* The Official Jay-Z: Blueprint 3 Post [3rd single: Empire State Of Mind]

[j steezzz]

Originally Posted by illfrozn

Originally Posted by J Steezzz

Originally Posted by Chi ILL

Originally Posted by illfrozn

Originally Posted by Chi ILL

"I dumb down for my audience ... & double my dollars
They criticize me for it ... yet they all yell "Holla" ...
If skills sold , truth be told ... I'd probably be ...
Lyrically , Talib Kweli , truthfully ...
I wanna rhyme like Common Sense ...
(But I did 5 Mil)
I ain't been rhyming like Common since ."

Years later, I can honestly say, that's a cop out by Hov ...

I feel like he can kill when he wants to .

I don't think he wants to honestly ... why should he ? He's still going to move units anyway .

Why should he? Maybe because he should always strive to be the best for his fans and people who have been supporting him for years

Maybe that's just me tho

I'm with you! Not only that, if he wants to be the GOAT and call himself that, shouldn't he produce on that level?

EXACTLY

I'm almost 100% positive that if you wanna be called the best in your craft, making half *** product isn't gunna cut it

 

[metrokid26]

Originally Posted by Chi ILL

"I dumb down for my audience ... & double my dollars
They criticize me for it ... yet they all yell "Holla" ...
If skills sold , truth be told ... I'd probably be ...
Lyrically , Talib Kweli , truthfully ...
I wanna rhyme like Common Sense ...
(But I did 5 Mil)
I ain't been rhyming like Common since ."

I like how he slipped the 5 mil line in

 

[ben roethlisberger]

Soulful samples bring the best out of Jay.

So in the end, its all Kanyes fault

 

[chi ill]

I'm just saying the way he probably thinks .

 

[al audi]

right now OB4CL2 looking better than BP3

 

[MajinZuub]

Originally Posted by Al Audi

right now OB4CL2 looking better than BP3

 

[thousandaire]

I'm not going to listen until BP3 drops...I bet it is wack as hell but I can't take y'all word for it, I remember when Hello Brooklyn leaked fromAG and hella people called that !#!$ weak (which couldn't have been further from the truth)...

 

[ezflash26]

What yall dont realize is....this is Jay making the music he wants. You can tell thru his interviews he doesnt want torap about street %%*! like that, the only reason why he made AG is b/c of the criticism he got from the content of KC (which is the direction he wants to goin).

When he raps about %%*! like this, people scream that he needs to stick to street %%*!. When he makes AG, fans like me scream he need to stop. Me personally, Iaint tryna hear no 40 yr. old billionaire rapper talk about the streets, %%*! corny, leave that to the Yo Gotti's of the world and all the other N'stryna come up...

This is where he should be at musically in his career imo. Do I like it more than the old Jay, hell nah, but you need to except it. The biggest criticism headshave of Jay is that he's never really grown for the majority of his career, but when he tries, he gets knocked down for it...

 

[DVMNXK]

Originally Posted by EzFlash26

What yall dont realize is....this is Jay making the music he wants. You can tell thru his interviews he doesnt want to rap about street $%%# like that, the only reason why he made AG is b/c of the criticism he got from the content of KC (which is the direction he wants to go in).

When he raps about $%%# like this, people scream that he needs to stick to street $%%#. When he makes AG, fans like me scream he need to stop. Me personally, I aint tryna hear no 40 yr. old billionaire rapper talk about the streets, $%%# corny, leave that to the Yo Gotti's of the world and all the other N's tryna come up...

This is where he should be at musically in his career imo. Do I like it more than the old Jay, hell nah, but you need to except it. The biggest criticism heads have of Jay is that he's never really grown for the majority of his career, but when he tries, he gets knocked down for it...

He gets knocked because he's no Big and Pic...

 

[th0mas cr0wn]

Originally Posted by HueyP in LouieV



Timbo's new vibe and Jay's new vibe just don't mesh.



Maybe it'll grow on me....but the next leak needs to be a vintage heatrock.

I can agree with that

it might grow on me though, I still have faith that the album will be nice

edit:& i do agree, i would have liked to see drake get a verse on this

 

[Animal Thug]

Originally Posted by The Game is a Foot

I "kind of" like 'Off That'...

The beat isn't as out-of-this-world as I would have expected from Timbo, but it's still nice & Jay came correct on it.

