Would you say The Bluepring was Jay-Z at his most calculating?

[FunkDoc1112]

I was reading a retrospective on The Source's five mic albums and the writer brought up a convincing theory - how after 4 years of chasing hits with bloated albums that had that "something for everyone" formula to great commercial success, Jay decided to put together an album with the exact formula to get five mics in The Source and cement himself as the best in the game. Essentially, taking the slab that was the Roc La Familia album and carving a sculpture that would ge tin all the art exhibits

-Tight tracklist
-A good mix of hits and introspection
-Cohesive sound largely from "In-house" producers
-Classic East Coats sample-based production
-Only one feature, and that feature was a show-stealing highlight

And most tellingly, he went right back to chart chasing on BP2.

And no Jigga stans, before you go crazy he still said the album deserved the rating, validated The Source's "formula" and said Stillmatic's 5-mics was largely a product of the hype surrounding the Jay-Z beef and all Nas had to do was drop a solid album and redeem himself from Nastradamus to get the full monty

(Similarly, Kanye has admitted that MBDTF was calculated critic-bait to win back the crowd after the Taylor Swift shyt)

Full article. It's a dope read and he even gets insight from former Source staff on their criteria. They really regret not pulling the trigger on GKMC lol:

A Definitive Ranking of All the Original 5 Mic Albums in The Source

No stranger to insanely ambitious (or flat-out insane) projects, Abe Beame attempts to settle the debate over the greatest 5 mic album once and for all.

www.passionweiss.com

 

[boskey]

sub

 

[19-]

interesting read. i don’t really agree about the “morose and remorseful” element in the fix as introducing a new part of Scarface’s music though

 

[Fukwatutalkinwatisaylaw]

I fukk wit Jay but they crazy on that Stillmatic slander ..Blueprint ain't fukking with Stillmatic at all and both of em classics

 

[Travellin' Man]

Nah, his most calculating album was Vol. 2

Vol. 1 was the first time he tried hard to really hit on all cylinders but with Vol. 2 and the Annie sample, he got it right and he had a string of hits and a varierty of songs on that album too.

 

[Metal Face]

BP and Stillmatic aint 5 mics

4 at best

 

[Cladyclad]

He made the album in a month lol

i doubt he was thinking about anything but just making music

 

[Dave24]

Nah, his most calculating album was Vol. 2

Vol. 1 was the first time he tried hard to really hit on all cylinders but with Vol. 2 and the Annie sample, he got it right and he had a string of hits and a varierty of songs on that album too.

What was Nas most calculating album?

 

[19-]

What was Nas most calculating album?

it was written right ?

 

[Travellin' Man]

What was Nas most calculating album?

it was written right ?

It Was Written

 

[ADP]

Havent read the piece but the fact that a lot of the album was recorded over 1 weekend leads me to believe it wasnt all that much planning to begin with...

 

[Piff Perkins]

He made the album in a month lol

i doubt he was thinking about anything but just making music

While I agree I think the word "calculating" is wrong. Jay was that dude at the time, and when you're That Dude you remain in that position by having great instincts and pop sensibilities. I don't use "pop" disparagingly, I'm referring to...knowing what hook goes best with what song, understanding what beats sounds current and what sounds too dated, etc. That's just being a great artist and understanding your job is to run with the ball.

Most of Jay's early albums were designed like that. You've got shyt on there that the "real hip hop" nerds will like. You got a trendy single for the women. You got whatever wave Jay was on at the time. And above all...everything knocks in the whip. That's Jay at the essence.

 

[Cladyclad]

While I agree I think the word "calculating" is wrong. Jay was that dude at the time, and when you're That Dude you remain in that position by having great instincts and pop sensibilities. I don't use "pop" disparagingly, I'm referring to...knowing what hook goes best with what song, understanding what beats sounds current and what sounds too dated, etc. That's just being a great artist and understanding your job is to run with the ball.

Most of Jay's early albums were designed like that. You've got shyt on there that the "real hip hop" nerds will like. You got a trendy single for the women. You got whatever wave Jay was on at the time. And above all...everything knocks in the whip. That's Jay at the essence.

why do u think jay z lasted at the top longer than any rapper?

no shade but why Nas ain’t been plat or had a hit since 2002?


seriously what make jay z so unique in that regards?

snoop can make a hit but can’t sell records

why is Jay different?

 

[360dagod]

Maybe the nikka was in a groove musically and took advantage of it?

Sometimes it's that simple

 

[19-]

Havent read the piece but the fact that a lot of the album was recorded over 1 weekend leads me to believe it wasnt all that much planning to begin with...

i feel like if you plan a lot of shyt in advance you have a clear idea of what you’re doing and don’t need as much time to do it. and if you don’t have a plan it takes longer to figure everything out. so when i hear he recorded nine songs in two days i think he knew what he was gonna do and just had to execute it

i wasnt there tho