The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on November 14, , by Roc-A-Fella Records. It was advertised as his final.
Table of contents
From Jaz he learned how to navigate the rap industry and what moves to make. He also participated in the group Original Flavor for a short time. Jay Z subsequently decided to make an untraditional decision and start his own label rather than sign with an established label as Jaz had done. Together with friends Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, he created Roc-a-Fella Records, a risky strategy for cutting out the middleman and making money for himself.
Once he found a reputable distributor, Priority Records and then later Def Jam , Jay Z finally had everything in place, including a debut album, Reasonable Doubt Though Reasonable Doubt reached only number 23 on the Billboard chart, Jay Z's debut eventually became recognized as an undisputed classic among fans, many of whom consider it his crowning achievement. Peaking at number three on the Billboard , In My Lifetime sold much more strongly than its predecessor. The album boasted pop-crossover producers such as Puff Daddy and Teddy Riley, and singles such as "Sunshine" and "The City Is Mine" indeed showcased a newfound embrace of pop crossover.
Jay Z's next album, Vol. Like clockwork, Jay Z returned a year later with another album, Vol. Life and Times of S. Carter , which topped the Billboard and spawned two hits: Jay Z then scaled back a bit for Dynasty Roc la Familia , his fifth album in as many years. Prior to its release, the rapper had caused a stir in New York following his headlining performance at Hot 97's Summer Jam , where he debuted the song "Takeover. The version of "Takeover" that later appeared on The Blueprint includes a third verse, this one dissing Nas, who, in response to the Summer Jam performance, had called out Jay Z, "the fake king of New York," in a freestyle known as "Stillmatic.
Dre's "Bad Intentions" on the second. The back-and-forth bout created massive publicity for both Jay Z and Nas.
Jay Z capitalized on the runaway success of The Blueprint with a number of follow-up projects. He collaborated with the Roots for the Unplugged album and with R. Kelly for Best of Both Worlds Whereas the first volume had been personal, considered, and focused, the second instead offered an unapologetically sprawling double-disc extravaganza showcasing remarkable scope.
Furthermore, Jay Z guested on a pair of summer hits: The subsequent year was a whirlwind for the retiring Jay Z. Guilty Until Proven Innocent. Show Me What You Got. The video content is inappropriate. The video content is misleading. The ad is too long. The ad does not play. The ad does not inform my purchase. The video does not play. There is too much buffering. The audio is poor or missing.
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Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention jay-z jay rap doubt encore dirt moment clothes december track albums tracks classic reasonable lyrics clarity blueprint shoulder beats lucifer. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Yeah i said it: Of course this is not the popular sentiment. My theory a rapper's first album or any musical artist for that matter to that point it is their life's work.
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All those experiences, all that effort all culminate in the heart and soul that is their 1st album. It drops and we the people who know nothing of said journey are blindsided by its greatness. And in the midst of the frenzy that is created by our new love affair with the unfamiliar, some record executive and us the fans unfairly demand the artist recreate all of that heart and soul months later; and thus Sophomore Jinx talk ensues. Well with Jay Z i'm not letting folks off that easy. In fact there are 2 albums i think are in the conversation to dethrone Reasonable Doubt as the best Jay Z album ever.
However, one to me is undisputed and the other leaves more up for debate The Blueprint 1. But i digress, back to the matter at hand. Let me be clear; I Looooovvvveee Reasonable Doubt. From a continuity standpoint, had a few really big commercial hits plus a good number of gems that are favorites of the most avid Jay Z fans. In fact ironically i often link this album to Reasonable Doubt as one was the beginning and the other at least a perceived end while it was made.
But in truest Jay Z fashion he foreshadows the ensuing decade of his career. Pick it up, its a must beyond a reasonable doubt: I' know i'm corny for that one but i couldn't help myself. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. Audio CD Verified Purchase.
The Black Album is Jay's final testament to hip-hop. Though probably not his best LP, it's his most personal and revealing album to date. It is certainly one of the best albums released since On The Black Album Jay-Z sums up his entire career and removes any doubts about him being the greatest rapper alive. Intro - It's a short intro talking about how all good things must come to an end. December 4th - This is an incredible track, Jay has his mother Gloria Carter on it describing how when she gave birth to Jay, he didn't give her any pain.
This track is very personal. Jay talks about how after his mother and father broke up, that's when his life took a turn. He took to the streets. Carter talks about how Jay used to beat on the kitchen table and rhyme, then she bought him a boombox to keep him out of trouble. This track goes pretty deep, most other rapper never get this personal on a track.
Just Blaze does the production by the way. I love this whole track. Jay talks about how after all the great stuff he's done in hip-hop, there's still a lot of people who don't give him the credit he deserves. When you hear this song I guarantee you'll love it. It's none other than Kanye West of course.
- The Black Album Tracklist.
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The horns and the jazzy sound of this track will make you love it. On this Jay talks about how he came in the game and took over, and that people will truly miss him once he's gone. This track is really soulful, any real hip-hop fan will enjoy it. Change Clothes - By now I'm guessing that most of you have already heard this track. This beat is done by the Neptunes and it kinda reminds you of Excuse Me Miss. I didn't like this song at first but it grew on me. Some songs take more time than others for you to like. Jay of course comes correct with his incredible flow.
This in my opinion is the only weak track on the album. It's not that Jay is weak on it, but the bad production takes away from Jay's superb flow. Some of you may like it but it just doesn't grab me.
The Black Album
Jay talks about what he's done that makes him so great. Threat - Produced by 9th Wonder. This beat samples R. Kelly's - A Woman's Threat and is straight fire. Jay talks about how the haters couldn't stop him from making great music no matter how hard they tried. He also talks about how if you attack him, then there will be consequences. You could call it self-serving, positing as it does Jay as a magnanimous hood benefactor, turning his admission of prioritising commercial success over artistic honesty into something that has a higher purpose than personal gain.
