The Blueprint

The Blueprint
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released	September 11, 2001
Recorded	July 2001
Studio	Manhattan Center Studios Baseline Studios (New York, New York)
Genre	East Coast hip hop hardcore hip hop
Length	63:52
Label	Roc-A-Fella Def Jam
Producer	Jay-Z (exec.) Damon Dash (exec.) Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.) Kanye West Just Blaze Trackmasters Timbaland Bink Eminem
Jay-Z chronology
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000) The Blueprint (2001) Jay-Z Unplugged (2001)
Singles from The Blueprint
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" Released: August 21, 2001 "Girls, Girls, Girls" Released: October 2, 2001 "Jigga That Nigga" Released: January 29, 2002 "Song Cry" Released: March 23, 2002

The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest verse.

At the time of the album's recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss.^[1][2] The album is also famous for both its producers Kanye West and Just Blaze's breakouts as major producers. Kanye West produced 5 of the 13 tracks on the album, including the songs "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the controversial "Takeover," which included diss lyrics aimed at rappers Nas and Prodigy, while Just Blaze produced 3 tracks, "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Song Cry", and "U Don't Know", also including the hidden bonus track "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)". Upon its release, The Blueprint received universal acclaim, with critics praising Jay-Z's lyricism and the production. It is considered one of Jay-Z's best albums and has also been labeled as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

Background

The Blueprint was reportedly cut in two weeks, with Jay-Z allegedly writing the lyrics in two days. At the time, he was awaiting two criminal trials for gun possession and assault. He was also engaged in feuds with various rappers, in particular Nas and Mobb Deep member Prodigy. In the song "Takeover", Jay-Z attacks the two Queensbridge rappers, using a sample of the song "Five to One" by The Doors^[3] and an interpolation of David Bowie's "Fame".^[4] On The Blueprint, Jay-Z and his producers used vintage soul as inspiration, including a vocal sample on almost every track from such artists as Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin and The Jackson 5. Exceptions include "Jigga That Nigga," "Hola Hovito," and "Renagade," a track produced by and featuring the rapper Eminem, and the only track on the album featuring another rapper on verses.

Blueprint Lounge Tour

In late August, Jay-Z announced a September–October tour in small venues.^[5] Because of the September 11 attacks occurring on the same day the album was released, the first two performances were rescheduled. Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were subsequently added, and Jay-Z donated a dollar of the cost of every ticket sold from the tour to relief organizations.

Reception and impact

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	88/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Blender	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
NME	8/10[11]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[1]
Uncut	[13]
USA Today	[14]
The Village Voice	A−[15]

The Blueprint received rave reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 12 reviews.^[6] It contains a unique and balanced blend of soulful samples that had both street credibility and mainstream appeal, thereby garnering praise from all quarters of the hip hop community and receiving special recognition from critics.^[16] Most consider The Blueprint to be one of Jay-Z's best albums, holding it on a level close to that of his debut, Reasonable Doubt. Upon its release, The Blueprint was hailed by Vibe magazine as Jay-Z's best album^[17] as well as the best album of the year, while The Source awarded The Blueprint a perfect 5-mic rating, a distinction reserved for hip hop classics.^[18]

The popularity and commercial success of The Blueprint established Kanye West and Just Blaze as two of hip-hop’s most celebrated producers. Furthermore, The Blueprint signaled a major stylistic shift in hip hop production towards a more Soulcentric and sample-reliant sound, creating a number of imitators who attempted to emulate the album's atmospheric style. Prior to The Blueprint, mainstream hip-hop producers had largely eschewed music sampling in favor of the keyboard-driven Timbaland sound (characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music), due to the financial and legal issues associated with copyright laws. The Blueprint, however, revived musical sampling as a common practice in hip hop music and dislodged the digital keyboard-driven production style as the dominant sound in hip-hop music.^[19] Kanye West would later incorporate some of the production and sampling techniques he used on this album into his own solo albums. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "One of the greatest poets ever to pick up a mic released his magnum opus in 2001. One retirement and one un-retirement later, it's still his finest hour."^[20]

In 2003, The Blueprint was ranked number 464 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time;^[21] in a revised list in 2012, it was ranked number 252.^[22] Pitchfork Media named The Blueprint the second best album of 2000–2004, and in 2010, it ranked fifth on their Top 200 Albums of the 2000s list.^[23] It is ranked at number 4 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s".^[24] The album received a perfect "XXL" rating from XXL magazine in a 2007 retrospective article.^[3] The Blueprint was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[25]

Accolades

Album of the Year

• Ranked #4 in NME's 50 "Albums of the Year 2001".
• Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 of 2001".
• Ranked #7 in Spin magazine's "Albums of the Year 2001".
• Ranked #12 in Wire magazine's "50 Records of the Year 2001".

Best Album of the 2000s

• Ranked #1 in Complex magazine's "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s".
• Ranked #7 in The Stylus Decade's "Top 100 Albums of the 2000s".
• Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Best Albums of the 2000s"^[24]
• Ranked #5 in Pitchfork Media's "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s".^[26]

Top Album

• Ranked #6 in Billboard's Critics Pick of the decade 1999-2009^[27]
• Ranked #2 in Pitchfork Media's "The Top 100 Albums of 2000-04".
• Ranked #5 in Stylus Magazine's "Top 50 Albums of 2000-2005".

