Soundbites: Jay-Z "The Black Album" Roc-A-Fella

Jay-Z
“The Black Album”
Roc-A-Fella

Say it ain’t so, Hov. If the hype is to be believed,
“The Black Album” will be Jay-Z’s last ““
his final claim at hip-hop’s best-ever crown before he hangs
up the mic and calls it quits.

Though Jay-Z’s precise standing among hip hop’s
all-time elite remains a matter of debate, “The Black
Album” firmly solidifies his status as the top MC currently
in the game, showcasing once again the consistent excellence that
presently separates him from the likes of Nas and Eminem. In fact,
this eighth solo studio album finds his rhyme schemes, flow and
delivery only beginning to peak ““ Jay-Z has always been
impossibly confident but never this much in control.

The rapper also has an ear for beats. Jay-Z bears a remarkable
history of mining gems from lesser known producers, as well as
working closely with the hottest beatsmiths of the moment. In terms
of the former, “The Black Album” delivers with
impressive efforts from 9th Wonder, Aqua and Joe Weinberger and The
Buchannans. He even taps old-school great producer Rick Rubin, who
chops up guitar samples and cowbells like the mid-1980s never left
us on “99 Problems.”

However, the more established producers drop the ball. Though
in-house producers Kanye West and Just Blaze turn in some of their
best yet, outside help in the form of The Neptunes, Timbaland and
DJ Quik disappoints, their work frustratingly lazy and not up to
previous standards.

It’s these three or four filler beats that prevent
“The Black Album” from becoming the classic many fans
had hoped for. It might not exactly be MJ over Russell for ring No.
6, but it is quite possibly the finest collection of New York hip
hop since Jay-Z’s own 1996 debut “Reasonable
Doubt.”

-Alfred Lee