Jay-Z - The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Reviewed By: ULTIMATECDLINK
Album Rate: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Jay-Z follows up his platinum album "The Blueprint" with a double disc 25 track album. It features the hit single "03 Bonnie & Clyde" as well as Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, M.O.P., Scarface, Dr. Dre, Rakim, Truth Hurts, Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Sean Paul, Lenny Kravitz, & more. Production is from Kanye West, Neptunes, Timbaland, & more.
Disc 1
1. A Dream (f/ Faith Evans & Notorious B.I.G.)-- this track has an old school feel with the beat and even has some scratchin mixed in as well. Jay-Z lays down some OK rhymes on his verses while Faith sings the hook. Notorious B.I.G. drops a verse from his classic single "Juicy". This is a better than average track and a decent one to start the album off with.
2. Hovi Baby-- this track has a little bit of a live band feel to the beat created by Jus Blaze. Jay-Z does a decent job on the mic but I just ain't feelin the beat.
3. The Watcher 2 (f/ Dr. Dre, Rakim, & Truth Hurts)-- this track was produced by Dr. Dre who brings along his Aftermath stable of Rakim & Truth Hurts. Very distinctive West Coast Dr. Dre sound on this one but to me it sounds out of place on this album. Ain't feelin this one too much.
4. 03 Bonnie & Clyde (f/ Beyonce Knowles)-- this the first single from the new album and you must be living under a rock if you haven't heard this one by now. Jay-Z has caught tons of flack for biting the hook from the 2Pac single "Me & My Girlfriend" from the Makaveli album for this single. Actually some radio stations across the country are playing the remix with a 2Pac verse in the song. The Kanye West produced single has to grow on you but it's actually kinda catchy in a radio friendly kind of way.
5. Excuse Me Miss-- this track is another very radio friendly single type track so I wouldn't be surprised to hear it on radio later on. Jay-Z raps about seein the girl of his dreams but she's involved with someone else (sound familiar?). The females out there will enjoy this one.
6. What They Gonna Do (f/ Sean Paul)-- this track ain't really that tight. Sean Paul doesn't contribute much to the track other than some random babbling about throwing up the Roc sign. Jay-Z doesn't come tight at all on this one and the beats are horrible.
7. All Around The World (f/ LaToiya Williams)-- this track has that old school feel and features Latoiya Williams from Doggy Style Records. Jay-Z doesn't sound that bad on his verses but the beat ain't all that.
8. Poppin Tags (f/ Twista, Killer Mike, & Big Boi of Outkast)-- this track has a faster paced beat and is one of the better tracks on the first disc. Jay-Z flows pretty nicely and Twista flows his ass off as well. Killer Mike is up next with a nice verse. Big Boi finishes out the track out with a tight verse. Nice Southern sound on this one.
9. Fuck All Night-- this track has a disco feel to it. This track sounds like crap to me. Not feelin any part of this song.
10. The Bounce (f/ Kanye West)-- this track has a decent mid tempo beat. Jay-Z raps about how he's not sellin out but rather gettin his paper instead. Kanye West is a decent rapper and he drops a nice verse. Decent track.
11. I Did It My Way-- Jay-Z elects to use Paul Anka's "I Did It My Way" as the backdrop for this track. He raps about how he came up in the rap game and now he and Dame Dash are the new Rat Pack. He also raps about Def Jam and how white people blocked him from moving into their neighborhood a while back. It's a bumpable track but the beat gets a little annoying after a while.
Disc 2
12. Diamond Is Forever-- this track has a laid back mellowed out beat and seems to be the first street type track on the whole album. Jay-Z drops some nice verses and shouts out his Roc-A-Fella family on this one. Nice track to open disc 2 with.
13. Guns & Roses (f/ Lenny Kravitz)-- this track is Jay-Z's attempt to cross over to the rock and roll genre by enlisting the help of Lenny Kravitz. I personally don't think it fits Jay-Z's style that he's come to show us over the years. I'm not too much into the electric guitars and rock sound on this track.
14. U Don't Know Remix (f/ M.O.P.)-- this track is one of the better ones on both discs. Jay-Z introduces us to the newest members of Roc-A-Fella, the Mash Out Posse (M.O.P.) who drop some tight ass verses that'll get ya all hyped up. This is one of my favorites on the album.
15. Meet The Parents-- this track has a laid back beat with some piano beats mixed in. Jay-Z raps about a young man named Ice who gets killed while his girl turns to drugs following his death. This is a decent track.
16. Some How Some Way (f/ Beanie Sigel & Scarface)-- Jay-Z raps first about trying to figure out how to get up out of the Marcyville hood and he comes pretty nicely on the mic. Beans is up next and doesn't sound that tight because he doesn't come with that fire that he usually does. Face finishes the track out with a nice verse. Bumpable track that you should check out.
17. Some People Hate-- this track has that African jungle beat to it. Jay-Z responds to all the haters and claims that he knows how 2Pac felt now since he has done a lot for the rap game. Not feelin this one too much because the beats and hook are weak.
18. Blueprint 2-- this track starts off with a piano intro and once Jay-Z starts spittin, you know he's coming with some fire for Nas & Jaz-O. The beat is pretty tight. The hook is a little corny with the reference to the Austin Powers movie. Jay-Z doesn't rip Nas as badly as Nas did him on "Ether" but he does call him "fake ass" and asks him "if it's Oochie Wallie Wallie" or "One Mic". This is probably my favorite track on the entire album. Be sure to check this one out.
19. Nigga Please (f/ Young Chris)-- this track was produced by the Neptunes so you already know it's got that radio friendly sound with some horns and chimes to it. Young Chris of State Property is featured on this one and drops a decent verse.
20. 2 Many Hoes (f/ Memphis Bleek)-- this track has a beat similar to the Neptunes produced track "Southern Hospitality" by Ludacris. Jay-Z drops a tight couple of verses.
21. As One (f/ Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Sparks, & Rell)- this track has a beat with a big band feel to it. This track ain't that tight to me. Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek drops the tighter verses on the song but overall, I'm not into this song.
22. A Ballad For The Fallen Soldier-- this track is a slower track with a piano beat and bassline. Jay-Z raps about how we're all living a war in the ghettos now. Al-Queda is the equivalent of the police and crack is anthrax. Nice track.
23. Show You How (bonus track)-- this track is pretty short but Jay-Z comes with some nice verses on how he's the check writer now and how we should look at him to see how to floss.
24. Bitches & Sisters (bonus track)-- this track has a beat similar to "Girls, Girls, Girls". Jay-Z drops some funny verses comparing Bitches & Sisters. At the end, he says he'll take a sister cause he "don't love no bitch".
25. What They Gonna Do Part 2 (bonus track)-- the album ends on a bad note cause this is one of the absolute worst on the album. The beat sucks and Jay-Z sounds horrible on this one.
Overall, I thought this album was a huge disappointment. The first Blueprint is about 10 times better than this one. Disc 1 didn't bring anything for the streets on it. It's more radio friendly type tracks. While Disc 2 was a slight improvement, it wasn't enough to balance out the album overall. The thing that got me was how weak the beats seemed on the album. I felt that they could have made this a single disc because you can count the number of tight songs on one hand.
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse