• JAY Z THE BLACK ALBUM

We all know that Jay wants this to be his last album, which probably explains why he enlisted a wide host of producers on here, from the Neptunes to Rick Rubin to Eminem, to the usual Roc producers Just Blaze and Kanye West. And that probably also explains why he's giving a lot of shout-outs at the end of the last track, "My 1st Song". (It seems like he was doing the opposite on "What More Can I Say", with all the name-dropping.)

This album is overall solid, yet it's not without its problems. Other than the shout-outs, I really wasn't feeling "My 1st Song", nor the cheesy "Justify My Thug". "Moment of Clarity" is pretty good, but I agree with the people that said it sounds too much like "Lose Yourself" (well, Em produced it). And "Change Clothes" is okay, but I think I liked it better when it was called "Excuse Me Miss".

Oh well, looking at the reviews, it appears that everyone has a different opinion of which song(s) should have been left behind. I'm not sure yet if I believe that he's really retiring, but at any rate, add The Black Album to your Jay-Z collection.

Anthony Rupert

13 of 16 found the following review helpful:


"Maybe you'll love me when i fade into black...."  Nov 18, 2003 By musiqstar87 "Erick"
In 1996, Jay-Z came into the rap game with his undoubted classic debut album Reasonable Doubt. Since RD, he has sold over 20 million albums in the U.S, not counting other countries sales of his 10-12 albums. In 2001, he came the closest he ever had come to matching the quality of RD with his classic The Blueprint, unfortunately, the album that follow The Blueprint was a very weak effort littered with way too many guest appearences, that album was The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. Now, in 2003, Jay-Z has claimed he is hanging up his mic after this last album to work on other projects including working with new artists on the Roc-A-Fella record label, such as Young Gunz, Freeway, Kanye West, etc.

My initial thought was that there was no way Jay-Z could retire so soon, but many rappers have claimed to hang up their mics and came straight back (Example: Ja Rule). I bought this record, The Black Album, on the day it was released on Friday, Nov. 14. Overall, the record cannot be called anything other than a masterpiece. Taking it back to the roots of RD and the first Blueprint, this is one of jigga's finest records. I feel like every track is amazing so they are all 5 stars in my perspective but here's a list of what things i would've liked better about The Black Album.

"December 4th" - A very dramatic track about Jay's childhood and growing up. Has commentary from his mother, Gloria Carter, during the song. Produced by Just Blaze, this is one of the more upbeat on the album. Features the line "maybe you'll love me when i fade into black".

"What More Can I Say" - A track mainly talking about Jay's haters, people who have slept on him, all of that. Has some really brilliant wording in it as well as a great beat.

"Encore" - Absolutely brilliant. This is a laid-back sort of track that is amazing, definitely give this one a try. Displays Hova's ability to make up some of the best lyrics in hip-hop.

"Change Clothes" - I'm not going to say i was at all disappointed in this track, but it seems its mediocre compared to the rest of the album. This was placed here mainly for the sake of a "pop" single to hype up the album but it doesn't work well. The Neptunes' do a sorry production job, making it sound consistant to their last Jay-Z effort "Excuse Me Miss". I would've left this out.

"Dirt Off Your Shoulder" - First off, AMAZING BEAT. This track has more lyrical gold with an incredible beat to back it up. Another track about Jay's life and what he's about, excellent.

"Threat" - Another great song, more of lyrical brilliance but with a more edgy sound to it. The annoying dude saying stuff throughout the song is its only weakness.

"Moment Of Clarity" - I have some major issues with this song. The beat sounds way too much like an Eminem/50 Cent type of beat and is very annoying to hear with Jay rapping on it. The lyrics are very well put together, espicially one lyric i think is true to all of jigga's fanbase "i dumb down for ya'll to double my dollars/you criticize me for it but ya'll still yell holla..."

"99 Problems" - This has to be my personal favorite on the disc. The rock beat from Rick Rubin is amazing! Everything about this track is completely brilliant. Jay raps about all his problems ("I got 99 problems and the b**ch ain't one") including trouble with the law, haters, etc.

"Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" - Not really a song but has a beat and stuff so its sorta like one. Very good beat, some hot lines to match it up as well.

"Justify My Thug" - Very personal track, but has a really hot beat on it so i like it anyway.

"Lucifer" - The production here is great, obviously Jay thinks so to ("You did it again, Kanye/you're a f****n' genius"). Lyrically brilliant, but i thought it was a little too short.

"Allure" - Not as hot as i would've liked it to be, but has some very good lyrical parts to it.

"My 1st Song" - The outro track, the one that defines the whole album, well, it defined it pretty damn good. Has a fitting beat with lyrical GOLD. Has a line from Notorious B.I.G at the beginning, which fits it very well. Basically, its short but to the point. The last minute or so is just Jay yelling out shout-outs like a typical outro-style track.

Overall, The Black Album suceeded my expectations. By using incredible producers and writing some of his best material, Jay-Z has formed an incredible ending to a story that will live on forever. There is no telling if Jay will stick with his plans, but all i know is that stepping out now will claim him as one of, if not the, hottest rappers to ever hit the mic.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Black meets White  Jan 02, 2005 By J. Hayden
If you like this album, you really need to find the Danger Mouse remix album. It's called The Grey Album, in case you didn't know, and all of the beats come from the Beatles White Album. It's well worth the time you'll spend finding it.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Jay-Z holds nothing back  Nov 17, 2003 By The Gifted One
The Black Album is Jay's final testament to hip-hop. Though probably not his best LP, it's his most personal and revealing album to date. It is certainly one of the best albums released since 2000. On The Black Album Jay-Z sums up his entire career and removes any doubts about him being the greatest rapper alive.

