The sounds of the 70s and 80s (aka the sounds I grew up on and cherished throughout the late 90s) will be made popular again by
Jay-Z, the man who, with producers like
the Neptunes, helped usher in the sounds of crack rap and the late 90s ghetto fab movement. And he does it with such finesse. There's a lot of talk, and I've seen other bloggers who've asked "what happened to the album I was hoping for?"... I ask, what did you expect? Jay said he was inspired by the life and times of
American Gangster,
the Hollywood flick, and with that came sounds that were from another era. Were you thinking this was
Reasonable Doubt: The Sequel? This is Jay getting his grown man on, but still giving you guys that "Ignorant Shit". It's
Reasonable Doubt and
The Blueprint make a baby. And at times, it's amazing.
If there's one thing that stands out, it's the awesome soundscape throughout this disc. The majority of it is steeped in this classic, dusty vintage 70s wears, with tracks like "
American Dreamin'", with it's
Marvin Gaye-crooning, sounding like it came out on Motown back when Marvin and
Stevie were finding their own way. Loads of percussion, subtle drums, nice tidy bass. "
Sweet" comes on strong with its blaxploitation loop, full of heavy guitar, droning synth note and just overall lurching funk. Jay takes the soul he's been getting into on his better-received albums and goes all the way in, not losing his step but definitely losing himself in the music, becoming both an instrument and the guiding light for each cut. You get the feeling, hearing tracks like the anthemic "
Roc Boys", that if some other MC was on them, it just wouldn't be "theirs". The epitome of the 70s in the 2k7 scope is the awesome funk of "
American Gangster", where the ever-changing samples roll on top of each other, making it almost hard to pay attention to the raw Jay is laying out on the mirror for you. You will sniff it, but it might be a minute while you get into the groove. The 80s gets its swerve on as well, with the intial '87 mentality of "
Blue Magic", the sub-heavy romp of "
Hello Brooklyn 2.0" and the show-stealing story in "
I Know". Again, Jay knows how to ride these beats, put the ROC stamp on them and claim them for his own. Do they all work?
90% of the time, definitely. It's not until Jay's last verse in "Hello Brooklyn 2.0" that it seems to fit into the underlying theme/inspirational tones of the disc as a whole. "
Ignorant Shit" rocks that interesting touch to it, flipping both a known
Isley Brothers sample as well as flipping the perception and oomph behind most "ignorant rap", but screams more "mixtape gem" than something that should be on here. Not that his
Imus commentary sounds forced, but half a verse from
Beans and repeating lines at the end? Not really something I was expecting. When Jay sticks to the topic, AKA the reflections of his own story and upbringing he saw when he peeped
American Gangster, it fits like a glove. Jay can chart that progress, from hungry youngster to feeding up-and-coming gangster, to the jaded-millionaire stance in standout cut "
Success", to the bottom-falling-out rut of "
Fallin'". Dude knows how to paint a picture, but I think in terms of trying to satisfy the public and the naysayers, the path might have gotten a bit muddied along the way. The fact that Jay is knockin' on 4-0 and is still leading the pack in terms of creativity, flows, lyrics and the whole package is still amazing, and a great sight to behold.
All in all, this album deserves any accolades it will receive. Unlike
T.I. Vs. T.I.P., one could understand the underlying theme on this disc. Jay hasn't lost a step, never did. He spits intricate rhymes over some of the most intriguing, freshly dusted Hip-Hop grooves this side of 1996 (dare I say it's a great thing
Diddy is back!?). For those looking for that old Jay, stop: while one could say "oh, dude took it back to
Reasonable Doubt", it's a different mindstate. Back then, it was the idea of Jay doing 1 album, and just giving niggas that hustler music. This time, Jay is the true artists, interjecting himself into a narrative that harkens back to his childhood, but is also the story of hustlers old and new, those who are trying to get that paper by any means necessary. It's a cautionary tale, it's great music, and it's a perfect example of modern Hip-Hop being able to be more than just empty threats and retarded imagery. Jay wears his poetic license on his crisp sleeves, but there's a lot more than veiled threats on this mannequin.
rock the dub gives Jay-Z's American Gangster a 3.5 out of 5 stars. The lyrics are there, the theme is mostly stuck to, but the missteps knock this one down from being the epic disc that it could have been.
You can purchase and preview
American Gangster
at Amazon.
Last month, I hit you with the info on the Saul Williams/Trent Reznor collaboration album, NiggyTardust. I just got word that tracks from the album are being made available for remix (ala the Nine Inch Nails remix website). Saul's site isn't that buckwild, but here's a few sendspace links that contain files for tracks (I'm guessing it's .wav files, the filesize on these are 100+MBs...):
The Wu-Tang Clan Mega Store
EW has reported
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