Jay-Z

сегодня по дороге на работу слушал brooklyn's finest с бигги, теперь весь день мотив с головы не уходит, вообще не знаю в чем магия, но дебютные альбомы действительно выходят какими то особенными )

просто наверное покупали за счет того что это Jay-Z...а ваапще былоб здорово если бы был Дре,вдвойне бомбой альбом будет,а еще не появился ритэйл?а тимбо полюбому должен быть на альбоме...)))

Uncontrollable Hustler’s Ambition

I don’t know where Cam’ron is, but I sure as hell know where Jay-Z is. He’s at a studio in Manhattan, CEO in full artist mode, feeling inspired and making his first true “concept” album. No he still doesn’t write his rhymes down but a pen and paper is getting heavy use today. It has the rough titles of the 14 songs Jigga has created and he’s carefully trying to create the perfect musical sequence for his new album. Inspired by the Denzel Washington flick that stays in rotation on a TV screen above him, Jay wants the album to tell a story from beginning to end.

He’s 100% sure he wants the album to begin with a song called “Pray,” his most intricate and vivid storytelling since the severely-underrated “Meet The Parents.” I believe it’s one of the four songs that will make the album that was produced by Puffy and the Hitmen. That’s right, Puffy and the Hitmen.

Jay told me a funny story in the elevator on the way to get his first look at the Hype Williams-directed “Blue Magic” video. He said Puff would always bug him like, “Nigga let me executive produce your next album.” Jay would basically be like, “What the fuck you talkin’ about? I’m a boss. And you’re a boss. That don’t even make any sense.” But finally Hova gave in and agreed to at least listen to what the Shiny Suit man had cookin’ in the stu. Surprisingly, he was blown away.

Supposedly, Puff had gotten all the D-Dots, Amen-Ras, Nashiems, Stevie J’s and Carlos Broadys back together again and they’ve been creating some funky 70’s soul inspired grooves. Jay asked Puff, “What are you doing with these tracks?” Puff was like, “I don’t even know. It’s just some cool shit, I listen to around my house. Walking around with my socks on and shit.”

Just how Just Blaze’s work inspired the beginning of Kingdom Come, the Hitmen tracks built the foundation of American Gangster. As it’s been widely reported (NY Times I see ya), most of Jay’s vocal content recounts hustler tales over neck snapping beats. Jay likens it to the lyrical side of Reasonable Doubt meets the musical majesty of Blueprint.

The album marriages Jay’s real life experiences like buying out the bar with his hustler buddies (the d-boy celebratory next release “Roc Boys”) with songs inspired by scenes from the movie. Notably, the one where Denzel as Frank Lucas is distraught that his nephew played by T.I. has abandoned his dreams of being professional baseball player and wants to get into the “family business.” Jay moved by that scene applies it his own cautionary lesson to his nephews for them to always stay on the right path.

Fuck what ya heard. Truth be told, “Blue Magic” is not even one of the strongest songs on the album. But Jay insists it was the best way to introduce the direction of the new record. (“Let’s take ‘em to the ‘80s, before we take ‘em to the ‘70s.”) The other record that the Imperial Skateboard P did, is the only song that sounds like it could be a commercial smash. It’s a song about the effect of heroin disguised as a love song. The rest here is straight gutter. A lot of “aggressive content” for you goofies and doofies.

Tracks like “Success” (produced by No ID “The Mentor”) will have your trunk rattling as well as the somewhat Dream-inspired “No Hook.” Light on the choruses, Jigga flourishes when he addresses some of the hot stove topics you want him to touch on. DeHaven, the mad extorter, gets it on a couple of tracks. And Beyonce, the fiancée?, gets a dedicated verse on which Jay declares, “She’s on my dick and I’m on her bra strap.” Besides y’all haters of the male persuasion couldn’t afford to take ole girl on a “million dollar vacation” like the big homie.

As it stands now, the album has a surprising end. The final song is called “Fallen,” produced by Jermaine Dupri. That’s right Prez Carter’s supposed corporate rival. Bilal’s on the hook but again this ain’t no commercial ish. It aims to bring the whole album full circle. That as always, gangstas don’t get chubby and move to Miami, they end up in jail or they die. Thankfully, American Gangster will prove Young Hova’s career is alive and well.

Loose Ends:
There’s a DJ Toomp track Jay is still working on and another one with a Marvin Gaye sample that Jay still feels needs some more production muscle. There’s also a new version of “Ignorant Shit” that features Beanie Sigel (the only guest rapper I heard so far) and Jay lets Imus have it in the final verse.

Jesus, that’s it for now, I got an interview to prepare for. Any of you fuckers got any questions you want me to ask the Great One, holla atcha boy. Y’all owe me.

UPDATE:
Supa engineer extraordinaire Young Guru granted me some clarity: Puff’s 2007 Hitmen consist of Sean C. and LV (aka Grind Music). LV is also Fat Joe’s DJ and Sean C. co-produced “Can’t Knock The Hustle.” They actually have five tracks on the album. And them niggas got some heat. You’ll see.

It Is What It Is by Elliott Wilson. XXL.

