Jul 5, 2016

I'm hitting play right at 7 Eastern, but whenever you see this, listen to it and join in!

 

Jul 5, 2016

Yo gather round hustlers, that's if you still livin'

 

Jul 5, 2016

the best jay album.

gather round posters, thats if you still postin

 

Jul 5, 2016

I like "The Ruler's Back." I think it's a good song, and it hits the right tone. But there's no way it's the best possible opener for Blueprint--and you could definitely argue it's one of the weak links.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Yeah I like The Ruler's back but if we had to rank all of the album openers up to this point I'd put it at the bottom

 

Jul 5, 2016

lameeeeee

 

Jul 5, 2016

I agree that The Rulers Back is the weakest intro so far.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Takeover still vicious to this day

 

Jul 5, 2016

I dunno if there's a better diss song. Maybe No Vaseline? The publishing lines, the Large Professor tour. It's mean and personal but also makes the whole thing sound like a joke. And on top of that, it's just a great song.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Also, can we talk about how Prodigy got off the hook? He's the first target on the most famous diss song of all time but the Nas thing overshadows him so much he escapes all scrutiny.

 

Jul 5, 2016

I don't know how people seriously think Ether is the better diss record.

 

Jul 5, 2016

A lot of people have a weird irrational hate for Jay-Z

 

Jul 5, 2016

How did Izzo feel to you guys? Still one of my favorite lead rap singles. That's what I was talking about with the shortened second verse.

Having that Kanye beat and the Just Blaze production from "Girls Girls Girls" back to back was essential to set the mood of the album. Switching to the Trackmasters for "Jigga That" would have thrown it off if the soul style wasn't so thoroughly established.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Izzo is a good example of a rap single that as stood the test of time. still sounds fresh 15 years later. i love it.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Izzo hasn't aged at all tbh

Neither has any of the production on this album. Kanye came into his own here

 

Jul 5, 2016

Very few samples that obvious hold up that well.

To me, "Jigga That" actually holds up well. It's fun, it's breezy, he's witty on it. Bonus: Gucci flip-flops mention.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Jay a saint, repaying Kanye for crafting the sound of his best album by graciously letting him rap four lines on Never Change

 

Jul 5, 2016

I think that the back-to-back of "U Don't Know" and "Hola Hovito" is the point where Jay goes to sleep a little bit lyrically. The beats (especially the former, Jesus Christ) are so great that the songs still read and it doesn't derail the album at all. But he's definitely a step slower there.

 

Jul 5, 2016

On the other hand, "Heart of the City" into "Never Change" into "Song Cry" is overwhelming.

 

Jul 5, 2016

Read my rap sheet n-----

THREE CLASSICS