Jay-Z - Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
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CD Details
Artist: Jay-ZBrand: JAY-Z
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Explicit Lyrics
CD Release Date: 2002-11-12
Music Label: Roc-A-Fella
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- A Dream (featuring Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G.)
- Hovi Baby
- The Watcher 2 (featuring Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts)
- '03 Bonnie & Clyde (featuring Beyonce Knowles)
- Excuse Me Miss
- What They Gonna Do (featuring Sean Paul)
- All Around the World (featuring LaToiya Williams)
- Poppin' Tags (featuring Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista)
- F**k All Nite
- The Bounce
- I Did It My Way
- Diamonds Is Forever
- Guns & Roses (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
- U Don't Know (remix, featuring M.O.P.)
- Meet the Parents
- Some How Some Way (featuring Beanie Sigel and Scarface)
- Some People Hate
- Blueprint 2
- N***a Please (featuring Young Chris)
- 2 Many Hoes
- As One (featuring Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Sparks & Rell)
- A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier
- Show You How (bonus track)
- B****s & Sisters (bonus track)
- What They Gonna Do Part II (bonus track)
Music reviews of Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Music Review: Jay Z attempts to please "The Best Of Both Worlds"
Rating: 5 Stars
After releasing his 2nd best CD, "The Blueprint", Jay Z is out to attempt that he is still on top of his game. Although, it doesn't take 25 tracks to do that, "Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse" is still a CD worth paying attention to. Jay Z will never make another "Reasonable Doubt". That's what his fans need to realize. After making "In My Lifetime Volume 1" after the death of his friend in the rap game, The Notorious BIG, Jay Z almost seemed like a lost cause. However, after "Can I Get A...." and "Hard Knock Life" put him on the map and on the way to well over 4 million in sales on "Volume 2: Hard Knock Life", Jay Z's style has pretty much stayed the same. So if his fans can recognize that then this 2 CD compilation of songs won't be as hard to stomach. CD 1 (The Gift) gets started off with a Notorious BIG tribute "A Dream" featuring Faith Evans. After Jay Z raps a verse, Biggie's 1st verse from "Juicy" is planted in the song and makes for a very good tribute to the greatest rapper of all time. From there, you get alot of commercial hits and misses. It seems as if Jay Z wanted to please the radio with CD 1. The winners include "Hovi Baby", "The Watcher 2 w/Dr. Dre, Truth Hurts, and Rakim", "Excuse Me Miss", "All Around The World", and "Poppin' Tags w/Twista, Killer Mike and Big Boi from Outkast". "The Watcher 2" is the sequel from the song "The Watcher" that was featured on Dr. Dre's "2001" CD. Although, Dr. Dre's lyrics might not have been needed on the sequel, you can never go wrong with Jay Z and Rakim on the same track. "Excuse Me Miss" comes off as a street version of LL Cool J's "Luv U Better" as the Neptunes show up to give Jay Z his chance to share how he is searching for someone he can give his keys and security codes to. However, the highlight of "The Gift" is defintely "Poppin' Tags". This Kanye West banger will definitely have Southern bounce fans about to catch a whiplash while driving and listening to this track. Jay Z joins Twista, who Dame Dash is trying to get signed to the ROC and Killer Mike and Big Boi on a lyrical free for all on this track. The losers on "The Gift" include, "F*** All Nite", "The Bounce", and the first single, "03' Bonnie And Clyde". "'03 Bonnie And Clyde" isn't a bad song, so to speak, but how can you remake a song that is only 6 years old. Plus, the man who created the song, RIP 2 Pac, dissed you more than once on the same CD. "F*** All Nite" is as good as a filler track that you will ever find. The Neptunes and Jay Z should have kept that song to themselves. CD 2 "The Curse" is definitely a better all around CD. You have a less radio friendly CD and Jay Z is "focused man". Tracks 1-5 is clearly the best sequence of songs of the 25 tracks. "Diamond Is Forever" shouts out all of the ROC and Jay Z is out to prove that he is still on top of his game on this track and he does a good job of trying to prove so. On "Guns And Roses", Jay Z has Heavy D on the boards and Lenny Kravitz performing the chorus and surprisingly the formula works as the trio are on point with this song. "U Don't Know 2" is the sequel from "U Don't Know" on "The Blueprint" and includes Rocafella's new artist, MOP. Lil Fame and Billy Danze shine on the track and makes the Just Blaze produced sequel worth listening to. On the eerie "Meet The Parents", Jay Z profiles a mother and father and their ways of living. Isis is more worried about drugs and being with a baller that treats her any kind of way and gives her different colored Gucci shoes than being with a man that will treat her right. Mike is more worried about being on the streets instead of owning up to his responsibilities of being a father. He says since the baby didn't come out his skin color, then the child must not be his. Towards the end of the song, "Young Cous'", who is now 15, and Mike square off in the streets. As the two look at each other, they notice the resemblance, but before anything can be done about it, Mike does what you are supposed to do in the code of the streets. What surprises me about this track is that Jay Z is not known for his analytical skills in his songs. He ususally just hears a beat and goes into the studio and does the song, just like that. With "Meet The Parents", Jay Z delivers one of his powerful messages ever in song. "Some How, Some Way" is reminiscent of "This Can't Be Life" that was featured on "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia". Beanie Sigel and Scarface join Jay Z again on the Just Blaze produced track for another memorable performance. On the Neptunes produced "N**** Please" featuring Young Cris, Jay Z has one of the best beats on this CD on this track. However, with the bling bling talk by Jigga, you only want to listen to the beat after you hear the song a few times. Overall, with "The Gift And The Curse", Jay Z pleases the radio and his street fans. That's what I mean by the title of my review. He didn't need 25 tracks to do so, but with tight production by Just Blaze, Kanye West, The Neptunes, Timbaland and others, why save the tracks. If you are a fan of Jay Z and you have any of his other CDs, this is a worthy investment for you. James' Top 7
1) Poppin' Tags w/Twista, Killer Mike & Big Boi
2) Some How, Some Way w/Beanie Sigel & Scarface
3) U Don't Know (Remix) w/MOP
4) Diamond Is Forever
5) Guns And Roses w/Lenny Kravitz
6) Meet The Parents
7) Hovi Baby
Description of Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
No Description Available.Genre: Rap, Hip-Hop
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating: PA
Release Date: 12-NOV-2002
Do you want in on hip-hop's dirty little secret? Well, not even rap's greatest icons have been able to pull of a memorable, fast-forward-free double disc--2Pac's All Eyez on Me and Wu-Tang Clan's Wu-Tang Forever included. On this follow-up to part one, Jay teams up with Destiny's Child's Beyoncé on "03 Bonnie & Clyde," a so-so remake of 2Pac's "Me and My Girlfriend." The Dr. Dre-produced remix to "The Watcher," featuring Rakim, reveals that, in addition to expanding his audience, Jay is interested in appealing to his tried-and-tested demographic--East Coast hardrocks. He rounds out the first disc with "I Did It My Way," sampling Paul Anka's version of "My Way" and equating his Rap Pack (Kareem Burke, Dame Dash) to the Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Don't laugh. The stronger second disc contains some pleasant surprises. The Lenny Kravitz-fuelled braggadocio of "Guns and Roses" titillates, while Jay's Jeru the Damaja-like "Bitches and Sisters" is sure to stir up accusations of misogyny. In the end, not even Jay can tear through 11 hot tracks, much less 25. --Dalton Higgins
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