![]() Kelly), Jay-Z has attained the rap equivalent of Bruce Springsteen or U2 status each new album aspires to be "an event," but it becomes harder to reinvent yourself when you're this deep into a career. To be fair, when you're on your 11th release (not including collaborations with Linkin Park and R. There's also the matter of basing a song around Alphaville's 1984 hit, "Forever Young," a move that says anything but "forever" or "young." It lacks the singular cohesion of the original Blueprint album, and Jay-Z's once-unrivaled flow sounds more pedestrian at times. Though The Blueprint 3 is Jay-Z's strongest release since coming back from retirement in 2006, overall, it'd only rank somewhere in the middle of his catalog. All kinds of minimalist beeps, burps and claps bump alongside huffing synthesizer vamps and blaring banks of horns. But nowhere are the album's populist ambitions more clear than in its dance-friendly, electronic-infused rhythms. Jay-Z also invites on a few current 15-minute famers such as Drake and Kid Cudi. It helps that the songs are generally brighter, less violent and less drug-oriented than past efforts. The Blueprint 3 is easily one of his most commercially savvy albums to date, aiming for relevance in Walmart kiosks, Hollywood clubs and Brooklyn bodegas alike. If anything, now that he's signing multimillion-dollar deals with music promoters such as Live Nation, he's more of a global entertainer than ever - and he knows it. (Death of Auto-Tune)," critiques the ubiquity of the voice-altering software in today's pop music.ĭespite his disdain for Auto-Tune, Jay isn't anti-pop. The Blueprint 3 is keenly conversant with contemporary pop trends, though not always in a friendly manner. If Jay-Z can't decide whether to focus on the past or the future, he's clear on where he stands in the present. ![]() But elsewhere, Jay-Z flips things around, urging listeners to stop dwelling on his past. ![]() ![]() In the background plays his recent hit with singer Rihanna: "Run This Town." The commercial is all about reminding people where Jay-Z has been there's even a song called "Reminder" on the album. In a minute-long ad made to promote The Blueprint 3 and the music service Rhapsody, Jay-Z glides through a photo shoot, restaging every iconic pose from his previous 10 album covers. Jay-Z onstage in Anaheim, Calif., in August. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |