The Black Album

Quite possibly the most self assured man this side of Colin Farrell, Jay-Z attempts the swan-song thing with his The Black Album. Claiming that he's retiring only eight years into his consistently incredible career, Jigga wants the attention one gets when going out on top (see Michael Jordan, the first time). Over the past five years, Jay-Z has averaged at least three hit songs per year, a number that easily makes him the most consistent artist of recent memory. Sure, most of the songs aren't worth two cents, but, still, go to any club and see if you can go an hour without hearing at the very least a Jigga cameo. 

The fact is, Jay-Z has stayed on top due to two things: smarts and determination. He gets with the right people of the moment, writes songs of the moment and almost never fails to hit. On 9/11, Jay-Z released the album of his career with The Blueprint, an album that not only managed three chart topping hits but also gained credibility among both his critics and peers. On The Black Album, Jay attempts to follow his own blueprint, attempting to make a filler-free album of credible pop-rap songs.

Starting with "December 4th," Jay-Z's mother narrates a song of her son's young life, telling a story of how Jay learned to ride his own bike, adding, "isn't that special." The Just Blaze-assisted track kicks the album off wonderfully, making the listener wonder if Jay can actually pull off another classic album. Next is "What More Can I Say," easily one of the most pompous songs I've ever heard. Jay states, "I went plat[inum] a bunch of times / times that buy my influence on pop culture / I'm supposed to be number one on everybody's list / we'll see what happens when I no longer exist." Sadly, "What More Can I Say" is a total miss and proves to slow down the albums otherwise stellar progression.

Next up is the Kanye West-produced "Encore," a song that clearly shows Jigga's daydreams of when his fans beg him to come back and save the entire genre of hip-hop. Again, very pompous; however, due to the wonderful Kanye West beat, the song is quite addicting. Next up is the addicting Neptunes-produced "Change Clothes," which is what it is.

After a three-song drought, Jay-Z comes back with one of the best songs of his career, "99 Problems." The Rick Rubin-produced track serves as the album's highlight and could likely make even the most anti-jigga rock fan beg for more. Next up is a song titled "Interlude." Worthless title aside, "Interlude" is the album's second best song and also ranks among Jay's best work to date.

Following the two career highs, Jay chops his I.Q. in half with the pitiful "Justify My Thug," stealing a hook from, yep, you guessed it, Madonna's "Justify My Love." Ouch. Next up is the Kanye West-produced "Lucifer," a song that, terrible vocal sample aside, is very good. Jay closes the album with "My First Song." Clearly thinking he's clever, Jay decides to "close his career" by writing his last song as if it's his first. Mind-blowing, hov.

The Black Album has some great moments but in the end is plagued with Jay's own self-gratification. If you didn't hate Jay-Z before this, you likely will now. Still, you can't deny that he occasionally makes some pretty good commercial hip-hop.     7/10

Written by G. William Locke