"Y'all n*ggas got me really confused out there. I make 'Big Pimpin' or 'Give It to Me,' one of those -- that had me as the greatest writer of the 21st century. I make some thought-provoking sh*t -- y'all question whether he fallin' off." When you've built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the '90s and 2000s, you're bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you. However, the jury did not take long to reach a verdict on 2006's Kingdom Come: the consensus on it (as a major fall-off) was as swift and strong as the consensus on Reasonable Doubt (as a classic). Once used copies of Kingdom Come became easily attainable for less than two dollars, it was apparent the next Jay-Z album might not be so anticipated. He'd need to get some fresh inspiration and make some corrective maneuvers.
Fortunately, both came unexpectedly -- rather than by desperate force -- after he saw an advance screening of the early-'70s period piece American Gangster, which played a direct role in nine of the songs on this album of the same name. While several tracks connected to specific scenes are also rooted in productions trading in the regal grit that made up so much '70s soul, the album is not a straight narrative, broken up by tracks like the boom-clap of "Hello Brooklyn 2.0" (produced by Bigg D) and the glitzed-out pair of "I Know" (a half-icing Neptunes layer cake) and "Ignorant Shit" (where Just Blaze transforms the Isleys' quiet storm staple "Between the Sheets" into a high-gloss anthem). Combined with the tracks laced with '70s soul -- including six produced by Diddy & LV & Sean C, one by Toomp, and two by a newly forged partnership between Jermaine Dupri and No I.D. -- it all adds up to an album that seems nearly out of time, at least when it comes to the years spanning Jay-Z's career, without resembling a true regression. "Success," for instance, takes its lead from The Black Album's "Public Service Announcement," with blaring organ over heavily weighted drum knocks, yet despite the likeness, it's one of the album's highlights. And while Jay mentions American Gangster and protagonist Frank Lucas directly, and intersperses some tracks with dialogue, the connection does not overshadow the album. It's not like he's yelling "Shaft's Big Score 2K7!" or "Leonard Part Six, Part Two!" It's all as natural as Scarface riffing off Scarface.
And that might be the most common complaint about the album -- it's really just another case of Jay-Z being Jay-Z, albeit with different presentation. Unless you know each verse from Reasonable Doubt through Kingdom Come, it might sound like he's dealing with no variation on well-worn themes, the exact same thoughts and emotions that make up older tracks about his past as a drug dealer -- the rise, the arrogance, the conflictedness, the fall, and all stages in between. When he's in the right frame of mind, though, as he is throughout much of the album's duration (it is a bit sluggish in spots), he's as affective with his subject as Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye were with romance. Just as key, the level of insolence and spite on display here is as high as it has ever been. "I got watches I ain't seen in months/Apartment at the Trump, I only slept in it once/N*ggas said Hova was over, such dummies/Even if I fell I land on a bunch of money" has more of those qualities than all of Kingdom Come. One could say that's not really saying much, but regardless of context, this is a very good Jay-Z album. He is, for the most part, doing what he has done before: what he does best.
I was excited as hell to see Jay in concert with fellow moggers David Hyman (along with his better half), and BrittanyBF. As someone who regularly recites random Jay-Z lines to people as they stare blankly back at me like an idiot, going to see Jigga was on the list of things to do before I die.Being that Mary J. has 16 years of hits to rifle through, and Jay-Z has 12, there wasn't much time fo...
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It’d be overstating things a bit to make out that “American Gangster” is a bona fide classic to rank alongside “The Blueprint”, “Life And Times Of S. Carter”, “Reasonable Doubt” et al. But after a couple of listens, it seems like Jay-Z's recent pattern of ropey album followed by a good one has been continued.So while last year’s comeback “Kingdom Come” (after a brief, Sinat
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Obama says he's old school as he lists off who's on his iPod in this fantastic and revealing interview with the Presidential candidate. (that's Presidential with a capital P - like Flowdan would use the word...) Quotes: "The thing about hip hop today is, it's smart. It's insightful." "Hip hop is not just a mirror of what is, it should also be a reflection of what can be." Thanks to Matt Shade...
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FADER Mag spends a lot of time hanging out with super cool musicians. It's their job. Last week, they were kicking it with Sean C & LV of Grind Music Inc. You may not recognize their humble names, but I bet you'd recognize their music: these are the men behind "Roc Boys" and the bulk of Jay-Z's American Gangster, as well as a few jams on Ghostface Killah's newest, Big Doe Rehab. So, yeah, t...
