"Y'all n*ggas got me really confused out there. I make 'Big Pimpin' or 'Give It to Me,' one of those -- that had me as the greatest writer of the 21st century. I make some thought-provoking sh*t -- y'all question whether he fallin' off." When you've built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the '90s and 2000s, you're bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you. However, the jury did not take long to rea   [ read more ]

CD $25.63

VINYL FORMAT. Insound Staff Pick - 2009! Separate from the official motion picture soundtrack, this collection of all-new original material is a musical journey and lyrical interpretation of snapshots from the upcoming motion picture American Gangster. The conceptual, full body of genius work from the new album balances the line between pure entertainment and real life. JAY-Z draws upon past experiences, speaking to the harsh reality of the drug trade still taking place in our nation's cities.   [ read more ]

2xLP $13.99

Other people also bought:

Ghostface Killah  The Big Doe Rehab, Ghostface Killah  Fishscale, Sufjan Stevens  Illinois

Insound Staff Pick - 2009! Separate from the official motion picture soundtrack, this collection of all-new original material is a musical journey and lyrical interpretation of snapshots from the upcoming motion picture American Gangster. The conceptual, full body of genius work from the new album balances the line between pure entertainment and real life. JAY-Z draws upon past experiences, speaking to the harsh reality of the drug trade still taking place in our nation's cities. While not glo   [ read more ]

CD $15.99

Other people also bought:

Ugly Casanova  Sharpen Your Teeth, The Pixies  Surfer Rosa, The Pixies  Doolittle

"Y'all n*ggas got me really confused out there. I make 'Big Pimpin' or 'Give It to Me,' one of those -- that had me as the greatest writer of the 21st century. I make some thought-provoking sh*t -- y'all question whether he fallin' off." When you've built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the '90s and 2000s, you're bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you. However, the jury did not take long to rea   [ read more ]

CD $13.29

"Y'all n*ggas got me really confused out there. I make 'Big Pimpin' or 'Give It to Me,' one of those -- that had me as the greatest writer of the 21st century. I make some thought-provoking sh*t -- y'all question whether he fallin' off." When you've built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the '90s and 2000s, you're bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you. However, the jury did not take long to rea   [ read more ]

CD $13.29

Could this be the record that launches a thousand production careers? Variations on The Black Album began multiplying like rabbits soon after its release in November 2003, with DJ Danger Mouse's masterful Gray Album -- in which samples from the Beatles' White Album power the productions behind Jay-Z's raps -- getting a large share of the publicity (and legal action). Within a few weeks, the novelty threatened to become a full-blown phenomenon, led by likely contenders The Black on Black   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

If The Black Album is Jay-Z's last, as he publicly stated it will be, it illustrates an artist going out in top form. For years Shawn Carter has been the best rapper and the most popular, a man who can strut the player lifestyle with one track and become the eloquent hip-hop everyman with the next, an artist for whom modesty is often a sin, and yet, one who still sounds sincere when he's discussing his humble origins or his recurring doubts. After the immediate classic The Blueprint fo   [ read more ]

CD $12.34

Jay-Z kept The Blueprint incredibly tight, focusing on a single sound and letting nothing interfere with some of the best raps of his career. The Blueprint¦: The Gift & the Curse was a radically different record, with the most respected rapper in the business trying on a range of styles, collaborating with a lot of guests and working with an army of producers (Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Heavy D, Kanye West). Four months after its release, Roc-A-Fella issued {^Blueprint 2   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

Jay-Z kept The Blueprint incredibly tight, focusing on a single sound and letting nothing interfere with some of the best raps of his career. The Blueprint¦: The Gift & the Curse was a radically different record, with the most respected rapper in the business trying on a range of styles, collaborating with a lot of guests and working with an army of producers (Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Heavy D, Kanye West). Four months after its release, Roc-A-Fella issued {^Blueprint 2   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

When Jay-Z first made a series out of his best album, 2001's The Blueprint, it became a game of high expectations. The Blueprint of the first volume was Jay-Z as vital as he'd ever been, storming back to the hardcore after a few years of commercial success. The Blueprint¦: The Gift & the Curse was a complete turn, a set of half-cocked crossovers, bloated to bursting with guest features that obscured his talents. The Blueprint 3 is somewhere between the two, closer to the vitality and energ   [ read more ]

CD $18.03

This box set from Def Jam landed after Jay-Z had split from the label, and as smooth marketing would have it, the same day as the rapper's debut for Live Nation was released. With his first post-Def Jam release being titled The Blueprint 3, this box -- featuring just the first two volumes on three CDs along with "a space to complete your collection" -- seems entirely necessary, but the trilogy barely hangs in hindsight as it goes from a fully realized hip-hop masterpiece to a radically differ   [ read more ]

CD $18.95

When Jay-Z dropped "The City Is Mine" in 1997 and claimed New York's hip-hop throne upon the Notorious B.I.G.'s demise, many smirked and some even snickered. Four years later in 2001, when he released The Blueprint, no one was smirking and no one dared snicker. At this point in time, nobody in New York could match Jay-Z rhyme for rhyme and nobody in New York had fresher beats -- and many would argue that Jigga's reign was not just confined to New York but was, in fact, national. Yes, {$   [ read more ]

CD $13.25