It’s Jay-Z! Does anyone really think that he will ever release anything truly awful? Not now that Jay-Z is no longer a man. By selling more than just a few million CDs during his career, he has catapulted himself into the stratosphere of rap, overseeing a multi-million dollar empire whilst laying claim to be a small part of the reason Obama is now President. If you thought Kanye West could talk a boastful game, you’ve obviously never heard ‘The Blueprint 3′.
Packed to the gills with sassy beats and glossy production, the inevitable superstar collaboraters include Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Kid Cudi etc. In fact, of the 14 songs, the rapper only makes four solo appearances. But, really, none of this matters, simply because this is Jay-Z we’re talking about! Fans are going to buy the album because they’re the fans and that’s what fans do, whilst everyone else judges the album’s merits after hearing lead single ‘Run this town’. And what of it? Well, it’s not a terrible song: it’s cheesy, it’s got a massive video to back it – it’s plain, mainstream rap with a vocal hook that can easily double as a ringtone.
Everything on BP3 is generic: there is little progressive, philosophical, or particularly interesting to be found anywhere. Much like the cover, it’s a mostly colourless affair, toploaded to grab the listener’s attention and tailing off in the final third. Perhaps if the album had ended at the very American ‘Already Home’, The Blueprint 3 may not have been such a divisive blip in the megastar’s career. But,sadly, it doesn’t end there and neither, one suspects, does Jay-Z’s career.