But the thing is... as much as I feel Jay is the second greatest rapper ever, he just doesn't excite me anymore. For lack of a better term, he just isn't "cool" to me anymore.

It doesn't have anything to do with him being 40. It's just that I grew up listening to Jay, and he doesn't give me the same feeling I used to have whenever he dropped new material. Nowadays I find myself respecting his music more than being "excited" about it. Does that make sense?

I agree with this statement. Jay has seemed to have lost a little bit of dignity. He doesn't touch base with certain things like he used too. I believe Jaywas the best to ever do it but now he has lost that elevated rank. He will go down as the probably the GOAT but he fumbled on this project...the production isthere, but he settled for assistance with artists like Drake, Cudi etc..

I want bars like this:

Put that knife in ya, take a little bit of life from ya
Am I frightenin ya? Shall I continue?
I put the gun to ya, I let it sing you a song
I let it hum to ya, the other one sing along
Now it's a duet, and you wet, when you check out
the technique from the 2 tecs and I don't need two lips
To blow this like a trumpet you dumb +%+%
This is a un-usual musical I conductin
You lookin at the black Warren Buffett so all critics can duck sic
I don't care if you C. Delores Tuck-it
Or you Bill O'Reilly, you only rylin me up
For three years, they had me peein out of a cup
Now they bout to free me up, whatchu think I'm gon' be, what?
Rehabilitated, man I still feel hatred
I'm young black and rich so they wanna strip me naked, but
You never had me like Christina Aguiler-y
But catch me down the Westside, drivin like Halle Berry
Or the FDR, in the seat of my car
Screamin out the sunroof death to y'all
You can't kill me, I live forever through these bars
I put the wolves on ya, I put a price on your head
The whole hood'll want ya, you startin to look like bread
I send them boys at ya, I ain't talkin bout Feds
**%#* them body-snatchers, **%#* you heard what I said

Grown man I put hands on you
I dig a hole in the desert, they build The Sands on you
Lay out blueprint plans on you
We Rat Pack %***%@, let Sam tap dance on you
Then, I Sinatra shot ya God damn you
... I put the boy in the box like David Blaine
Let the audience watch, it ain't a thang
Y'all wish I was frontin, I George Bush the button
Front of all you in your car lift up your hood **%#* run it
Then lift up your whole hood like you got oil under it
Your boy got the goods y'all don't want nuttin of it
Like, castor oil, I Castor Troy you
Change your face or the bullets change all that for you
... y'all %***%@ is targets
Y'all garages for bullets, please don't make me park it
in your upper level, valet a couple strays
from the 38 special, **%#*, God bless you

When the gun is tucked, untucked, **%#* you dies
like numchuks held by the Jet L-I
I'm the one, thus meanin no one must try
No two, no three, no four, know why?
Because one's four-five might blow yo' high
You ain't gotta go to church to get to know yo' God
It's a match made in heaven when I {*blaow*} 'splay the 7
Put you on the **%#* news, UPN at 11
Where you been, you ain't heard, got the word that I'm
{*blaow blaow*} that I'm so sin-surr?
I'm especially Joe Pesci with a grin
I will kill you, commit suicide, and kill you again
That's right

Jay isnt a Threat anymore. I can honeslty agree with Foams and say he doesn't bring that excitement anymore, and i've feltthat way since 2004. AG was straight, but lacked a core basis..."The way i shine is like a Trilion dollar light bill"

thats weak. I still tell myself this is dude thats 40 trying to tell hisstories..im giving up..

Bottom line, from what i've heard so far, the BP3 is a sub-par album...but ofcourse sales wont depict that. He'll go platinum. But its still an averagealbum...

After this, Ill give S.Carter one more attempt to try to capture my attention...thats it.

 

[ballinboboy13]

do you guys really expect another reasonable doubt or something.. it's impossible

track is cool but wanted to hear a verse from drake tho..

 

[ill i am]

Originally Posted by Cobra Kai

This $@+$ is %!+%%%% garbage.

BUT! I will ringtone the chorus just because other cats haven't heard the song yet.

How no one said anything about this? That's some female high school $@#! right there.

Originally Posted by OptimusPrimeAPhiA

I prefer how drake treated the chorus instead of jay's flow.

Of course you do.