ох люблю я его. На последнем альбоме мне мало треков понравились, вот с Би Hollywod классная песня и Show me what u got, Lost ones

а трабл те не понравилась?....помоему Дрэ отличный трек забабахал.....офигенный бит.....

я не помню)) музыку тока на айподе слушаю и рэп в моем репертуаре сошел на минимум.. потом заново послушаю тот альбом =)

PREVIEW: Jay-Z's American Gangster
By: Sean Fennessey
POSTED: 09:57 EST, October 6, 2007

Jay-Z presented his nearly-completed tenth album, American Gangster, Friday evening for a small gathering of media at Manhattan's Roc The Mic Studios. Inspired by the forthcoming Denzel Washington drama of the same name, the album – a crisper, more focused effort than his previous album, last year's somewhat maligned Kingdom Come – is a cinematic work, told with a loose narrative that follows the rise and subsequent fall of a New York drug lord. "It plays like a cautionary tale," he said. "But it's not me. I made it. I'm a bad motherfucker."



Working with producers like Bad Boy's Hit Men team, Jermaine Dupri and longtime collaborator Just Blaze, Gangster is lush with a live band sound that echoes the deep soul and funk sounds of the film, as on the electrifying banger "Roc Boys" and fierce lyrical workout "No Hook." Jay-Z spoke about acquiring tracks from Diddy's long-dormant crew of hitmakers. "He just had 'em, he didn't have anyone to give 'em to," he said, as a loop of the film played in the background on a PlayStation 2. Other standouts include DJ Toomp's booming "Say Hello to the Bad Guy," the No ID-helmed "Success" - which may feature former rival Nas - and the rescued "Ignorant Shit," originally recorded during the sessions for 2003's The Black Album (Roc-A-Fella). "Ignorant Shit" has been updated to include a verse from Roc-A-Fella's Beanie Sigel. It also now cannily addresses the controversy surrounding deposed shock rock Don Imus earlier this year. Nas, Sigel, R&B crooner Bilal (featured on the late album track "Fallen") and Pharrell (on lead single "Blue Magic") are the only guests.



Talking at length about the album's creation, Def Jam's reigning President and CEO said it took less than three weeks to record American Gangster. "I like the challenge of it," he said. "You could make 100 classic albums in a row and someone [else] could make one hot song and people compare you. This is the only sport like that."



Initially brought to his attention by Universal's noted soundtrack executive Kathy Nelson, American Gangster depicts the true story of Frank Lucas, a Harlem drug kingpin who amassed a $250 million empire in less than 10 years in the 1970s. Referencing Lucas' reserved, all-business attitude, Jay-Z often echoes the aspirational themes of the film, as on "No Hook," which finds him snarling, "Fuck rich, let's get wealthy."



American Gangster (Universal/Imagine), directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott, is in theaters on November 2. Jay-Z's American Gangster will be available four days later on November 6.

Vibe (c)

блин, ну нафига ему сдался этот бини сайгел, лучше бы с фэбом или со снупом что нить исполнил.. а кто такой билан, то есть билал никто не в курсе?))

сам недавно тока про него узнал, интересовался тоже, в связи с Джей-Зи.....
по мне, так ничо такого прям выдающегося не сделал.......н работал с такими нормальными челами....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilal_%28musician%29

Исходное сообщение добавлено VaZ
блин, ну нафига ему сдался этот бини сайгел, лучше бы с фэбом или со снупом что нить исполнил.. а кто такой билан, то есть билал никто не в курсе?))

да, Фэба я тож надеялся услышать на альбоме.....

смутный парнишка, но альбомы его сегодня стоит поискать, особенно первый )

"L'chaim," Jay-Z pronounced, holding up a shot of Patron rum, joined by the dozen or so journalists he'd invited to his Roc the Mic Studios in NYC on Friday evening. The Hebrew toast struck me as oddly apt: Simchas Torah, the Jewish holiday celebrating the first day of reading the holy scriptures, had ended just hours earlier, and here I was sitting with Jay-Hova, the self-proclaimed God Emcee, moments after he'd blessed us with his latest divine words.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The sacred writ he shared with us before those Patron shots was American Gangster, the concept album he's planning to release Nov. 6. The unmastered tracks he played for us were missing verses here and there, and he's still mulling over the album's exact sequencing. Even in that incomplete state, though, American Gangster already sounded like a Jay-Z fan's dream come true. Make no mistake — despite the emotional reference points provided by the album's namesake film, which played overhead on a flat-screen TV throughout the listening session, this music is all about Jay and the things that make him a great artist. The beats are dominated by warm, powerful soul samples, even more so than on Jay's 2001 classic The Blueprint; the lyrics outlining a street hustler's mentality are by turns as clever, as incisive, as gritty, as moving as any in his catalogue. (The album is in part a reaction to the lyrical vapidity of hits like Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot," he said: "When the guy says 'I could make a mil' saying nothing on the track,' you know you've reached a bad place.") After the jump, check out a track-by-track preview of the highlights so far.

