Pyrate News

By: Martin Rand, III
Date: September 12, 2011

Ten years ago on the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists attack America. Now, every year on Sept. 11, we commemorate those who died and those who survived; and this year was no different.

However, another event happened the very same morning. It's no where near as significant in the grand scheme of the world; but in the world of music, and more importantly hip-hop, it's impact would have resounding effects.

"The Blueprint" Album Cover

The event I'm referring to is the release of The Blueprint, Jay-Z's sixth studio album. Jay-Z was already a superstar in hip-hop before its release; but after this album, he would be blasted into an elite category of possibly being the greatest rapper of all-time.

Not only did The Blueprint boost Jay-Z's career, it launched the careers of unknown producers Just Blaze and, Jay-Z's little brother/other half of the throne, Kanye West. These two youngsters produced the majority of the album. They sampled R&B songs from Jay-Z's childhood, i.e. his blueprint, and made them into classic hip-hop beats.

Well, while Just Blaze and West made them into hot beats, Jay-Z turned them into hot songs. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Song Cry" were hit singles spawned from the "The Blueprint". Other classic songs include "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" and the diss song that could've ended Nas' career "Takeover".

Around this time, Eminem had burst onto the scene, and many people didn't believe that he was seriously a contender in the hip-hop spectrum.With Eminem being the only featured artist on The Blueprint, the song "Renegade" helped Eminem gain a new fan-base and proved that his lyrical ability was on par with the best in hip-hop.

The Blueprint showed Jay-Z's growth as an artist. While his party/club songs are great, he is at his best when he's recounting the best and worst times from his life; and, this album is his most introspective work to date. Every flow was smooth, every delivery was hard hitting, and every lyric had meaning.

To compare him to Michael Jordan, who Jay-Z often compares himself to, this album is the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team, when they posted the best record in NBA history. This is Jay-Z's masterpiece (yes even better than his classic debut Reasonable Doubt). Much like Jordan in 1995-96, Jay-Z seemed comfortable in his own space and out to prove to the rest of the hip-hop world that he was in fact the best rapper; and if they didn't know, now they knew.