Intro - It's a short intro talking about how all good things must come to an end.

December 4th - This is an incredible track, Jay has his mother Gloria Carter on it describing how when she gave birth to Jay, he didn't give her any pain. This track is very personal. Jay talks about how after his mother and father broke up, that's when his life took a turn. He took to the streets. Ms. Carter talks about how Jay used to beat on the kitchen table and rhyme, then she bought him a boombox to keep him out of trouble. This track goes pretty deep, most other rapper never get this personal on a track. Just Blaze does the production by the way.

What More Can I Say - A dope beat by the Buchanans. I love this whole track. Jay talks about how after all the great stuff he's done in hip-hop, there's still a lot of people who don't give him the credit he deserves. When you hear this song I guarantee you'll love it. The way it ends is great after the beat stops Jay says "The real * you get when you break down my lines/add that with the fact I went plat a bunch of times/times that my influence on pop culture, I'm supposed to be number one on everybody list/we'll see what happens when I no longer exist"

Encore - The beat for this track is just incredible. It's none other than Kanye West of course. The horns and the jazzy sound of this track will make you love it. On this Jay talks about how he came in the game and took over, and that people will truly miss him once he's gone. This track is really soulful, any real hip-hop fan will enjoy it.

Change Clothes - By now I'm guessing that most of you have already heard this track. This beat is done by the Neptunes and it kinda reminds you of Excuse Me Miss. I didn't like this song at first but it grew on me. Some songs take more time than others for you to like. Jay of course comes correct with his incredible flow.

Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Produced by Timbaland. This in my opinion is the only weak track on the album. It's not that Jay is weak on it, but the bad production takes away from Jay's superb flow. Some of you may like it but it just doesn't grab me. Jay talks about what he's done that makes him so great.

Threat - Produced by 9th Wonder. 9th Wonder is an up and coming producer from North Carolina, if you haven't heard any of his stuff you should try and find some. This beat samples R. Kelly's - A Woman's Threat and is straight fire. Jay talks about how the haters couldn't stop him from making great music no matter how hard they tried. He also talks about how if you attack him, then there will be consequences. Another great track.

Moment of Clarity - Produced by Eminem. You can tell this an Eminem beat because it sounds shockingly similar to a lot of his other beats. It's still a good beat though. Pay close attention to Jay's lyrics on this track and you might understand him. Check out this
"I dumbed down for my audience and doubled my dollas/They criticize me for it yet they all yell holla"/If skills sold truth be told, lyrically I'd be Talib Kweli/Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, (I Did 5 Mil), I ain't been rhyming like Common since/When your sense got that much in common and you been hustling since/your inception for perception go with with what makes sense/since I know what I'm up against, we as rappers must decide what's most important ten/And I can't help the poor if I'm one of them/So I got rich and gave back to me, that's the win-win". What Jay is saying in those lines is how he wishes rappers sold off skill but that's not the case. He says that he stepped down his lyrics after he sold 5 mil (Vol. 2) and then once he got rich, he started stepping his game back up (The Blueprint). He we as rappers and fans have to make it so that lyrics are important in order to sell but that will probably never be the case.

99 Problems - Produced by the legendary Rick Ruben. I'm really feeling this track. Only the more open-minded hip-hop fans will like this one. Rick Ruben is the guy who produced for Johnny Cash. On this one Jay talks about a situation back in '94 when he was stopped by a police officer because he was black. He then talks about how he has a lot more important problems than women.

Public Service Announcement(Interlude) - A nice beat by Roc-a-fella producer Just Blaze. Jay talks about how he doesn't care what you think of him now, but 5,10, or 20 years later you'll truly miss him. A great track.

Justify My Thug - Production by DJ Quik. This track has a kinda Dr. Dre feel to it. On this song Jay talks about how he's always been honest in his music. He never snitched on anyone and how his pride kept him going through all these years. He also talks about how was shot at back before Reasonable Doubt but luckily none of those 3 shots hit him. A great song indeed.

Lucifer - Another track by Kanye West. On this song Jay talks about what the Devil does to all of us. He talks about how he has to get his life right and stop doing all the bad things he does. At the end of the song Jay asks that his father be forgiven for all the bad stuff that he's done and that he be let into heaven.

Allure - One of the Neptunes better beats. Jay talks about how where he grew up most of the young black men were caught up in hustling and other illegal things. He talks about how back in the day he wanted to stop selling crack and messing with so many women but the game kept calling him back.

My First Song - Produced by Aqua. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. At the beginning Jay has an old Biggie interview where he talks about how you have to treat everything like it's your first time in order to stay on top. Jay rips the whole song. At the end of the song Jay recalls all the good times he and the people around him had throughout his career. He'll mention all the people who helped him get where he is now. After hearing this song you'll understand why so many people consider Jay one of the best.

Overall The Black Album does live up to the hype. Jay goes through and talks about the things that went through his mind during his career. It's very deep and personal and is an excellent way to go out. Even the biggest of Jay-Z haters will love this album. It's definitely bound to be a hip-hop classic. After hearing this album you'll know why Jay is the best rapper alive and deserves respect from all hip-hop fans.

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