Unless you have no contact with the internet at all, you already know The Blueprint 3 leaked today. I gave it one full listen on my way home from work and by the end of the albums 1:00:56, I considered more than a couple of things about more than a couple of artists.

I’m a pretty big supporter of Jay Z by this point (which says alot considering my disregard for him early on) and this particular album is Jay’s eleventh release. Let’s say on average an album contains 16 songs…that’s approx. 176 songs that you, the artist, are at least directly associated with. And yet still, that doesnt account for the hundreds of songs that dont make the final cut, and (especially in the case of hip hop artists) the countless mixtape tracks and guest spots that are judged heavily… but that’s just from the POV of the consumer.

Consider, if you will, each recording artist’s song as a painting (and for the emcee, each verse – which would equal 3 paintings per song). How many paintings, then, has Jay Z completed- from say 1996 to now?

(…just give me an estimate..take your time…)

~

Now, as anyone who’s known me for while can tell you- despite my varied tastes, two artists stand atop my “favored artists” list: Stevie Wonder & Prince. Both artists have enjoyed longevity in the music game, and both are still releasing projects to this day. Prince’s latest release, “Lotusflow3r”, is documented as his 25th album (though any fan can tell you he has at least double that amount). Stevie’s last album was titled “A Time 2 Love”- his 25th as well (according to wikipedia), and both albums were met with mixed response from the critical establishment, as well as fans.

With all of these albums (Prince, Stevie, & Jay) the announcement of the new album meant (and usually means): great hype, high expectations, and semi-satisfaction to downright disappointment from even the most devoted listeners in each artist’s “camp”. For those on the latter end of the spectrum, regardless of artist, the complaints are usually the same:

1. He/She isn’t as good as he/she used to be…
2. He/she isn’t as hungry as he/she used to be… and..
3. The music doesnt quite match [insert earlier album from the artists career]..

there are, however, a couple of things happening here that fuel these opinions, as well as the debates that often follow...

I still could not tell if this was a good review or not.

I like Jay Z.

He would make my top ten list of all time best hip hop artists.

Im anticipating this album! Whats the take on it?

paisleypark4 said:

i like it. kinda transitional but still good

SirPsycho said:

what do you mean by that? too many diffrent styles?