thekillerj23
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- Apr 4, 2007
Originally Posted by SenorRoboto2k5
There are a lot of good songs on here, but there are more bad ones than I'd expect from a Jay-Z album at this point.
1. What We Talkin' About
Great intro song. Not really talkin' about anything, but that's usually how intro tracks go. 4/5
2. Thank You
Solid beat. Only thing lacking is the hook, but it's serviceable. 4/5
3. DOA
We all know this one. He didn't go as far as he could've, but it's a solid track, and it (should've) set the tone for the album. 3.5/5
4. Run This Town (feat. Kanye West & Rihanna)
I personally really like this track. The beat is great. I don't see anything wrong with the verses from either artist, although they're nothing special. 3.5/5
5. Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)
This has an RD, early-Jay type feel to it, with it's live-sounding percussion. The lyrics are very solid, and Alicia murders the hook. 4.5/5
6. As Real As It Gets (feat. Young Jeezy)
This would've been better without Young Jeezy, especially with the features mounting up at this point in the album (although I'm not a Jeezy fan). 3/5
7. On To the Next One
Pretty solid track, but the drums sound a little "cheap" like Swizz just took stock 808 sounds, which some of you may not mind. 3/5
8. Off That (feat. Drake)
*!+. Not as bad as reactions made it out to be, but it's close. Jay got fooled into Timbo's reputation and Drake's hype. You didn't need to try and make another SexyBack you $+!$*@ idiot. 0.5/5
9. A Star Is Born (feat. J. Cole)
Great concept, lyrics, flow, and production. "T.I. literally wanted to shoot up the charts"J. Cole really shines too. 4.5/5
10. Venus Vs. Mars
Jay's lyrics are extremely clever and full of double entendres. The beat is a little lacking though. If anyone else offered Jay this beat, he would've laughed. 2.5/5
11. Already Home (feat. Kid CuDi)
The beat is soulful and vintage Kanye. Jay's flow is on point. My only gripe is that John Legend would've sounded much better on the hook, but I'm not mad at CuDi. 5/5
12. Hate (feat. Kanye West)
This kinda sucks. I think the only reason why it doesn't completely suck is because, as a Jay+Kanye track, I want to like it. But the only way the beat works is to bump it in a car, which isn't saying much because any beat with 808 bass drums knocks in a car. Both their flows and lyrics serve to drag down the plodding track even more. 1.5/5
13. Reminder
The song has a decent vibe and Jay rides with it pretty well. But something seems off, even beside the chorus. The beat sounds off-key or something. 2.5/5
14. So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell)
This is another highly average beat that Jay decides to add nothing to. Sounds like a Blueprint 2 reject, which is saying a lot. 2/5
15. Young Forever (feat. Mr. Hudson)
Hudson sounds like Matthew Santos (and Chris Martin), which in turn makes the song sound like a Lupe track. Which is A-OK in my book. The beat is awesome, and Jay comes through. The age-subject matter thing might be a little offputting, but I don't mind it. As much as I like it, if you edit it, you can use it as a graduation song. At any grade level. 4.5/5
OVERALL: One thing I don't really like is how many features there are. Even cutting out one (Jeezy) would've made the album flow better. One other thing that would've helped would've been to cut out one of those lame Timbo tracks - which would've made the other two that were left seem less lame.
There are a handful of great songs on this album, but only "Empire State of Mind" and "Already Home" have any sort of potential to being classics. "A Star Is Born" is up there. "Young Forever" is actually my personal favorite, but it DOES sound a little melodramatic.
In the end, the album as a whole could've benefitted by some addition by subtraction. "History" or even "Jockin' Jay-Z" would've worked in place of a number of tracks, as people have mentioned.
qft
