Black Album (Audio Cassette): Jay-Z: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Interlude

2. December 4th

3. What More Can I Say

4. Encore

5. Change Clothes

6. Dirt Off Your Shoulder

7. Threat

8. Moment of Clarity

9. 99 Problems

10. Public Service Announcement (Interlude)

11. Justify My Thug

12. Lucifer

13. Allure

14. My 1st Song

Product Description

From Amazon.com

If The Black Album is truly Jay-Z's last statement before retirement, he at least goes out near the top of his game. While it probably won't be remembered as his best album, The Black Album is his most personal to date and features some of his most compelling writing. Jay-Z is defiant and defensive here--he's trying to make sure his legacy is properly acknowledged, although he can get a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, he's rarely been more incisive or insightful in his rhymes, exposing his own childhood struggles on songs like "December 4th" while slapping at his haters with "What More Can I Say" and the cutting "Threat." Longtime Jay-Z collaborators Just Blaze and Kanye West churn out outstanding production, especially Blaze, whose beats for "December 4th" and "Public Service Announcement" are among the album's best. Newcomers Aqua and the Buchanans represent well also but Eminem's minor-key drone for "Moment of Clarity" is mired in mediocrity. Jay might fade to black after this one but his last shot doesn't miss. --Oliver Wang

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

dr dre(1)

eminem(1)

hip hop(1)

nate dogg(1)

pop rap(1)

rbx(1)

snoop dogg(1)

xzibit(1)

hip-hop(1)

pop(1)

Customer Reviews

579 Reviews

5 star:		(318)
4 star:		(141)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(45)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (579 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars And Now, A Fair And Balanced Review, Jan 20 2004

By

"artistcrusher" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Album (Audio CD)

If you are a die hard fan of Jay-Z and like anything and everything he does, then why are you even looking at these reviews? Just go buy the album and continue to follow the shepherd around.
This will be an unbiased look at the album.
First off, this album is a grower. One expects a persons "last" album to prettymuch jump up and smack them on the head, which this one doesnt do. But it does get better the more you listen to it, which is good.
The production is good on this album as Jay-Z enlists a dream team of producers to show their sparks on this one.
Unfortunately, not all the producers decide to show their sparks.
And now, a breakdown.
December 4th is terrible. I understand what he's trying to do, but it ends up just sounding corny, and the beat is decidedly boring. If you think this is an exciting beat, go listen to the source material that was sampled and then shut the hell up.
But infintely worse than December 4th is "Justify My Thug" which clearly wins the title of worse song on the album, possibly one of jays worse songs ever. I skip this track every time. It is a great example of what not to make.
Change Clothes is a throw-away boring neptunes single that quickly moves into mediocrity.
Everyone sices "Threat" because 9th wonder made it, but it is clearly one of 9th's worst beats. It's very boring, and sounds like it took 20 minutes to make, which it did. On the other hand, Jay has some of the best rapping moments on the CD on this track.
On the other hand, "Brush you Shoulders Off" and "encore" are great songs that hold their own. "99 Problems" is also a great track for Jay, as is "Lucifer" and the last track, "My First Song".
Overall, this is a decent album, and enjoyable. Of course, the Source, XXL, and other mainstream media are thoroughly attached to Jay's foreskin, and have pumped up his publicity stunt of retiring and his "last" album to "Best Rapper Ever" proportions.
They need to calm down with all the bs.
Probably one of the few albums worth buying in 2003.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Classic, Nov 14 2003

By

"ill3" (St. Joseph, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Album (Audio CD)

This album had a very good chance of becoming one of the greatest of all time, up with Illmatic, Ready to Die, Aquemini, and other cream of the crop hip hop albums. Tracks like "What More Can I Say", "My First Song", and "Encore" feature wonderful, ambient production and tight rhymes about Jay-Z's retirement and offer an introspective look we haven't seen since Reasonable Doubt, albeit this album comes from a rather different perspective than a street hustler. Kanye West and Just Blaze continue to be Jay-Z's muses with "Lucifer", a tremendous concept track with a feel reminiscent of Biggie's "Respect", and "My Name Is HOV", not a particularly standout track, but it fits very well with the album and is well done, if not spectacular. "99 Problems" is another good song off of this album, and my personal favorite, with its catchy chorus and old school feel.

However, this is a Jay-Z album, so there are going to be some mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes comprise half of the album. Ironically, the worst produced tracks come from the biggest-named producers on the album: Neptunes, Eminem, Timbaland, and DJ Quik. The Neptunes tracks, "Change Clothes and Go" and "Theater" (not sure about the name, but it's #13), are not actually "bad" songs, but they simply cannot compete with the rest of the album. They drag and do not fit in with the organic scheme of the good tracks listed above, plus, Pharrell needs to quit singing falsetto on every track, it's a neat gimmick, but quickly becoming played out. This is extremely disappointing given the excellence of previous collaborations ("Excuse Me Miss Again(la la la)", "Frontin"). Another disappointing previous collaboration is with Timbaland (of "Hola Hovita", "Jigga What", and "Give it to Me" - all excellent) on "The Threat". Or maybe it's "Soundtrack", I can't remember because the track is so forgettable. Again, not bad, but neither is it very memorable. Neither Timbaland nor Neptunes earned their $1 million/track fees on this album, I guess they got overworked. Fans of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" will like "Moment of Clarity" because it is an EXACT clone, except changing rappers. Kind of a boring song in which Jay-Z name drops all of his albums. Finally, the DJ Quik track, "Justify My Thug", is based on Madonna's "Justify My Love". This is a HORRIBLE song, on the level of "Ain't No N****", the terrible track off of Reasonable Doubt with Lil' Kim. I think I might have even considered 5 stars for the album if this track had simply been omitted.

Overall, this is a very very good album, but not great. The standout songs are amazing and warrant a purchase, although there is no single one song that elevates the album (ie "Get By" by Talib Kweli, or "Hey Ya" by Outkast). However, the album is hurt by surprisingly poor production by some of the game's biggest names, and because of this, loses its status as a truly classic album. In perspective of Jay-Z's career, this is better than The Blueprint (which I consider to be overrated, very good, but not 5 stars), but because of its inconsistency, not as good as Reasonable Doubt. As a final thought, looking at the best tracks off of Jay-Z's last few albums, the Kanye West and Just Blaze tracks all stand out as being the best. Just imagine what could have been.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, Aug 8 2011

By

Jimbo Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Album (Audio CD)

This is Jay's 3rd best album, behind Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint. However, this is an album that I can truly listen to from start to finish -- even on The Blueprint, I usually skip "Jigga That N***a" and "Hola Hovito". In many ways, this album could be better than The Blueprint but it lacks some of the energy of the former. It's a must-have for any Jay fan and is an interesting example of very personal, reflective East Coast quasi-gangster rap. Best song: Public Service Announcement. Sounds straight from Reasonable Doubt.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 579 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 736 reviews 4.1 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Really 4.5 Stars...
If this is truly Jay-z's last album then he went out at the top of his game.Widly considered the best to have grabbed the mic within the last 10 years... Read more

Published on July 16 2005 by Hip-Hop Head

4.0 out of 5 stars Brush the dirt of your collection
This album is pretty good. Jay-z sounds good in his tracks and the music isn't that bad either. I'd recommend this to Jay-Z fans. It's not THE best, but good.

Published on Jan 15 2005 by FreeToRhyme