Jay-Z’s Rhapsody commercial is so epic that it absolutely deserves its own post. The commercial depicts Jay recreating his album covers in such fine detail. It kicks off with the Reasonable Doubt and culminates in the grand Blueprint III artwork. I realized something while watching this: Blueprint III is the only album in Jay’s catalog that doesn’t feature him on the cover.
Not surprisingly, a calm and collected Jay-z responded to the internet’s downloading frenzy of his latest album which was scheduled to be released on September 11th. He said, “I learned to look at it as a great thing” in the MTV interview earlier today that was held to discuss his benefit concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The part that’s interesting to me is even Hip-Hop artists and producers spent the day tweeting on the album in depth today along with the millions of others that made Jay-Z one of the one of the only artists name’s who can topple the Jonas Brothers. I suppose that once you get to the top, it’s natural to care less about people “liberating” your music.
Young Turbo sits down with MySpace Today to discuss his artistry. “I didn’t have any aspiration to be a superstar. I really just wanted to have a job.” Ha! He also talks about battling Busta Rhymes in high school.
I agree that Vol. 1 would’ve been a classic with the right song selection, but it’s still the best in the trilogy. Agree? Disagree?
[Via Roc4Life]
Oh, you thought Jay would mark the anniversary of his 2001 classic and not give back to the Big Apple in a major way? New Yorkers, you lucky bastids. Jay is set to give a benefit at the Madison Garden on September 11, same day Blueprint 3 arrives.
Says Mr. Carter:
“This charity and concert encompass the true spirit of New York City. We are asking everyone to ‘answer the call’ and support and honor the families of those that lost their lives. There is a true camaraderie and resiliency this city showed the world in 2001 and we continue that today by taking care of our own.
All the proceeds from the event will go to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, which was founded in 1985 to support the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty. The concert will be broadcast by Fuse, the cable music channel.
[Via: Roc4Life.com]
Fact: Jay-Z is one of the all-time music greats. Fact: Jay-Z is a victim of his own inconsistency. Make no mistakes, Hov has no less than 2 undeniable classics under his well-decorated belt. But for every Reasonable Doubt, there’s a Roc La Familia; For every Blueprint, there’s a Kingdom Come. Get the point?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Jay’s pattern. A cursory glance at his catalog says it all. He’s done the same thing for the last 10 years or so: drop a dud, come back strong, drop a dud, come back strong. You have to wonder, how can a man who’s arguably Top 5 on everyone’s list (mine included) be so inconsistent?
It’s worth noting that Jay’s worst albums are better than some people’s best. The other consolation prize here is that his post-dud albums are always guaranteed to be great. So even if BP3 disappoints, we may be in for a treat in 2 years. I can dream, right?
Pop the lid for an annotated breakdown of Jay’s partial discography.
Read the rest of this entry »
I have no idea what that newscaster is saying, but it appears that the characteristically poised Jay-Z was caught in a Kanye moment while Croatia. Jay’s bodyguard tossed the shutterbug’s tripod in the water before flipping them the bird.
Jay plays the big brother role at the beginning of the clip and offers some relationship advice to Loso. I really wanted to like this song but I couldn’t get past that lethargic beat.
