On Jay-Z’s new album

There are some great tracks on this, but they are few and far between. Overall, the record has too many straight-up bad songs, and the bad ones are not just bad, they’re really bad; so bad it’s laughable.

That being said, I think the Pitchfork review—which fires off: “The Blueprint 3 is so certainly Jay-Z’s weakest solo album, you’ll be tempted to wonder if Kingdom Come was somehow underrated”—is too harsh (in addition, I personally loved Kingdom Come). How about a track-by-track analysis, in the sequence they appear on iTunes.

“What We Talkin’ About = This one’s okay, but not great. It certainly doesn’t deserve to lead off the album. The rapping feels like typical Jay, not his best, but certainly listenable. I think the beat in the back, which has an eighties/GTA: Vice City soundtrack feel, is nothing special. I also do not like the weird refrain (first heard 1:20 in), which is softly whispered, repetitive, and embarrassingly simplistic (“they talk, we live, we see what they say, they say, they say / they talk, we did, who cares what they say, they say, they say”). Not one of the album’s “bad” tracks, I suppose, but not a song Jay can be proud of.

“Thank You” – He’s back in form. Right off the bat, the jazzy beat and Jay saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” this could have led off the album. It has a “Welcome to The Blueprint 3″ feel, and the lyrics are snappy and light (i.e. “I just got ten #1 albums, maybe now eleven?”). This one’s infectious, catchy, instantly likeable.

“Death of Auto-tune” – It feels strange to be commenting on this song now that the album is out, as if it’s something new. We’ve been hearing it for months. But that’s the point; it’s great. I feel the same way about the next one, which became the album’s other pre-release radio single. Both are very solid. I like “D.O.A.” both for the message behind it (which I support completely; sorry T-Pain) and for the sweet music video it spawned. The only part of the track that I don’t like is the “Na na na na, hey hey heyy goodbyeee” refrain. That could have been left out, but otherwise the verses are quick, forceful, meaningful, and inflammatory, like good Jay-Z songs always are (hint: “I know we facin’ a recession but the music y’all makin’ gon’ make it the great depression”). Love the saxophone in the background, too. For a great re-thinking of this track from a political perspective, find the song “D.O.A: Death of the Ayatollahs” by Iranian rap group Revolution of the Mind.

“Run This Town” – Just like with “D.O.A,” there’s a reason we’ve all been bumping this one long before the album release. Great beat, one of the few rap songs that, after total overplay on Boston hip-hop radio, still has me playing it voluntarily on my laptop. Also, I’ll go there, even after the Taylor Swift debacle—I love Kanye’s verse. The best part is the very first line he comes in on: “It’s crazy how you can go from bein’ Joe Blow to everybody on your dick, no homo.” This is one of the album’s best.

“Empire State of Mind” – Nothing negative to say about this one. It may be my favorite. And Alicia Keys returns to hip hop! I love it. I even like the quick segment Keys gets all to herself—not the repeated chorus, but the verse she sings alone. In my own New York neighborhood (by Morningside Park en route to Harlem), I’ve already seen, three different times, cars roll by that are blaring this one. And that defines the song well; this is indeed the song to do it with. Great shouts to various landmarks all over New York, too. Okay, hold up—one small, nitpicky criticism: Keys’ chorus, which is totally uplifting and even pretty in a way, does feel a bit, ah, cheesy at times, like an after-school special: “These lights will inspire you,” or, “There’s nothing you can’t do” (’cause, yeah, sky’s the limit if you’re an insanely rich rap artist), and finally, “Let’s hear it for New York.” That aside, let’s hear it for this song. It’s back to basics for Jay—great beat, fabulous vocals by a female guest, and basic, no-frills lyrics about the city he loves.

“Real As It Gets” – Eh, good enough. And yet, that really isn’t good for a Jay-Z album. The beat is great, but the chorus of “HEY! HO!” and the entire series of lines about “putting your hands in the air” are both too cliché in rap (think Master P’s “Make ‘Em Say Uhh”). Jay’s raps are good on this one, but I wouldn’t have let Jeezy kick off the song. In general, this one passes muster, but it doesn’t stand out, and inferior rap artists could have (and have) made similar-style tracks and succeeded more with them. I do like when Hova says he’s the “audio equivalent of braille,” of course.

“On To The Next One” – Let the “bad” begin. I feel as though this song stands at the gate to the record’s second half—most of which is very poor. The repetition of the title line could, in another context/song, be cool and catchy, but here it feels annoying, and worse yet, lazy. Pitchfork’s review perfectly describes the Swizz Beats background beat: “hyperactive.” The track feels too loud and crazy, with no direction and no talent. I worry that here Jay sort of rushed it and just needed filler. “On to the next one,” like as if he said, “Okay guys, let’s lay down a quick, dirty song here, nothing great, and move on.” The track title says it all: skip to the next one.