Best Album of the Decade

• Ranked #2 in Entertainment Weekly's Best Albums of the Decade.
• Ranked #42 in Paste Magazine's 50 Best Albums of the Decade.^[28]
• Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of the Decade in 2009.^[29]
• Ranked #20 in Rhapsody's "100 Best Albums of the Decade" in 2009.^[30]
• Ranked #8 in Vibe's "The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93" in 2013.^[31]

Greatest Album of All Time

• Ranked #456 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.
• Ranked #252 in Rolling Stone magazine's revised list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2012.
• Unranked in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Commercial performance

In spite of its release coinciding with the 9/11 attacks, The Blueprint sold over 420,000 copies in its opening week,^[32] becoming Jay-Z's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified double platinum as sales stand at over two million units in the U.S.^[33][34] Sales as of February 2012 stand at 2.7 million.^[35]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ruler's Back"	Shawn Carter Bink Phill Hurtt Bunny Sigler	Bink	3:50
2.	"Takeover"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Lawrence Parker Alan Lomax Bryan Chandler Rodney Lemay Jim Morrison John Densmore Robby Krieger Ray Manzarek	Kanye West	5:13
3.	"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Berry Gordy Alphonso Mizell Freddie Perren Deke Richards	Kanye West	4:00
4.	"Girls, Girls, Girls"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Tom Brock Robert Relf	Just Blaze	4:35
5.	"Jigga That Nigga"	Shawn Carter Jean-Claude Oliver Samuel Barnes	Trackmasters	3:24
6.	"U Don't Know"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Bobby Byrd	Just Blaze	3:19
7.	"Hola' Hovito"	Shawn Carter Timothy Mosley	Timbaland	4:33
8.	"Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Michael Price Dan Walsh	Kanye West	3:43
9.	"Never Change"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Bobby Miller	Kanye West	3:59
10.	"Song Cry"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Douglas Gibbs Ralph Johnson	Just Blaze	5:04
11.	"All I Need"	Shawn Carter Harrell	Roosevelt Harrell	4:27
12.	"Renegade" (featuring Eminem)	Shawn Carter Marshall Mathers Luis Resto	Eminem	5:38
13.	"Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)"	Shawn Carter Harrell Albert Green	Roosevelt Harrell	3:41

Hidden tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Raymond Gomez Gerald Brown Tyrone Thomas August Moon Michael Garson Stanley Clarke	Just Blaze	3:45
15.	"Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Jackie Members Robert Poindexter	Kanye West	4:14

Notes

• "Takeover" features additional vocals by Josey Scott.
• "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" features additional vocals by Demme Uloa.
• "Girls, Girls, Girls" features additional vocals by Q-Tip, Slick Rick and Biz Markie.
• "Jigga That Nigga" features additional vocals by Stephanie Miller and Michelle Mills.
• "Hola' Hovito" features additional keys by Scott Storch according to Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson from The Roots.
• "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" features additional vocals by Keon Bryce.
• "Never Change" features uncredited vocals by Kanye West.
• "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" features background vocals by Schevise Harrell and Luren Leek.
• "Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)" features uncredited vocals by Michael Jackson.

Samples

• "The Ruler's Back" contains a sample of "If" performed by Jackie Moore, and an interpolation of "The Ruler's Back" performed by Slick Rick.
• "Takeover" contains samples of "Five to One" performed by The Doors, "Sound of da Police" performed by KRS-One, and an interpolation of "Fame" performed by David Bowie.
• "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" contains a sample of "I Want You Back" performed by Jackson 5.
• "Girls, Girls, Girls" contains a sample of "There's Nothing in This World That Can Stop Me from Loving You" performed by Tom Brock, and "High Power Rap" performed by Crash Crew.
• "U Don't Know" contains a sample of "I'm Not to Blame" performed by Bobby Byrd.
• "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" contains a sample of "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" performed by Bobby Blue Bland.
• "Never Change" contains a sample of "Common Man" performed by David Ruffin.
• "Song Cry" contains a sample of "Sounds Like a Love Song" performed by Bobby Glenn.
• "All I Need" contains a sample of "I Can't Break Away" performed by Natalie Cole.
• "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" contains a sample of "Free at Last" performed by Al Green.
• "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)" contains a sample of "Got to Find My Own Place" performed by Stanley Clarke.
• "Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)" contains a sample of "Trying Girls Out" performed by The Persuaders.

Bonus tracks

As with Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter, Jay-Z put two hidden bonus tracks at the end of the final track. "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)" is 3:41 by itself. Twenty-five seconds of silence follows after and the bonus track "Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)" begins. That song fades and is immediately followed by "Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2)". It is reported that the latter song features uncredited vocals by Michael Jackson. The final track as a whole is 12:07. On the iTunes Store, however, these bonus tracks are released as separate tracks, thus making the album 15 tracks long. On the vinyl edition, there are no long gaps between the songs, but they are not printed on the back of the album jacket or record label.

