Jay-Z, The Blueprint (2001)

I don't like this album. 21 years on, it sounds dated. The lyrics aren't clever, either.

Something that especially dates the album is the beef Jay-Z has with Nas. Anyone remember that? I barely do. But The Blueprint (2001) won't let you forget it.

Another thing. Jay-Z's voice has never appealed to me. There's nothing that can be done about that.

I've heard that a lot of his albums are composed on the fly. Rumor has it he goes into the studio after carefully composing his beats and then freestyles until he gets the lyrics he wants, sometimes knocking them out in one take. Now that's impressive. But only impressive that he can freestyle rhyme extemporaneously.

I think the lyrics are mostly not good.