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VH1 conducted a long interview with Jay-Z which they are publishing as a 4-part series on their website. Part 1 listens to Hov describing how he likes to veil meanings in his lyrics that the listener will discover over time, or with deeper listening. He explains one such example about his reference to Britney Spears in American Gangster, but emphasizes that he rarely explains them. Hov says,...
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yall know how Hov released his new album inspired by the film "American Gangster" under the same name? well it looks like he just pulled the album off of itunes."As movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles." -Jay-Zgood for him.
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MSN has a fab Jay-Z page with streaming audio and video that includes his recent concert at the Hammerstein in NYC on the American Gangster Tour. The concert footage covers a full 85 minutes of clean audio and better close ups than you get in the crowd. I'm only at the 13 minute mark, but so far it's been an uninterrupted stream. Jay-Z is in fine form with an album that seems to have harness...
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Jay-Z is launching a record label with Apple, according to the Boy Genius Report.Jay-Z "really wants this to happen," according to a source in Jay-Z's camp."This is from a high-up person attached to Jay (no, not who you’re thinking), and it’s said to be a go!" reports BGR. "Jay is supposedly totally into the business model, and really wants this to happen."As previously posted on MOG (http://m
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Jay-Z, who is as admired for his business acumen as he is for his def raps, will step down as president of Universal Music Group's Def Jam Records label when his contract ends December 31.The superstar rapper said in a statement that it's "time for me to take on new challenges."Jay-Z will continue to release his music through Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam.For the full story:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...
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From Bloomberg.com"American Gangster's Wad of Euros Signals U.S. Decline":http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=azto7U.TmGX0" The dollar blues have migrated from the halls of central banks to images of rap musicians.In a video for the movie ``American Gangster,'' hip-hop maestro Jay-Z thumbs through a wad of 500-euro notes on a night of cruising through the concrete canyons of ...
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"...the album's great by the way, it's nice to have the real Hov back..." - cashier at the Newbury Comics I bought American Gangster at.The relative bust that was Jay-Z's first "post-retirement" album Kingdom Come to me was more of a major disappointment than an absolutely horrible album. Sometimes being one of the best artists in your trade hurts your ability to put out a product th...
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OK, I found this one on Kanye's blog and just had to post it.
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A little while back, I posted a track from Billboard Gangsters, one of the first American Gangster mashup albums to come about after the release of the Acapella version of Jay-Z's latest.Now, comes word of another American Gangster mashup, one that could end up being really good.It's called American Godfather and it merges Jay-Z's lyrics with beats created from the music of the Godfather films....
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Jay-Z's new album American Gangster, not to be confused with the Ridley Scott-directed Number Two Box Office movie of the same name, landed at Number this week.Jigga sold 425,000 copies of the album and nabbed his 10th Number One. This makes Jay-Z the hip-hop artist with the most Number One albums ever. He is tied with Elvis Presley in second place for the most Number One albums. The Beatles le...
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Kanye closed out last night's Glow In The Dark show at MSG (the second of two) by asking the crowd if he could play a beat he was working on during a recent trip to Hawaii. Well, what more is there to say, just watch the above CRISPY video. Apparetnly there will be a Blueprint 3 album from Jay-Z and judging from the quality of this video, a Glow In The Dark DVD? Good looks to Kanye for postin...
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--- - |- Gotta hand it to Jay-Z, the man knows how to introduce a new product. Brushing the tepidly received Kingdom Come off his shoulder, Hova hitched his stars to the marketing push behind a new big-budget Denzel Washington movie, recording the only somewhat related (and consistently impressive) American Gangster. Sure, the whole head-of-Def Jam thing didn't pan out real well, but then Mr. ...
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It’d be overstating things a bit to make out that “American Gangster” is a bona fide classic to rank alongside “The Blueprint”, “Life And Times Of S. Carter”, “Reasonable Doubt” et al. But after a couple of listens, it seems like Jay-Z's recent pattern of ropey album followed by a good one has been continued.So while last year’s comeback “Kingdom Come” (after a brief, Sinat
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Intro |
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| 2 Pray |
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| 3 American Dreamin' |
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| 4 Hello Brooklyn 2.0 |
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| 5 No Hook |
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| 6 Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)... |
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| 7 Sweet |
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| 8 I Know |
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| 9 Party Life |
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| 10 Ignorant Sh*t |
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| 11 Say Hello |
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| 12 Success |
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| 13 Fallin' |
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| 14 Blue Magic [*] |
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| 15 American Gangster [*] |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "American Gangster")
