The Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse Oshkosh WI

The Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse

Jay-Z

Roc-A-Fella, 2002

http://www.rocafella.com

REVIEW BY: Ben Ehrenreich

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/09/2007

The only reason Jay-Z made The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse was to add a double album to his already respectable accolades. By 2002, he had pretty much accomplished everything one could have in the world of hip-hop: six studio albums (two of them classics), a movie soundtrack, a live album and a collaboration with R. Kelly.

So, like most classic rockers, Jay-Z turned to the double disc, and like most of them it's kind of a mistake. Few artists can pull off a truly classic double album -- for all their glories, even Tommy and The Wall get tiring. For Jay-Z, it seemed like following The Blueprint with an equally strong 13 tracks was a better choice.

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse is simply a watered-down version of its brilliant predecessor. Kanye West, Just Blaze and Timbaland appear on both records and account for more than half of the production, but the difference is that instead of bringing in the extremely versatile Bink and ominous Eminem for the other fifty percent, Jay brings in a couple of no names and the Neptunes.

Although Kanye, Just and Timbo handle their end of the production phenomenally, Jay isn’t always lyrically on point like he was on The Blueprint. Of course it’s much harder to stay lyrically sharp over 25 tracks than 13, which is why it made no sense to attempt a double album. Part of the failure is with the Neptunes, who create a generic sound and spark Jay-Z into writing some rather bland commercial lyrics.