Originally Posted by MrWavez

to be honest its really not that "unbelieveable" for drake to murder jay on a song....kanye did it nasty

Kanye did not "murder" Jay on Run This Town.

Kanye's verse on there gotta be one of the most overhyped in recent memory. And I $*!! with it, but it ain't as good as some of y'all make it outto be. _'s acting like he Diamonds Are Forever'd that joint.

Originally Posted by Illuztrious

He gets knocked because he's no Big and Pac...

But he's close.

How he's supposed to win? They got him fighting ghosts...

 

[fplistheillest]

I think that was one of Timbo's weakest beats I've ever listened to, I'm really not impressed!

 

[nasty mane23]

Originally Posted by Al Audi

right now OB4CL2 looking better than BP3

QFT

 

[bossplaya0625]

Not too hype about all the features, but Im very much excited about this album. Hoping its more AG than KC

 

[roc4life24]

folks cant admit when he makes a bad track , yall act like yall never heard any music ever when a jay track drops

1/3 so far in my book cuz i got tired of D.o.A cuz its simply a message , i get it we tired of auto tunes

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by EzFlash26

What yall dont realize is....this is Jay making the music he wants. You can tell thru his interviews he doesnt want to rap about street %%*! like that, the only reason why he made AG is b/c of the criticism he got from the content of KC (which is the direction he wants to go in).

When he raps about %%*! like this, people scream that he needs to stick to street %%*!. When he makes AG, fans like me scream he need to stop. Me personally, I aint tryna hear no 40 yr. old billionaire rapper talk about the streets, %%*! corny, leave that to the Yo Gotti's of the world and all the other N's tryna come up...

This is where he should be at musically in his career imo. Do I like it more than the old Jay, hell nah, but you need to except it. The biggest criticism heads have of Jay is that he's never really grown for the majority of his career, but when he tries, he gets knocked down for it...

See the thing about this is that we've seen Jay spit some amazing bars not referencing the streets (ie. Diamonds Are Forever Grammy Fam freestyle) so hehas the ability to spit bars in the same quality if not better than his previous works because his scope is wider.

I'm not gonna offer any excuses for this man's music because he has none. Mogs in the same peer group and level as him making incredible music andhe's talking this bull. Where are the layered verses, the double entendre`s, the $%!@ he's known for????

The same thing I've been saying for years, this man is afraid, point blank period. Afraid of criticism, potential failure, being compared to himself. He's pigeon holing himself and he's suffering for it. This $%!@ right here... he needs to get off that seriously.

 

[dead stokc]

Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE

EzFlash26 wrote:

---

What yall dont realize is....this is Jay making the music he wants. You can tell thru his interviews he doesnt want to rap about street %%*! like that, the only reason why he made AG is b/c of the criticism he got from the content of KC (which is the direction he wants to go in).

When he raps about %%*! like this, people scream that he needs to stick to street %%*!. When he makes AG, fans like me scream he need to stop. Me personally, I aint tryna hear no 40 yr. old billionaire rapper talk about the streets, %%*! corny, leave that to the Yo Gotti's of the world and all the other N's tryna come up...

This is where he should be at musically in his career imo. Do I like it more than the old Jay, hell nah, but you need to except it. The biggest criticism heads have of Jay is that he's never really grown for the majority of his career, but when he tries, he gets knocked down for it...

See the thing about this is that we've seen Jay spit some amazing bars not referencing the streets (ie. Diamonds Are Forever Grammy Fam freestyle) so he has the ability to spit bars in the same quality if not better than his previous works because his scope is wider.

I'm not gonna offer any excuses for this man's music because he has none. Mogs in the same peer group and level as him making incredible music and he's talking this bull. Where are the layered verses, the double entendre`s, the #$#% he's known for????

The same thing I've been saying for years, this man is afraid, point blank period. Afraid of criticism, potential failure, being compared to himself. He's pigeon holing himself and he's suffering for it. This #$#% right here... he needs to get off that seriously.

Exactly what I came to say. Jay is a beast at times,
but right now its like he's dumbing it down to "fit in"
@%*$% u Hova, u dont need to fit in. Ur fans kno what
ur capable of. He doesnt need to rap about the "streets",
or "Im doin this or that".

IPO Hov, no need for reverse merger
The boy money talk, no need to converse further.

?

