Take a second to review what you consider criteria for a classic Hip Hop album.
Jay-Z’s sixth LP The Blueprint is arguably the Brooklyn MC’s best. It chronicles a performer who achieves a full understanding of their artistry, projecting it with exceptional clarity while also setting a standard hopefuls strive to attain.
With this set, Jigga exceeded my list of qualifiers.
My friend TJ and I were having a conversation about classic Hip Hop albums. In the heart of this discussion we began to list those rare, undeniably elite LPs which achieve perfection.
The Blueprint is a perfect album.
For those of you who enjoy comparisons and analogies, this is Illmatic released later into Nas’ career. It’s a focused, experienced lyricist with effortless timing. A thought-provoking wordsmith being lyrically technical without being confusingly too wordy.
Production from Timbaland, Bink, Trackmasters, Eminem, Kanye West, and Just Blaze complimented Jay-Z’s rhyme comfort. He delivered wordplay that’s simplistic yet staggering in depth on every single track.
“Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Hola Hovita” are jump rope poems recited by the smartest kid in class, and he’s pretending his Pixy Stix is a microphone.
I could expound on the mastery of “Never Change”, or the emotional heft of “Song Cry”. I could boast continuously about each song, quoting verses, touching on the cleverness in its concepts. Buy why?
Jay-Z’s The Blueprint is a perfect album. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
