The Blueprint

Jay Z has earned the right to call an album The Blueprint. For the past half decade he has been one of the true innovators. This is a much more polished, laidback, soulful affair than the dramatic sounds currently available from Redman and Adam F. With tracks like ‘The Rulers Back’ and ‘The Takeover’, the album is full of ‘fronting’, but never without serious backbeats. ‘Hola Howito’ is a super groove.

‘U Don’t Know’ samples Bobby Byrd’s wonderful ‘I Not To Blame’. Jay Z has consistently promised a lot more from his lyrics than other rappers. Indeed on ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ the word ‘respect’ replaces the more usual ‘bitch’, which can’t be bad..

‘Heart Of The City’ echoes the Bobby Bland classic and is a lot more tasty than the Whitesnake attempt. In recent times, there has been a move in hip-hop away from sampling. D12’s album for example contained a mere two samples. The Blueprint is a wonderful rediscovery of soul’s rich back catalogue. Songs like ‘Never Change’ and ‘Song Cry’ in particular are modern urban classics. This album is a good solid groove and confirms Jay’s position in hip-hop’s premiership.