 "Photo: N/A")
Jay-Z's album was a success before they recorded the first song in the booth.
As many may know, Jay-Z bought out of his contract and last album from Universal/Def Jam.
This gave his new label, Roc-Nation the ability to control his entire assets as an artist, of which he is the CEO.
From the first track off his new album, The Blueprint 3, Jigga sets the tone with "What We Talkin About?"
The track's chorus features chopped vocals from Empire Of The Sun's Luke Steele, who Jigga discovered in an episode of Entourage and collaborated with remotely.
The originally slated release date for BP:3 was late 2008, but then Jigga decided not to rush, and pushed it back to 2009.
Most artists get caught up in the moment and spill all their emotions on twitter.
Instead, Jay-Z waits until he can use the attention as a marketing tool and crushes his competition with back-to-back videos, tour dates and special interviews and events.
So even from a viewer's standpoint, he is outdoing his competition!
To understand this album, I think you have to first understand that the word "blueprint" isn't referring to a "back-to-basics" approach.
It's also not a call back to the last two Blueprint albums; a lot of the hate directed at The Blueprint 3 centers around how it sounds nothing like Blueprint 1 and 2. J
Jay-Z is attempting to move forward to evolve, and to innovate.
"Blue-print" refers to Jay creating something new, a template that lesser artists will invariably follow.
This is what makes a phenomenal artist and in turn, makes a buzzworthy album. My favorite track is number 2, "Thank You", produced by Kanye West.
Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Swizz Beats, Drake, Carolina's own J. Cole and Mr. Hudson also appear on the album. —D. Mal
is a member of the 
1 comments Log in to Comment
You must be logged in to comment on an article. Not already a member? Register now