Personnel

Jay-Z – performer, executive producer Eminem – performer, producer, mixing Slick Rick – vocals Q-Tip – vocals Biz Markie – vocals Demme Ulloa – vocals Schevise Harrell – vocals Lauren Leek – vocals Keon Bryce – vocals Stephanie Miller – vocals Michele Mills – vocals Josey Scott – vocals Victor Flowers – organ Kanye West – producer, vocals Just Blaze – producer Bink – producer Timbaland – producer Scott Storch – Keyboards Poke & Tone – producer DJ Head – drum programming

Damon Dash – executive producer Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer Gimel "Young Guru" Katon – engineer, mixing Jimmy Douglas – engineer, mixing Rajon Wright – assistant engineer Shane Woodley – assistant engineer Jason Goldstein – mixing Richard Huredia – mixing Supa Engineer "Duro" – mixing Doug Wilson – mixing Tony Vanias – recording director Tony Dawsey – mastering Jason Noto – art direction Jonathan Mannion – photography Della Valle – images

Chart positions

Chart (2001)[36]	Peak position
Canadian Albums Chart	3
Dutch Albums Chart	51
French Albums Chart	73
German Albums Chart	55
Norwegian Albums Chart	36
Swedish Albums Chart	30
Swiss Albums Chart[37]	59
UK Albums Chart	30
US Billboard 200	1
US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2002)	Position
US Billboard 200	52

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles
2001	"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"	8	4	7
	"Girls, Girls, Girls"	17	4	9
2002	"Jigga That Nigga"	66	27	7
	"Song Cry"	-	45	-

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[38]	Platinum	100,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[40]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one albums of 2001 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 2001 (U.S.)

References

1. Strauss, Neil (October 2, 2001). "Jay-Z: The Blueprint". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
2. Baker, Soren. Review: The Blueprint. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
3. "Retrospective: XXL Albums". XXL. December 2007.
4. Leroy, Dan. Review: The Blueprint. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
5. Reid, Shaheem (2001-09-27). "Jay-Z Announces Blueprint Lounge Tour Dates". MTV. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
6. "Reviews for The Blueprint by Jay-Z". Metacritic. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
7. Birchmeier, Jason. "The Blueprint – Jay-Z". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
8. Pappademas, Alex. "Jay-Z: The Blueprint". Blender. Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
9. Hermes, Will (September 24, 2001). "The Blueprint". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
10. Baker, Soren (September 16, 2001). "A Strong Crop in Fall's First Harvest". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
11. Kessler, Ted (October 6, 2001). "Jay-Z: The Blueprint" (Transcription of original review at talk page). NME: 41. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
12. P, Ethan (November 6, 2001). "Jay Z: The Blueprint". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
13. "Jay-Z: The Blueprint". Uncut (55): 108. December 2001.
14. Jones, Steve (September 25, 2001). "Jay-Z's 'Blueprint' has designs on chart dominance". USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2009. (subscription required (help)).
15. Christgau, Robert (March 12, 2002). "Consumer Guide: 2001 Gets Better". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
16. Rabin, Nathan (September 11, 2001). "Jay-Z: The Blueprint". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
17. Hampton, Dream (November 2001). "Jay-Z: The Blueprint". Vibe: 145–46. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
18. Osorio, Kim (May 14, 2012). "5 Mics: Who Got Next?". The Source. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
19. Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority
20. Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS AND DECADES TO COME". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
21. RS500: 252 The Blueprint. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-09-15.
22. . Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-09-15.
23. The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 20-1 Pitchfork Media
24. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-2000s-20110718/jay-z-the-blueprint-20110707
25. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
26. "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 20-1". Pitchfork Media. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
27. Critics' 20 Best Albums of the 2000s, Billboard.com
28. Videos, Teen. "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009) :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
29. "#4 Jay-Z-The Blueprint" Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
30. "#20 Jay-Z-The Blueprint" Rhapsody's 100 Best Albums of the Decade. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
31. "#8 Jay-Z-The Blueprint" The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
32. Johnson, Craig (September 8, 2011). "Why Jay-Z's music still mattered on 9/11". CNN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
33. Basham, David (March 29, 2002). Got Charts? Jay-Z & R. Kelly, Cornell & Rage: Dynamic Duos — Well, Maybe Not. MTV. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
34. RIAA Searchable Database. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
35. Grein, Paul (2012-02-29). "Week Ending Feb. 26, 2012. Albums: Half of the Top 10 | Chart Watch (NEW) - Yahoo Music". Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
36. allmusic ((( The Blueprint > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))). Allmusic. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
37. "Swiss Music Charts: The Blueprint". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
38. "Canadian album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint". Music Canada.
39. "British album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Blueprint in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
40. "American album certifications – JAY Z – The Blueprint". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

• The Blueprint at Discogs
• The Blueprint at Metacritic
• Album Review at Blender
• Album review at Stylus Magazine
• Album accolades at acclaimedmusic.net