637 Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)

Studio Album - Rap

About the Act:

Jay-Z is an American Rapper, hip-hop artist, songwriter and entrepreneur. He is one of the most successful music acts of all time, and is incredibly rich. He is married to Beyoncé. Oh, he's also regarded as being very influential both in hip-hop and in other ways.

About the Album:

This was his eighth studio album and came just before his retirement. He has come back out of retirement since.

My History with this Album:

Unlike every other rap album I have reviewed so far, I have heard this one before. This was because I did a review of The Grey Album by Dangermouse, which is a mashup of The White Album by the Beatles and this album.

Review:

Coincidences happen sometimes. The last review before this one was for Songs for Swingin' Lovers by Frank Sinatra (which could not be more different from this album, but interestingly, Sinatra is name-checked at one point). In that review I was talking about how it was released 19 years before I started listening to music, and therefore was an "oldie". This got me thinking, if a kid starts listening to music right now, what sort of thing would have been released 19 years ago, and would they have the same attitude to it that I had to Frank?  Well, The Black Album was released 19 years ago, in 2003. I feel old, when rap is a "golden oldie". Especially quite modern rap like this. Neither the swing of Frank Sinatra or the Rap of Jay-Z are particularly near my core musical tastes. It's good to be exposed to variety.

Well, putting that aside, what is it like?

Well it's a rap album. Somebody talks fast and rhythmically, to a backing of drum beat and samples music, with occasional singing and sound effects, and many, many, guests and producers. There are variations on that theme. This variation has some samples from music I quite like, soul music in the main. There are some actual real musicians credited on the album: bass, guitar, and keys. This always makes me more amenable. I cannot bring myself to have an opinion on whether his rapping style and flow are good or not. He wraps his tongue around some words, and some of the rhyming seems quite clever.

The themes are... well, actually, the main themes are "I came from a poor background and drugs and gangs, and now I am a mega-successful rapper with lots of money." In the main it is not as macho and bombastic about that as some rap. There is one track with threats in it, but I almost suspect it is meant to be an ironic parody. There is a track that effectively says that his life now is better than a gang life. It has some spoken stuff, from the point of view of his mother, which is about his childhood and youth, and seems quite sincere. It has a tendency towards some honesty, and away from some of the blowhard excesses of some rap, although he does consistently claim to be the best rapper in the world ever. I always feel like rappers who need to convince you about how good they are as a rapper, are not letting their craft speak for itself.

There are some tracks I remember from my earlier listen, and even a couple that I quite like. I know the language is fruity, and I'm not totally sure about the sentiments, but I quite like 99 Problems (which must be one of the best-know rap songs around), Justify my Thug, and Dirt Off Your Shoulder - which I wouldn't claim to actually understand, but seems to refer to the act of brushing your shoulders to indicate you just did something you are proud of.

It has some of the issues that I often have with rap - the style itself, the language, and some of the ideas, but at least it is not as excessive as some, is quite cleverly done in parts, and uses some nice music for samples at times.

6.5/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4FWvo9oS4gRgHtAwDwUjiO

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdH-RUFy-XJXr_XN60gD7Bk-F0KEH4muW

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Album_(Jay-Z_album)