proposition to have Lenny Kravitz on your rap song - Busta Rhymes did it two years prior - but that doesn't mean this track works. At all. The instrumental on here from Heavy D (who also provides an intro) is alright, but unfortunately Hova decides to do his best impression of someone with glue in their mouth for his verses, leaving his flow sounding staticky and disjointed for a large portion of the time. The lyrics themselves are OK, but everything else isn't. Oh, and Lenny Kravitz' parts on here are pretty godawful too. An interesting experiment, and props to them for trying, but unfortunately this song doesn't really work.
3. U Don't Know (Remix) (feat. M.O.P.) (prod. Just Blaze)
M.O.P. hop on the most energetic track from the original Blueprint album, and let's be real - it's a match made in Heaven. The verses from Fame and Danze both stand amongst their best, and this instrumental is just simply perfect for the energy these two always have. Apparently Blaze actually did change the mix around on this one to make the drums and the bass hit a bit harder, but I never actually can notice this in the song - can anyone else? Still, the new guests are perfect additions to the song, and Hov's brand new verse is nice too, if not as iconic as those on the original. Still, I do have a gripe - this really should have been one of the bonus tracks on here, or even remained as the b-side it originally was. A remix of a previously released song that has pretty much the same instrumental should never be part of the standard album. Come on guys, you know better! Still, as it stands this remix is pretty bloody great.
4. Meet The Parents (prod. Just Blaze)
On this track, Jay spits a monumental story that surely stands as easily one of the best tracks of the man's career, at least post-The Blueprint. The story follows a woman called Isis who's child has just been killed, and in the midst of depression and misery, she reminisces on the birth of said child. She had been turned on many years ago by this aggressive, violent type of guy, and had managed to find a relationship with him. That one man happens to get her pregnant, and while he's present for the birth, it isn't long until he's out the door, not to see his son again for many years. However, after a long, long while, the man is out in the street when he sees this guy who looks strangely familiar. As the other guy pauses with a strange look as well, the man follows his instincts and shoots and kills the other man. Said other man happens to be the son he had all those years ago, whom's funeral was the focus at the start of the song. Jay uses this as a metaphor for how by walking out on your children, you're effectively killing them, especially if its in the cold streets of New York. The story and metaphors here are some of the most powerful and inventive in hip-hop, and Just Blaze's beat is truly astonishing too. Fantastic song. "Six shots into his kin, out of the gun / niggas be a father, you're killing your sons".
5. Some How Some Way (feat. Beanie Sigel & Scarface) (prod. Just Blaze)
A supposed sequel to "This Can't Be Life" from Jay's earlier record The Dynasty: Roc La Familia - it's pretty obvious what this track intended to instil memories of thanks to the subject matter and list of rappers being the exact same. A difference is that instead of mr. West, we now have Just Blaze behind the boards, for an instrumental that I just don't really like very much. It just feels too generic, and almost bubblegummy, if that's a word. Still, the hook is pretty good, and I'm always interested by this kind of lyrical content, but even then Jay and Beanie both sound pretty awkward during their verses when it comes to the flows they're using. This is one of those songs that I feel like I should like, but I just... don't. Sorry to the fans of this one - I understand what they wanted to do here, but it just doesn't cut it for me.
6. Some People Hate (prod. Kanye West)
Kanye shows up for a fourth and final beat, and it's another pretty great one, even if the atmosphere isn't as warm as some of his previous efforts on this album. Jay uses this one to take down the haters, which doesn't come across as particularly unique or interesting, but I can dig it - some people really do just hate unnecessarily. This is one of those songs that I can enjoy while I'm listening to it, but due to the vast amount of other content on this album, this one often gets lost in the shuffle, and I rarely ever play it on its own. Still, it's not a bad cut, and the shout out to 2Pac was funny to hear knowing who's voice we heard first on Ether.
7. Blueprint² (prod. Charlamane)
After the whole "Supa Ugly" disaster, surely audiences didn't think Hov would bow out in such an embarrassing way. And so here, as the title track to this album, we have another disstrack aimed towards a certain Nasir Jones. This diss is bloody great, as Jay spends his time on the track questioning Nas' legitimacy as a "real" hip-hop artist, and as a so-called conscious rapper. Jay paints a scene where he is the poor scrutinised man who's actually incredibly generous in real life, while Nas is a lying facade, hiding a greedy misogynist who's club records get often overlooked, despite some often dodgy subject matter. This diss isn't as iconic as "Takeover", nor as brutal as "Ether", nor as unique as Nas' response to this one "Last Real Nigga Alive", but you'd better be sure that this is very much not one to sleep on. It's an incredible diss, and that classic sample used in the beat makes it even better - who doesn't love a bit of "The Ecstasy Of Gold"?
8. Nigga Please (feat. Young Chris) (prod. The Neptunes)
I can't say "hug my nuts" was the most thrilling insult Hov could have spouted at the beginning of this song, but then again we are 19 songs in at this point. Dude must be getting tired. This song kind of fucking sucks - The Neptunes provide a synth heavy instrumental that simply grates on the ears until you're forced to go into the moldy club bathrooms before they actually fall off, which presumably wasn't the intent, and the "wah-wah" noise is just distracting in a completely unintentional way. Also, Pharrell's singing improved a lot from this era. As for the MCs? I literally don't remember a single thing Hov said, and I've listened to this song many times now. Also, Young Chris is on here, not that anybody knows who that is.
