Jay-Z – The Blueprint 2

Artist: Jay-Z

Title: The Blueprint 2

Label: Roc-A-Fella

Rating: 6.5/10

Is it Jay-Z double the flavor or double the pain? The Blueprint is coming just as hard the second time around.

Double The Pleasure:
Disc One:
“The Watcher” – His flow is the tempo.
“All Around The World” – Dig the soul.
“Poppin’ Tags” – Lyrics are tight and the beat is the meat.
Disc Two:
“Diamond Is Forever” – Might remind you of an Eminem track.
“Guns & Roses” – Lenny Kravitz comes along for a darker journey.
“Blueprint 2” – Tight flow, and the lyrics work. Finally a track you could sink your teeth into.
“N***a Please” – A fat bassline lines the track up.
“As One” – Tried to like it.

Double The Mediocrity:
Disc One:
“A Dream” – Featuring Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G. – Jay-Z proves he can do anthems. However taking old Biggie lines seems like good intentions, but you know what they say about best intentions.
“Hovi Baby” and “The Bounce” – Completely average.
Disc Two:
“Some People Hate” – Might remind you of Tupac.

Double The Pain:
Disc One:
“What They Gonna Do” and “F**k All Night” – Leave this behind.
“I Did It My Way” – Paul Anka said yes to allowing Jay-Z to do this? Thankfully he didn’t do it to Sinatra or all hell might have collapsed.
Disc Two:
“Some How Some Way” – Could Jigga please curse a little more?
“A Ballad From The Fallen Soldier” – Another good intention, just not a good song.

Disc one, The Gift, is average. Disc two, The Curse, is darker and much more consistent.

+ cc morris