“Off That” – Eh. Jay’s verses are okay here, but the futuristic theme (reinforced by the lyrics and beat) fails. I suppose with more musical expertise I could better describe why I don’t like this one, but for now all I can verbalize is that it’s unexciting. “Welcome to tomorrow, biiiiiitch!” Jay lamely cries as it bleeds into the quick, rapid-fire refrain. “Tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls, it’s 2010 not 1864.” Huh? Not great.

“A Star Is Born” – Most people seem to love this song. It’s not bad, but I’d argue it’s nothing special, either. I like the way it begins, and in general I love J. Cole’s smooth singing. I also like the title, and the way its sung, but I do not like Jay following it each time with that, “Clap for him, clap for him” bullshit. It’s kind of lame. And Jay’s lyrics, most of which are shout-outs to other performers, fall flat. In general, the track feels like more filler.

“Venus vs. Mars” – Here we go. This and the next track are a pair of gems among the otherwise shitty second half of the CD. This song in particular is, well, sexy. It’s all Jay, which, when he’s good, is all you need. The verses, as the best rap songs do, tell quick stories. The refrain, by unknown backup singers, certainly helps—a hawt sidekick to Jay’s flow. Lots of knowing, cool references too—like the Outkast shout (“she lives in my lap”) and the reference to his own, older track (and the movie) “Bonnie and Clyde.” I really like this one, and I may be wrong but I think it’ll be the track that women love most. God knows Beyoncé had to have been an influence here.

“Already Home” – Again, like I said, a fabulous track hidden amongst mediocre songs that all seem to be lazily tacked on here at the end. I love Cudi’s refrain, though I have to say (as others have noted all over the blogosphere) that he sounds just like John Legend, and one has to wonder if it’s on purpose. But even if he’s jacked Legend’s silky voice for this one song, he gets a free pass, because he does it so well. He sounds great, seriously. I’d even take away Jay’s constant repeating of his words (i.e.”oh!” “stop!” “drop!” “no!” “gone!” “already!” “hey, I’m already home!” “already home!”) but it’s all right. Jay’s rapping is sweet, too, especially since he starts off so strong coming after the refrain: “These niggas want me to go. Don’t they know that I’m gone?” This one reminds me of some of the best collaborations off Kingdom Come, like “Beach Chair” with Chris Martin, and “Do U Wanna Ride” with John Legend. It’s a great track, good effort by both men on it, and a great example of a successful duo. Also gotta appreciate Jay’s unafraid reference to The Game’s beef with him (“They call me a camel”). If only the rest of the album were this strong.

“Hate” – Worst song on the album. Could anyone possibly disagree? This one is shit. As Pitchfork’s review wondered, the track’s so weak it “has to be the result of some bar bet.” The reasons are obvious, but let’s rattle ‘em off: bad beat, even worse flow, and worst of all is that constant techno voice (reminiscent of some of the worst tracks off Kanye’s 808s album) that says, “Hater, hater, hater, hater…” Guess I’m a hater, ’cause this one sucks. I’m embarrassed for Jay.

“Reminder” – Almost as bad as the previous song. For real, this one made me laugh. I thought it might be a joke when I heard it from the leaked version of the record. I hoped it wouldn’t really be on the album when it actually came out. The girl saying, “Remin-DERR” and Jay’s obnoxious, almost parody-like “awww” is just painful. But the worst part is when Jay begins actually listing years for which he has been successful—”‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, 2000, 2001 and beyond. ‘02, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06 and 7, ‘08, ‘09.” Shut the fuck up. This track is garbage, for real.

“So Ambitious” – Another “just okay” entry. I like the piano at the beginning, but it becomes formulaic as the song goes on, because it remains constant, getting louder at the same moments in Jay’s pedestrian verses. And I typically love Pharrell on anything, but this song doesn’t really sparkle enough. And that repeated line, “I’m so ambitious!” Eh. It’s like, well, sure you are.

“Young Forever” – This song is fun as hell, and everyone likes it. But you know, it’s not really his. It’s a conundrum, because it’s both a good way to close up the album and also not a good one, since it ends his record on something that mostly isn’t his. I mean, yeah, Jay and Hudson twisted with it, but riffs and covers of ‘Forever Young’ are a dime a dozen (it’s been done). And the song reminds me a lot of the Ataris cover of”Boys of Summer.” Still, good rapping by Jay—restrained, nostalgic lines about summer. I’d say this song ends a weak album on a strong note.

So yeah, I’m disappointed. By my count, 6 (7 if we’re nice and include ‘Young Forever’) legitimately good tracks, out of a possible 14. That’s half, or 50%, and that score on a high school exam gives you an F. To yet again refer to the Pitchfork writeup, I’d say that their score of 4.5 (out of 10!) is pretty tough, but not that tough. If I had to assign a number, I think it wouldn’t clear 7.

But the good songs, as always with Jay-Z, are real good. Just skip those piece-of-shit tracks, and boy, there are a few. Seriously, don’t even download ‘em, or unclick that little box so your iTunes skips over. If you delete the weak sections, and above all else “Hate” and “Reminder” (I couldn’t get rid of those quick enough), then after a while (I’m sure this’ll happen to me) you will have only good things to say about The Blueprint 3.

~ by DBR on September 30, 2009.