So I have a new method of reviewing albums starting with this one. I will just go track by track giving a rating out of 5 and giving a brief reason why.
1. The Prelude-3.5/5- Just about every Jay-z CD begins the same way; A guy talking about running New York. This is no different although it leads into a song with a slow introspective like beat where he raps about his inability to really leave the game.
2. Oh my god-3.5/5- The familiar horns of Just Blaze lead off this mid tempo track. Nothing special about it pretty standard Jay fare. Luckily standard Jay still laces the beat with good one-liners.
3. Kingdom Come-4/5- A Great Rick James sample will have you forgetting all about Can't touch this. The song reaffirms why Jay is at the top of the rap ladder. The flow, the arrogance and everything finally come together on this track. With lines like "call me peter parker, all I do is climb the charts" Jay is back for the crown.
4. Show me what you got-3.5/5- Again, nothing special but he does the club track better than anyone else and the horn samples from Wrex-n-effect make any rap fan from the 90's laugh just a bit.
5. Lost ones-4.5/5- This is the kind of Jay-z I have come to love. A real introspective song. Not a diss song, a real song. The first verse addresses those who say they made Jay. The second verse appears to be about Beyonce and why they aren't married and in a touching 3rd verse he addresses the death of his nephew. Also the first song on he album featuring the complex rhyme schemes he has been building on his whole career.
6. U wanna ride-4/5- It is hard to go wrong with a dope Kanye West beat and the amazing vocalist, John Legend, on the hook. The song is about the come up and the struggle of a young black man trying to do it big legally. Then the last 2 verses let us know he is doing it major now. It doesn't come off as bragging as much as it comes off as a guy blessed due to his hard work. Also has the sick line "the kingpin of the ink pen."
7. Something-4/5- Dr. Dre gives us the now familiar bass line, piano keys and strings as Jay shows us Grown up Jay, admitting he is playing in young man's game but that he is smarter than the young man. "I don't buy out the bar, I own the night spot" and saying things like "30 is the new 20" let us know that a mature Jay is not a boring Jay.
8.I made it-3/5- This is probably my least favorite track on the CD. Nothing stands out, just more bragging about making it and it sounds like a 3 year old throw off from his last album.
9.Anything-4/5- I typically don't enjoy the stripper anthem anymore, but again Jay is just better than anyone at it. Add the funky Neptunes beat and Usher's vocals on the hook, it just equals a ot of fun. Jay also possesses a nice sing songy flow over the funk that works.
10. Hollywood-4/5- Beyonce on the hook makes sense over a song about being famous. Jay likens the fame and riches to a drug. Again switching his flow to show why he is the most versatile rapper in the game. The song isn't bragging and it is almost a cautionary tale about what happens when you are in the public eye. The only problem with the song is that the beat sounds like a bad Neptunes beat and it sounds a few years old.
11. Trouble-4/5- Dr. Dre on the boards again, but it has a different sound and it works for the song. Jay is a bit angry on the track hitting back at everyone who said he couldn't run a record Label and in the last first spews venom at all of the lower level rappers currently taking shots at the God-MC
12. Dig a Hole-3.5/5- Some have complained about the beat on this song, but I love it. It doesn't sound at all like the typical Swizz Beats track. Obviously the 3 years of not recording have been eating at Jay because he is back at the haters or non-believers. He gives us his credentials. I admit at this point some of it sounds repetitive and the comparing himself to Christ is sure to annoy some people. I find it amusing though.
13. Minority report-5/5- This is probably the most important song Jay has ever recorded. Jay recounts the Katrina incident. The song starts with a bunch of audio news clips from pundits and victims of the catastrophe and then Jay comes in over an intense but slow piano driven beat. He is almost whispering sounding the verge of tears as he ends his rap with this: "Sure I ponied up a mill, but I didn't give my time/ So in reality I didn't give a dime/, or a damn I just put my monies in the hands/ of the same people that left my people stranded/ Nothin' but a bandit/ Left them folks abandoned Damn/, that money that we gave was just a band-aid/ Can't say we better off than we was before/ In synopsis this is my minority report/ Can't say we better off than we was before/ In synopsis this is my minority report" Also Ne-yo comes in at the end and actually works on this song.
14. Beach Chair-5/5- Jay-z and Chris Martin from Coldplay? It seems impossible to behold but after listening to it you understand that it is pure genius. Martin could have a great career as a rap producer if he wants. Jay gets very introspective here and lets the listener into how he does what he does. When I listen to this song I get inspired and wish my mantra in life was like this: "I'm not afraid of dyin' I'm afraid of not tryin" or "Some said "Hov how you get so fly" I said from not being afraid to fall out the sky My physicals a shell so when I say farewell My soul will find an even higher plane to dwell "
The album is not perfect, but that is what makes it perfect. Jay took three years off and went into the studio and just let loose. It sounds as if he wasn't trying to please everyone. This was an album for him. The imperfections make this album a new classic for me. Plus, anytime Jay touches a mic he spits amazing lyrics with great flows and killer one-liners. Thank god the king is back!!
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