Skip to main content

Album Review: Jay-z Blueprint 2 The Gift and the Curse



Verdict: 8.2/10

Okay so Jay-z double album is actually very good. Perhaps I just have held Jigga to such crazy standards, or maybe this album is just in Blueprint 1’s shadow….well both of those are likely true. Like with Nas’s Street’s Disciple there is FILLER. The first disc, the GIFT part is probably the better disc. It’s got 03’ Bonnie & Clyde and Excuse Me Miss on it. Also there is a part 2 to Dr. Dre’s The Watcher song.  Disc 2, the CURSE, also has some bangers on it like Guns & Roses and U Don’t Know Remix. The album features really good production, but the lyrics are noticebally a couple steps down from Jay-z’s near flawless standards. They aren’t bad but you get the picture. There’s a huge guest list including Beyoncé, Scarface, Lenny Kravitz, MOP, Sean Paul, Big Boi, Twista, Faith Evans, and Dr. Dre. Overall it’s a decent album with depth issues, and a good Blueprint behind an excellent one, and before BP3, a great one…
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

My Top Rappers of All Time List

30) Rick Ross (7.7) Essential Album: Teflon Don Starting off the list is Ricky Rossay. Ross has great delivery and a lot of good albums. He scores really high in the versatility category. Ross’s pen game has definitely gotten better from when he debuted in 2006 with Port of Miami. Ross’s biggest flaws were his storytelling and impact. Otherwise solid MC.     29) Young Jeezy (7.8) Essential Album: The Recession Another dirty south MC. Jeezy is one of my favorite rappers. He has a lot of good albums with no real duds. He does have the best ad libs in the game. His collaboration and versatility are high. He really brings the heat on his features. Storytelling and Impact weren’t that high but hey; hes tied with the next rapper.   28) Nicki Minaj (7.8) EA: The Pinkprint Arguably the most dominant female rapper of all time. Nicki really shines when features on others tracks. She usually steals the show like on Kanye West’s “Monster” song. She’s also really versatile; able to sing also and
Read more

My Favorite R&B Albums (as 2023 list)

Here are my favorite R&B albums. I'm not gonna do the countdown....I'm just going to list them. The last time I did a list like this was 2013. 1.       Rihanna-Good Girl Gone Bad- As her best album and the album that made her a star…it’s only right that as my favorite singer Rihanna takes the title. GGGB isn’t a perfect album but I love it. There’s a little something for everyone here. The smooth “Lemme Get That”, the party anthem “Don’t Stop the Music”, and the jam “Umbrella” featuring Jay-Z. “Hate that I love You” featuring Ne-Yo is really good too. This album is just always a blast to listen to. 2.       Amerie-In Love & War- When I made this list about 10 years ago, this was the number one album. I love this album so much. I was considering her “Because I Love it” album for this list too, but I don’t really go back to that one that much. This album is just a flamethrower of R&B execution. That first half is great with songs like : “Heard Em All”, “Why R U”, and
Read more

My Favorite Rap Albums (As of 2024) List

1.       Kanye West-Graduation -Coming in at number one we have Kanye’s 3 rd  album. Sure it’s not his best or flashiest but damnit I love it so much. Listening to this album just gives me so much joy honestly. “Champion” is a great song, then there’s a fan favorite pick “I Wonder”. I do think the lyrically dense “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” is the best track. Who could forget the smooth “Flashing Lights”. It really amazing that Kanye was able to create another great soundscape that sounded very different than College Dropout and Late Registration. Honestly this album isn’t my favorite by leaps and bounds over the top 10; but its certainly still my favorite rap album. 2.       Ludacris-Word of Mouf- Coming in at number 2 is Ludacris. I think this album is his best while others may say Release Therapy or Chicken & Beer. Fun fact this was the first album I ever bought. Sure there’s some filler…but this album has a lot of Ludacris’s best tracks on it. There’s “Rollout”, “Move Bitch”, “Area
Read more