Album Preview: Jay-Z- American Gangster (Plus A DIY Album Review Challenge)
Click here for the full album preview
BET.com has the preview of Jay-Z’s new album “American Gangster”. Check it out and come back here to post your thoughts. I would write a review, but I’m trying to give Thesis the opportunity to do it…where you at homie? Whatever the case…you all can be a pseudo HM critic and post your reviews below. If Thesis doesn’t resurface then I’ll choose the best review to make the “official” HM album review.Posted by Reecie
5:24pm…just got back to office from all day seminar. Listened to album and will jot my sentiments tomorrow….
9:00 PM…just got back on comp from school, ccd, music, etc. Have had the album for a while, just working on finishing my review.
i dont really want to do a track-by-track review, but i will say this, given Jay’s past couple albums, new career etc., American Gangster is really the best case scenario of what we could expect from him right now… and thats a good thing. this album caught me by surprise w/ just how well it was produced and executed. The 70s soul vibe fits the subject matter and jay-z’s swagger perfectly and i love the fact that he really wasnt concerned w/ radio spins when he made this (which i think more rappers need to do). his skill is still right on point after all of these years and his flow is ALWAYS different and fresh. He made a fresh sounding album w/ an old school vibe. and it supports my opinion that jay-z is the best rapper to ever do it (period), if for his consistancy alone. (i will say that one thing i dont get is how he says “sweet” in that weird voice throughout the album… hahaha i realllly dont get that… maybe i have to see the movie?) My list of favorites:
-Pray
-American Dreamin’
-No Hook (Jay’s still got those MC skilllls)
-I Know
-Party Life (SIIICK)
-Ignorant Sh*t
-Say Hello (flawless beat)
-Success
-Fallin’
…so yea, most of the album hahaha… but honestly, this is a VERY good album. im not going to label it as a classic or “great,” but i wouldnt be surprised if it ends up w/ those labels in the future.
and as far as this basically being an album about drugs, money, and a ‘boss’ life,’ i really do like the spin that he put on it.. i feel like most ppl (myself included) have problems w/ the whole “thug” image of selling drugs, but then there’s a different sentiment when we look at mob bosses in pop culture (The Godfather, Scarface, Sopranos etc.) and he really kind of flipped it to that level. It will be interesting to see how people respond to the drug lord/crime boss vs. the petty drug dealer because, honestly, if those are the same ppl who enjoy watching movies about the Italian mob etc., they really cant hate on this album for the drug/crime aspect (ESP. because it has the back drop of a movie w/ the same content). maybe its just because i feel like when Italians are involved in organized crime, people are drawn to it, but when Blacks talk about it, or talk about it in entertainment, its seen as negative and scary.. so this will be a nice social experiment.
overall, i give it an A- w/ the potential to become an A after a period of time… good job jay.
This album is crazy. Something about this album has what Kanye’s was missing.
The image of an American Gangster is not as cast as Martin Scorsese would suggest from his popular depictions. Although the characteristics are usually translatable; A sometimes curt, cunning, ruthless manipulator as they may be, the real American Gangster is always evolving, one elusive step ahead of both competition, and that menacing arm of the law. It’s only proper, therefore, for Jay-z’s American Gangster to be a projected image of a still developing artist, who’s skills are still acclimating themselves to the new environment in which he has chosen to push. It’s a different kind of block from the one Jay once knew, but the same exact sentiments, and those feelings are what get chopped up, and served to you, the customer.
Kingdom Come, by most accounts was a flop due to misdirection. Jay was in his own zone, rapping about things we lay (poor) people couldn’t really relate to. Perhaps, the weight of the fiscal content of the albums was similar to the heft of Jay’s nowCEO’d bank statement, but regardless of the money- the voice and motive that brought us from Reasonable Doubt to the Black Album was still present. Upon seeing the film American Gangster, the story of Frank Lucas, Hov was inspired, and rekindled his connect with the street, therefore bringing a familiarity to both his music and by proxy the movie. While the connections are tinged with the pungent sent of marketing, acrid as it may be, the that same business savvy is ultimately what fueled the legendary hustlers. Because if you ask any hustler, at the end of they day, its all just business.
This album’s business is about relating such,but also the sometimes uncomfortable aspects with vivid imagery that only Jay could convey. This album does an excellent job of both glorifying the bloc (and the roc[k]), and still illustrating how quickly the spoils can vacate your position. More so, Jay plays both narrator, and involved protagonist, moving back and forth, which parlays the experience for the listener- doubling up each tracks significance. Still, the most valuable aspect- dismissing the detractions that this is not a true to form “concept album” is that this isn’t a real rap album either. “No Hook” speaks to this, in the simple fact that American Gangster is Jay advancing his craft. He is stepping outside of our presupposed notions of how an album should work, and making his own lane. To parallel that to the film, if you want to get a foothold on the competition, start getting yr base from Indochina, cuz ain’t no head there yet. Every track on this album does embody that concept. In the same vein of pseudo-songs, “Success” is formed in a method similar to that of a verse-hook-verse structure, but drifts in a way that is dissimilar to any song that you’ll catch on top 40 now. Which could be argued, since the song works, is an example of success outside regular methods.
“I Know”, which gets slack at times for being a week love song- is actually the perfect love song due to the raw element that is present in both addiction and blind love. Traipsing across a beat of small, intricate sythns from the revamped Hitmen, it plays coy with the blunt idea of irrational attractions. Yet, contradicting of this inescapable love, “Party Life” slow grooves in celebrations of the fruits of others addictions. “Ignorant Shit”, a canned leftover from the Black Album deals with some of the issues of responsibility that Hip-Hop has dealt with since its inception- and Beanie’s bars are so ill that you can’t get that hype ill stomach swill from hearing him raspilly assault the beat.
Some of the aspects of the album are clouded, which are mostly due to the mix of artist and CEO, “Hello Brooklyn 2.O” and “Blue Magic”, while amazing tracks in their own right- do feel like ancillary tracks, separate from the throwbacked flash-forward mindset of the rest of the album. Jay even conceded that they were to be bonus tracks, but most likely due to the success of “Blue Magic” and marketing appeal of Lil’Wayne, the were just dumped on their to boost sales. But even with these missteps, its still a huge surge for both Jay, and Hip-hop. And while the gangster is infamous for its ill repute, the American Gangster will forever be respected for its swaggar, and its innovation. It’s so musically cinematic, its sickening.