The Blueprint

09/17/2001 8:04 PM, LAUNCH
Dan Leroy

Whether moving the release date of this album ahead two weeks was a publicity stunt or not, you gotta hand it to Jigga. Just having his long-awaited new outing ready on time is a near-unprecedented feat in the hip-hop world, and ought to win him praise. Fortunately, so should the contents of The Blueprint, which sees Jay-Z rebound from the disappointing Dynasty to crush the haters who've been calling him "Gay-Z" and worse on wax. But surprisingly, the way he beats his foes is not by trading venom for venom; instead, The Blueprint features surprisingly laid-back beats and plenty of unsettling musings on fame, with Jay taking a hard look at his own vulnerability on top of the hip-hop pile. The brilliant "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" namechecks musical casualties--the ones destroyed by success, not gunfire--while the even better "Takeover" undercuts Jay's boasts with the paranoid chorus of David Bowie's "Fame." Of course, Jay doesn't back down from the pressure, either: "I'm the Sinatra of my day," he raps on the Timbaland-produced "Hola Hovito." Probably not--but The Blueprint does map out the same combination of swagger and self-doubt that's helped make the great ones, from Ol' Blue Eyes to now, truly great.