Dude is pushin 40, +#$$ is he so damn hype for?? He
should be making laid back, chill to, jazzy type of iish.
He needs to at least try go full circle and call it quits.

Its like watchin Mike come back to play ball.

 

[delete1234]

Originally Posted by iLL I AM

Originally Posted by Cobra Kai

This $@+$ is %!+%%%% garbage.

BUT! I will ringtone the chorus just because other cats haven't heard the song yet.

How no one said anything about this? That's some female high school $@#! right there.

Originally Posted by OptimusPrimeAPhiA

I prefer how drake treated the chorus instead of jay's flow.

Of course you do.

Originally Posted by MrWavez

to be honest its really not that "unbelieveable" for drake to murder jay on a song....kanye did it nasty

Kanye did not "murder" Jay on Run This Town.

Kanye's verse on there gotta be one of the most overhyped in recent memory. And I $*!! with it, but it ain't as good as some of y'all make it out to be. _'s acting like he Diamonds Are Forever'd that joint.

Originally Posted by Illuztrious

He gets knocked because he's no Big and Pac...

But he's close.

How he's supposed to win? They got him fighting ghosts...

yes kanye did brah....and jay aint +@*%!# with 2pac at all...

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

Same old stuff in every Jay thread and it gets rather boring and ridiculous.

First of all the Michael Jordan/rap-basketball analogy is corny and makes absolutely no sense. Losing your physical ability as an athlete is not even close tobeing comparable to being able to make good music as you get older. The problem here is with hip-hop culture and its fans....where the nonsensical belief thatyou can only make good music in this genre when you are young came from is beyond me. ONLY in hip-hop does this theory exist that so many people harp on. Arerock fans telling the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen to stop making music?! NOT AT ALL! Quite frankly it is ignorant thinking and its sad to see so manypeople here on NT actually believe and feed into that nonsense...it is consumers/fans that think this way that consistently set the genre back instead ofallowing it to evolve.

Secondly regarding Jay the expectations of what he should spit or how he should spit are ridiculous. The man has consistently made good music and stillcontinues to do so. However, he can't win for being diverse. If he makes DOA people want a certain type of track, he releases Run This Town and people wantharder tracks. Every song the man releases cant be Dead Presidents....his flow has evolved and so has his music. So many people on here say "I want barslike these" or a "track like this from Jay". Nobody cares what kind of track you want or think should make....if you really care about the genreor love music period you should just want GOOD MUSIC. Wanting a specific kind of track or having "expectations" before a track or album is evenreleased prevents you from fully appreciating music as you have already made up in your mind how a song or project should sound.

I am all for debating and critiquing music but damn can we just enjoy the music and let artist be artists without putting ridiculous restrictions on age andhow they should sound?! Good hip-hop is good lyrics over a good beat and when it comes to Jay he has been the epitome of producing that consistency in thegenre point blank period.

 

[540jfan12]

Originally Posted by FlatbushFiyah23

Same old stuff in every Jay thread and it gets rather boring and ridiculous.

First of all the Michael Jordan/rap-basketball analogy is corny and makes absolutely no sense. Losing your physical ability as an athlete is not even close to being comparable to being able to make good music as you get older. The problem here is with hip-hop culture and its fans....where the nonsensical belief that you can only make good music in this genre when you are young came from is beyond me. ONLY in hip-hop does this theory exist that so many people harp on. Are rock fans telling the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen to stop making music?! NOT AT ALL! Quite frankly it is ignorant thinking and its sad to see so many people here on NT actually believe and feed into that nonsense...it is consumers/fans that think this way that consistently set the genre back instead of allowing it to evolve.

Secondly regarding Jay the expectations of what he should spit or how he should spit are ridiculous. The man has consistently made good music and still continues to do so. However, he can't win for being diverse. If he makes DOA people want a certain type of track, he releases Run This Town and people want harder tracks. Every song the man releases cant be Dead Presidents....his flow has evolved and so has his music. So many people on here say "I want bars like these" or a "track like this from Jay". Nobody cares what kind of track you want or think should make....if you really care about the genre or love music period you should just want GOOD MUSIC. Wanting a specific kind of track or having "expectations" before a track or album is even released prevents you from fully appreciating music as you have already made up in your mind how a song or project should sound.