* "Pray": American Gangster's first cut, one of several produced by none other than Sean "Diddy" Combs — whom Jay still calls "Puffy," harkening back to days long past when both were members of the late Notorious B.I.G.'s circle. "[The album] starts with a kid looking into the game," Jay explained. The beat slams ominously behind his scene-setting rhymes: "Mindstate of a gangster from the '40s/Meets the business mind of Motown's Berry Gordy."

* "No Hook": Another wide-screen Puff production, full of dark organ vibes, and more rhymes from an aspiring kingpin's perspective: "F---rich, let's get wealthy/Who else gon' feed we?" The mood is sneering, hungry, with Jay almost seeming to slip into his long-abandoned double-time flow at times.

* "Roc Boys": "That's him at his height," Jay said of his persona in this song. "It's a celebration of the whole s---." Exultant horns burst out on the beat (Puffy again) as the rapper revels in a lifestyle funded by ill-gotten riches: "First of all, I wanna thank my connect/The most important person, with all due respect/...Think rosé/Think O.J./I get away with murder when I sling yey'." (The song also includes a reference to "black bar mitzvahs." Maybe that "L'chaim" was even more significant than I realized.)

* "I Know": Hard-hitting percussion and sparkling synths underly this conceptual track about desire's many faces: "I know what you like/I'm your prescription/I'm your physician/I'm your addiction." "I'm using a lot of heroin references," Jay noted as he tried to unpack the song's multi-layered metaphors. "[But] on another level, it plays as a song about relationships. And on a drunk-too-much-wine-one-night level, it plays as the game talking to me. It's f---ing weird — but the music is great." He's not lying.

* "Ignorant S---": Web-savvy fans may recall a purposefully outrageous outtake from 2003's The Black Album bearing this name. "It's one of those gems you can't let go," Jay said now. So he dusted it off for Gangster, complete with the unforgettably explicit hook in which he boasts, "I got that ignorant s--- you like/N----, f---, s----, a--, b----, trick, plus ice!" Just call him rap's George Carlin. The song now also features a decidedly non-ignorant new verse in which Jay thoughtfully eviscerates Don Imus and all those who've equated the disgraced shock jock with foul-mouthed rappers — plus some tight guest bars from Jay's longtime protege Beanie Sigel.

* "Success": The endorphin rush provided by new money starts to wear off on this cut, produced by Chicago veteran (and Kanye West mentor) No I.D. "I used to give a f---, now I give a f--- less," Jay reflects over a rapidly descending organ riff. "Truth be told, I had more fun when I was piss-poor." Jay's former rival Nas talked him into letting him spit on this track; Nas' verse hasn't been mixed in yet, but Jay promises that "It's hot. He killed it."

* "Say Hello to the Bad Guy": Atlanta's DJ Toomp (T.I.'s "What You Know," Kanye West's "Big Brother") contributed this beat, which keeps that darkening mood going with church-like organs.

* "When the Money's Gone": The title says it all about this one. Jay raps about the inevitable downfall which befalls even the most successful hustlers; Jermaine Dupri produced the backdrop of shuffling drums and cascading synths.

* "Fallen": Another J.D. production, and likely the album's final track. Jay reflects on the perverse pleasure the public takes in seeing a star destroyed: "Fallen/They applaudin'." Neosoul crooner Bilal sings the elegiac hook. It's a cathartic ending to an emotionally gripping album.

Conspicuously missing from the evening's playlist was "Blue Magic," the album's fantastic teaser single; Jay still isn't sure yet where it would fit in, and he's even considering making it an unlisted bonus track.

Jay stuck around for a couple more hours of free-wheeling discussion with the Yankees' playoff game in the background, supplemented by the aforementioned libations. As the night went on, he decided to treat us to one more new song — a number that's been giving him some trouble, called "This S--- Right Here." The problem? He's worried that the Marvin Gaye-sampling beat is too laidback for the energetic rhymes he's currently laid down over it. Legitimately interested in getting some feedback, Jay insisted on hearing each and every attendee's opinion on whether he should trade the supremely mellow beat in for something harder-hitting. (For the record, it sounds great as-is, and it'll be a shame if the final album doesn't include that transcendent Marvin sample.)

It was 10 p.m. by the time I took my leave; the studio gathering was still going strong, but I had more than enough food for thought to go on. One remark in particular stuck in my head as I left. "The album plays like a cautionary tale, but it's not really true [for me]," Jay confided with a smile at one point. "I really made it [out of the streets]. Al Capone didn't make it. Michael Corleone, Scarface — I'm iller than all them n----s." Strong words, but the guy sure knows how to back his boasts up.

пилец.....я уже не очень жду альбом(((((
- 5 треков от команды дидди
- блу меджик идет как бонус только
- нет продакшена ни от Канье, ни от Тимбы, ни от Дрэ, ни от Фара, кроме 1 трека.......
тока Джаст Блейз из моих любимчиков......я в шоке........
((((((((((

ну это альбомом то сложно назвать, я бы его назвал "неофициальный саундтрек" к фильму, все таки пластинку надо именно записывать, а не выпускать под впечатлением фильма. хотя оценку пока давать рано )

это верно.....