But it's still shocking today, 13 years and hundreds of listens on from its original impact. The Black Album also rises above most other records of its or indeed any subsequent era in rap by ensuring that the cast of producers aren't just roped in for name-recognition value. These are collaborations in the truest sense. Eminem's patented blend of doomy synths and whipcrack drums never sounded more apposite than it does here, underneath and around Jay's unburdening.
Rick Rubin reinvents as he references his rock-rap roots on the brilliant '99 Problems', cowbells and crunching powerchords jousting with Billy Squier's 'Big Beat' while Jay gives belated chapter and verse on the Lance 'Un' Rivera assault. Kanye loops up Max Romeo to give Jay the perfect chance to chase the devil, not out of Earth this time but perhaps out of The Planet as some of its denizens refer to Brooklyn.
Though he's not credited anywhere on the album, kudos has to go to The Roots'? There are occasional problems, of course, as there are bound to be - what fun would perfection be? Jay's mum's contributions to 'December 4th' never feel entirely comfortable or convincing, though you don't doubt her sincerity so much as her evident lack of experience with public performance. The record can also feel a little like it stutters, due to how so many of these songs would have worked best as the final track: But it's the perfectly pitched, technically adventurous 'My 1st Song' that wraps things up beautifully: Of course, the only thing wrong with The Black Album is what happened next.
We perhaps all expected that he might make the occasional foray back in to the vocal booth to guest on other people's records - and if he'd continued to drop verses of the quality of the one he contributed to the superlative 'Pressure' on protegee Lupe Fiasco's first album, we'd all have been delighted that big homie had come out of retirement. Instead, and with the crushing sense of inevitability of a Scarface fan gleefully yet ruefully proclaiming that although he thought he was out they pulled him back in, Jay broke his vow and started making albums again.
Many listeners always suspected this had been part of the plan at the time: Yes, there have been moments since where the old magic shines through, and no, he's still never made a duff album. But it's hard to argue there are that many moments in the post-retirement phase of his discography that truly rank with the best of the work he did up to this self-imposed career break.
But the second coming of Jay-Hova hasn't been anything like as compelling or as accomplished as he was before he hung up the mic. And that first flush of writing and performance reaches its zenith here, on what is surely the best of the "black albums" out there. Fixed jaw; eyes flickering; nostrils flaring; saying nothing at all; just chomping his teeth and frowning deeply and driving his horses deeper into the desert with steely resolve, past the cactuses into a warm wind - the undertakers wind.
The Black Album is a swaggering beast of a record; a lumbering swampdog paddling through backwater mists with an eye on snagging the elegant flamingo. Rather, it represents Metallica at their loosest, grooviest and most ludicrously powerful - a slab of life-affirming class, laden with glee and driven by sheer gnash. The brief for the record was, apparently, simple: Until The Black Album was recorded, Metallica had often sounded piped out of a long thin tube. To give some context: It was a record with no discernible bass at all and although it saw Metallica breaking onto increasingly big stages, the mean and waspish production was unbecoming of a band that should have been making records that sounded like a dark forest in Maine ripping up its own roots and stomping over frozen lakes while laughing at the yellow harvest moon.
Clearly, it was a situation that needed rectifying and on The Black Album Bob Rock was the producer tasked with working up the low end. The resulting album didn't so much draw a line in the sand - both for Metallica and metal as a whole - as cleave apart the actual desert floor with a vast bejewelled sabre. This was assuredly not thrash metal. Setting aside the NWOBHM, punk and Motorhead talismans, Bob Rock marshalled a newfound sense of groove that emphasised simpler arrangements and meaty swing in equal measure. It sounds like the result of hard work; an exercise in forensic fat stripping.
Gone were the frenetic tempo changes and dizzying classical arrangements. Musically, it was a huge statement of intent. The monstrous swagger was taken to epic levels. And while his drumming may be divisive - it is by no means metronomic - his playing on The Black Album is a thing of rare drama, and afforded real prominence by Bob Rock.
It carries a childlike quality, sometimes sitting just behind the beat but always hitting so hard that, even in subtle passages, it is laden in gurning gaiety. This is what I want you to consider while casting your vote. This is the song I want front and centre in your mind. You know you could vote for this album on that riff alone.
If so, please cast your votes for them. But look down - deep down - into the burning vestige of your mortal soul and I think that we both know the answer. Do the right thing. To vote with Harry send an email to comps thequietus. In , Prince was pissing genius. And yet, from almost the moment The Black Album was completed, Prince treated this latest manifestation of that genius like it was piss. Officially, the record had no title at all, just a plain black sleeve and the catalogue number WX Unofficially, it has two: Both are instructive as to Prince's intentions.
The Black Album – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre
Prince's 'blackest' album for some time perhaps ever , it was a conscious attempt to reconnect with the African-American audience who had been alienated by his pop success. That, at least, is the dominant interpretation. Because, with The Black Album , almost everything is subject to conjecture and guesswork. The bare facts are as minimal as the album's sound and artwork itself.
WX, attributed cryptically to 'Somebody' on Warners' release schedule, was to be given no promotional campaign, and would be marketed directly at dance clubs. It was originally scheduled to go on sale on December 7, , but the plug was mysteriously pulled a week before release date. In an instant, The Black Album joined the pantheon of Great Lost Albums, sitting alongside The Beach Boys' Smile and Bob Dylan's Great White Wonder as one of popular music's most sought-after unreleased records, and became the biggest-selling bootleg since Dylan's, shifting an estimated quarter of a million in the seven year window of its contraband life.
Despite the muffled fidelity, In the UK alone it shifted 30,, nowadays enough to make it a Number One album.