I was initially quite dismissive of Blue Magic and - though I hate to contradict myself - after the first few dozen listens...I'm kinda liking it. I'm growing to appreciate the throwback minimalist beat (though I still think both the drums and the keys could have been better), Jay's verses sound better with every listen (haven't felt that about too many rap songs, let alone Jay-Z songs, since The Black Album) and (probably most important) I really wanted to like it.
American Gangster as a concept album is a great idea. After failing to prove with Kingdom Come that rap-moguls can age gracefully, here he's given himself an excuse to revisit his Reasonable Doubt-era cold-hearted-hustler persona in depth (with a few post-crack-rap modifications I'm sure) without being widely accused of rehashing old material. Also, the fact that it's something of a vanity project (like Best of Both Worlds, Unfinished Business and Collision Course), made for the fun of it as much as anything, will hopefully lessen the scrutiny placed on this album from overzealous fans (such as myself, to some extent) who felt robbed of a happy ending when he came out of retirement with an album that wasn't classic.
In stark contrast to the $15m marketing budget for his last album, Jay's announced this one to little fanfare, just 6 weeks ahead of the release, and the decidedly non-club-banging lead single suggests that he's not too bothered about massive sales/media jock-riding here, but genuinely just doing it because he felt inspired. Not sure what to expect, but the verses are sure to be tight, so worst come to worst, if the beats all suck, he can put out an a capella album and I'm sure a few decent remix albums will follow.
"What more can [he] say?" - Good question courtesy of Shawn Corey himself.
American Gangster as a concept album is a great idea. After failing to prove with Kingdom Come that rap-moguls can age gracefully, here he's given himself an excuse to revisit his Reasonable Doubt-era cold-hearted-hustler persona in depth (with a few post-crack-rap modifications I'm sure) without being widely accused of rehashing old material. Also, the fact that it's something of a vanity project (like Best of Both Worlds, Unfinished Business and Collision Course), made for the fun of it as much as anything, will hopefully lessen the scrutiny placed on this album from overzealous fans (such as myself, to some extent) who felt robbed of a happy ending when he came out of retirement with an album that wasn't classic.
In stark contrast to the $15m marketing budget for his last album, Jay's announced this one to little fanfare, just 6 weeks ahead of the release, and the decidedly non-club-banging lead single suggests that he's not too bothered about massive sales/media jock-riding here, but genuinely just doing it because he felt inspired. Not sure what to expect, but the verses are sure to be tight, so worst come to worst, if the beats all suck, he can put out an a capella album and I'm sure a few decent remix albums will follow.
"What more can [he] say?" - Good question courtesy of Shawn Corey himself.
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