9. 2 Many Hoes (prod. Timbaland)
I guess Jay has given up on creating interesting song titles, and has instead transitioned into "dreadfully crass" names for his creations. Over a fairly catchy Timbaland instrumental, Hova makes a point of referring to the men that want to talk to him in bars as the "hoes", and he spends most of the song addressing these guys that go up to him constantly (because he's Jay-Z), therefore cramping his style when he's trying to get with women. The beat sounds good at first, but quickly starts to wear off, and Hov's subject matter should have been reserved to four bars at most, not a whole ass song. This isn't great, I must say.
10. As One (feat. Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Sparks & Rell) (prod. Just Blaze)
The engineer of this project Young Guru named this song when talking about tracks they had used to fill up The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse. You can see why. This is possibly the most boring, uninspired, unexciting, generic posse cut I have ever heard. What the fuck is this, man??
11. A Ballad For the Fallen Soldier (prod. The Neptunes)
As the final song on the second disc that isn't a bonus cut, and therefore the final song on the proper album as a whole, Jay drops something a bit more melancholy, and I'm very glad he did, as after those last three songs we needed something to get the blood flowing again. This song is actually excellent as hell, as Jay likens the battles real soldiers at war face to the battles faced by young men who must go out on the streets to hustle in order to provide for their families. The verses on here are really nice, and Jay's heartfelt performance will be sure to make you forget about some of the trash we've just had to face, at least momentarily. It helps that the instrumental from The Neptunes is perfectly poignant and powerful, and the chorus sung by Mark Dorsey is catchy as hell. This is a brilliant track. At the end of the song, DJ Clue jumps in to introduce us to the bonus tracks, which is funny since Jay basically dissed him two songs earlier.
The following three songs are listed as bonus tracks, so were presumably leftovers that they weren't confident enough with to put on the actual album, but still wanted to release with the faint hope that someone in the far reaches of Alaska might enjoy one of them.
12. Show You How (prod. Just Blaze)
After a hilarious shout of "ketchup, niggas", Jay gets to showing you how to be a winner in life his way, and it's pretty entertaining, even if Just Blaze's instrumental sounds weird as hell for some reason. This is easily the best of the three bonus tracks, and surprisingly more enjoyable than quite a few songs on the actual album.
13. Bitches & Sisters (prod. Just Blaze)
I cannot tolerate this misogynistic bullshit, no matter how great this instrumental is. Sure, "Big Pimpin'" had a bit in there, but this just seems way more direct and over the top. Jay-Z: slap yo'self.
14. What They Gonna Do Part II (prod. Digga)
Surely they could have picked a better song to do a Part II of. I mean, come on guys. On this one, Hov's verses remain identical to the part I, and the hook is also the same, save for where Jay-Z (badly) imitates Sean Paul's part on the original song. The main new element is the beat, provided by frequent Cam'Ron collaborator Darrell "Digga" Branch", and it's honestly pretty trash, but not quite as bad as that on the original. Hell, we've got to look for the positives in everything, and here, I'd say I'd rather listen to this than the first one.
In the first half of 2003, Jay-Z re-released this album as Blueprint 2.1, and with that project he basically cut the album down into the length of a normal album, admitting that he had filled the original album to the brim. There were a couple of new tracks, but this review is already bloody long, and I'd like to cover that venture in another post anyway. So, I think it's now time for us to get to the final thoughts.
Jay-Z's The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse is a very long album, and as a double album it doesn't entirely succeed in keeping the listener entertained, especially when it comes to the second half of the second disc. However, I'll still give this it's props - there could quite easily be made a top 5 Jay-Z album out of these songs if he had cut it down to 14 or 15 tracks. However, like Young Guru said in that interview he did, they tried too hard to make this thing into a double discer, without considering that maybe that idea wouldn't work if they had ran out of interesting things to do at track 16, and there was only three days left until the hand in date. Therefore, there's quite a few moments on here that come across as very rushed in hindsight, and when you've got "Meet the Parents" and "2 Many Hoes" showing up a mere 4 tracks apart, it's clear that there's a severe range of quality going on here, which you don't want if you're trying to make a consistent album. I don't think anyone expected this to top the original The Blueprint, especially not after it was announced that this was to be a double album, but still, I think that for him to have been on track to make another classic, only to blow it based on some bullshit his engineer told him, is very disappointing, and slightly annoying. And while Jay attempted to rectify this mistake with that Blueprint 2.1 album I mentioned, the damage was already done, and it was an indisputable fact that The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse was a part of his catalogue. When this album is on, it's some of Jay-Z's best, most intriguing, most well-written work to date, and it showcases some fantastic rapping and also some fantastic hit making skills. And when it's off, we've got more filler than a Kardashian's breasts. Some of these songs really do sound terrible, man, with no soul whatsoever. And as for "What They Gonna Do"... I mean, it's still better than "Things That U Do", but it's close, man. It's really close. The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse is a very flawed album, and it's certainly nowhere near my favourite Hov album, but still, there's a lot of great material to be found here. It's a shame that more rappers didn't look at this as an example of what happens when you try too hard to fill your album up - because it's too easy to spoil a potential classic when those dollar signs start to figment in your mind. Still, this is a good album, and with some trimmage it could very well have been a great one. And I'm out.
Best Tracks: A Dream, Hovi Baby, The Watcher 2, '03 Bonnie & Clyde, Poppin' Tags, The Bounce, I Did It My Way, Diamond Is Forever, U Don't Know (Remix), Meet the Parents, Blueprint², A Ballad For the Fallen Soldier
Worst Tracks: What They Gonna Do, All Around the World, Nigga Please, 2 Many Hoes, As One, Bitches & Sisters
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