I am all for debating and critiquing music but damn can we just enjoy the music and let artist be artists without putting ridiculous restrictions on age and how they should sound?! Good hip-hop is good lyrics over a good beat and when it comes to Jay he has been the epitome of producing that consistency in the genre point blank period.

This.
You're wasting your breath tho. People are still goin' to comment about what they want. Sad but it's a message board, hell you expect.

 

[rhymestein]

..wholetime, all the people saying they don't like what Jay isdoing, will always give him the respect of at least listening to what Jay is releasing..so regardless, Jay is winning..
He knows what he's doing..
song is ight..but IMO, hook>song..yep, Drake got him..

 

[dagreatj]

The tracklisting is as follows:

1. What We Talkin' About (Feat. Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun) (Produced By Kanye West and No I.D.)
2. Thank You (Produced By Kanye West and No I.D.)
3. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" (Produced By No I.D.)
4. Run This Town (Feat. Kanye West and Rihanna) (Produced By Kanye West & No I.D.)
5. Empire State of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys) (Produced By Al Shux)
6. Real as It Gets" (Feat. Young Jeezy) (Produced By The Inkredibles)
7. On to the Next One (Feat. Swizz Beatz) (Produced By Swizz Beatz)
8. Off That (Feat. Drake) (Produced By Timbaland)
9. A Star is Born (Feat. J. Cole) (Produced By Kanye West and No I.D.)
10. Venus vs. Mars (Produced By Timbaland)
11. Already Home (Feat. Kid Cudi) (Produced By Kanye West)
12. Hate (Feat. Kanye West) (Produced By Kanye West)
13. Reminder (Produced By Timbaland)
14. So Ambitious (Feat. Pharrell) (Produced By The Neptunes)
15. Young Forever (Feat. Mr Hudson) (Produced By Kanye West)

 

[seymore cake]

Originally Posted by FlatbushFiyah23

Same old stuff in every Jay thread and it gets rather boring and ridiculous.

First of all the Michael Jordan/rap-basketball analogy is corny and makes absolutely no sense. Losing your physical ability as an athlete is not even close to being comparable to being able to make good music as you get older. The problem here is with hip-hop culture and its fans....where the nonsensical belief that you can only make good music in this genre when you are young came from is beyond me. ONLY in hip-hop does this theory exist that so many people harp on. Are rock fans telling the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen to stop making music?! NOT AT ALL! Quite frankly it is ignorant thinking and its sad to see so many people here on NT actually believe and feed into that nonsense...it is consumers/fans that think this way that consistently set the genre back instead of allowing it to evolve.

Secondly regarding Jay the expectations of what he should spit or how he should spit are ridiculous. The man has consistently made good music and still continues to do so. However, he can't win for being diverse. If he makes DOA people want a certain type of track, he releases Run This Town and people want harder tracks. Every song the man releases cant be Dead Presidents....his flow has evolved and so has his music. So many people on here say "I want bars like these" or a "track like this from Jay". Nobody cares what kind of track you want or think should make....if you really care about the genre or love music period you should just want GOOD MUSIC. Wanting a specific kind of track or having "expectations" before a track or album is even released prevents you from fully appreciating music as you have already made up in your mind how a song or project should sound.

I am all for debating and critiquing music but damn can we just enjoy the music and let artist be artists without putting ridiculous restrictions on age and how they should sound?! Good hip-hop is good lyrics over a good beat and when it comes to Jay he has been the epitome of producing that consistency in the genre point blank period.

1) You Are Absolute and I too view it as appalling

2) Thats just it... he isn't being diverse at all. Get Off That sounds like any other trash you would hear on the radio now a day from Flo-rida or someoneof that caliber. We Run This Town he was really subpar lyric wise from the standard that he's set for himself. The witty, clever, deep in depth lyrics thatmade him great just aren't there. His music is not evolving its trying to appeal generation that he really has no connection to. At this point in hiscareer he should be pass that mindset.

3) See thats the problem, as of late he's been $%#%*!% this equation all the way up bro. Thus his music is suffering and it isn't good. I personallydo not want to hear him talking about moving kilo's or killing someone or a block. Nor do I care to hear him talk about how much money he has or how fly heis which seems to be all his subject matter consist of these days, but its sooooooooooo much other +%%$ he can address and talk about it isn't funny. Hejust doesn't, which is why he's struggling right now.