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

VINYL FORMAT. International superstar and multi-media mogul, Jay-Z, confirms the most highly speculated album in recent music history - the eagerly anticipated The Blueprint III. The follow-up to Jay-Z's instant classic Blueprint and the critically acclaimed Blueprint II, Blueprint III is the final installment in the Blueprint series. Says Jay-Z: "This project is all about pushing the envelope. Being an independent artist, I have an incredible freedom to utiliz   [ read more ]

2xLP $18.98

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VINYL FORMAT. The first single off Jay-Z's forthcoming Blueprint 3 LP, the self-declared "anti-Auto Tune" record produced by Kanye West. If Blueprint and Blueprint 2 have been any kind of indication, it has to be great!

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VINYL FORMAT. New single from of Jay-Z's hotly anticipated upcoming album, Blueprint III! "Run This Town" featuring Rihanna and Kanye West.

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International superstar and multi-media mogul, Jay-Z, confirms the most highly speculated album in recent music history - the eagerly anticipated The Blueprint III. The follow-up to Jay-Z's instant classic Blueprint and the critically acclaimed Blueprint II, Blueprint III is the final installment in the Blueprint series. Says Jay-Z: "This project is all about pushing the envelope. Being an independent artist, I have an incredible freedom to utilize my unique ex   [ read more ]

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VINYL FORMAT. When Jay-Z opens The Blueprint dropping rhymes about "runnin' this rap sh*t," it's not so much arrogance as it is a matter of fact. And by the time he brutally dismisses two of his most formidable opponents, Mobb Deep and Nas, less than ten minutes into the album, there's little doubt that Jay-Z's status as the top MC in the game is justified. But that's just one song. There are 12 other songs on The Blueprint -- and they're all stunning, to the point where the album seems almost   [ read more ]

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VINYL FORMAT. 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. As he has in the past, Jay-Z balances the boasting with extensive meditations on his life and his career. -All Music Guide

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VINYL FORMAT. After the death of friend and compatriot the Notorious B.I.G. in early 1997, Jay-Z made his claim for the title of best rapper on the East Coast (or anywhere) with his sophomore shot, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Though the productions are just a bit flashier and more commercial than on his debut, Jay-Z remained the tough street rapper, and even improved a bit on his flow, already one of the best in the world of hip-hop. Still showing his roots in the Marcy projects (he's surrounded by a gro   [ read more ]

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"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 $25.63

"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