Customer Reviews

The Black Album

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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...(other than 2pac) he spit some tight rhymes on his last album.There were some beats that i never thought Jigga could ever pull off but he did it flawlessly."Moment of Clarity" is a perfect example.With an eminem beat that only Jigga could rip like he did.It's a great album pick it up.Only flae are the last 3 tracks

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.

This CD has some good tracks, some Amazing ones, and some boring ones. In my opinion, the boring ones outweighed the rest. I love the song Lucifer. That's Jay-z's best song ever, thanks to Kanye. Dirt Off Your Shoulder is good too. Encore is good, and the ebst single on the Album. This album is good or okay. It is definately not a classic.

Definitely not the best of Jay-Z

It's hard to rate an album like this. On one hand, I expected more from Jay. Especially since this is supposed to be his last album. I guess, like most people, I expected him to finish things with a bang. While this isn't a bad album, it's not a classic either. High points on the album come when he's backed by strong production. You can zone out to tracks like "Allure" while the drum arrangements on "Encore" (courtesy of Kanye West) are just plain sick. The first single "Change Clothes" is a bouncy track that you know is really formulaic, but you dance to it anyway. And the beat to "99 Problems" is about as good as it gets on this album in my opinion. And if there wasn't so much talking in between verses on "Threat", that song would be a classic. But it's still vintage Hova though. Meanwhile, there are a few shortcomings on the album. Tracks like "Justify My Thug" and "Moment Of Clarity" are skippable tracks that could've been left off the album and I don't think anyone would've ever noticed. But the negative aspects of the album end there. Overall, this is a good (not great) album from one of the best to ever do it. We all know that Shawn Carter isn't as sharp a lyricist as he was on Reasonable Doubt, but I'll take a declining Jay Z before I listen to a hot nobody any day.

Standout Tracks: Encore, My 1st Song, Public Service Announcement, What More Can I Say?, Allure, 99 Problems (My Favorite), Lucifer, & December 4th

In my opinon the Black album was a alright album,. I was dissapointed with this album because its Jay-Z last album and this is how he's choosing to go out. If I was a executive producer I would cut production from Eminem,The Neptunes, and Timbaland. No disrespect to any of these guys cause they do their thing but as far as a last album for Jay z he needed pain in da a$$ doing the intro and outro, Dj Premier, and maybe even a ending to the coming of age story with him and Memphis Bleek. its seemed like Jayz was looking for a club hit and a song to be on popular radio when he should've just spit and made popular radio come to him like he's done in the past when I think of going out on top I think of songs like 22 Two's not 99 problems.

Jay z claims to be the greatest rap artist alive and may not say it but i know he think he,s the greatest of all time.Im here to let you know that legends and greats dont STEAL other legends and greats beats and lyrics.Thats right for those who listen to albums and mixtapes off the streets you know of (DJ-VLAD) and (DJ DIRTY HARRY)who did the notorious B.I.G,s rap phenomenon. There were lyrics that jay z took from this hip hop legend. Jay z,s what more can i say sounds exactly like biggies keep your hands high feat, tracey lee.
overall the album is good but its not something you retire with, its not that hot.Now im no jay z hater but when lyrics and beats are stolend i must say something.People need to know when they are thinking there getting the best of jay z but are really getting the best of biggie and some other hip hop greats.And if im not wrong jay z never beat nas for the king of new york. For those of you who want more on biggie the rap phenomenon go to www.mixtapekings.com and search under DJ VLAD. Oh and the ones that dont know jay z,s dead but shawn carters supposed to come back to another record lable.