The Blueprint

For other uses, see Blueprint (disambiguation).

Untitled

The Blueprint is the sixth solo album by rapper Jay-Z. Its release date was changed from September 18 2001 to September 11 to combat bootlegging. Despite being overshadowed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, the album sold over 426,000 copies in its opening week, becoming Jay-Z's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200. It was certified two times platinum as sales stand at over two million units in the U.S. Jay-Z boasted about the record's success on the track "The Bounce" from his following album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse.

Background

The Blueprint was reportedly cut in two weeks, with Jay-Z allegedly writing the lyrics in two days. Jay-Z awaited two criminal trials for gun possession and assault. At the time he was engaged in feuds with Nas, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and others attacking him in song. Parts of The Blueprint became a battle album, particularly in "Takeover", in which Jay-Z attacks Nas, Prodigy, and all manner of persecutors, set to the hard rock of samples of The Doors' "Five to One". "Takeover" closes with the line "To all you other cats throwing shots at Jigga/You only get half a bar, fuck y'all niggas" as a blanket response to all his enemies not mentioned elsewhere in the song.

In 'The Blueprint, Jay-Z and his producers turn to vintage soul, fueling almost every song with a stirring vocal sample: Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin and the Jackson 5. Exceptions include "Jigga that Nigga", "Hola' Hovito", and most notably "Renegade", a track produced by and featuring Eminem.

Reception and impact

The Blueprint contained 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. 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 rated as Vibe Magazine's "Best Album of the year", and even received a 5 mic (out of 5) rating from The Source (a distinction reserved for hip hop classics). Pitchfork Media named it the 2nd best album of 2000-2004, behind Radiohead's Kid A. The popularity and commercial success of the album established Kanye West as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated producers. Furthermore, The Blueprint signaled a major stylistic shift in hip-hop production towards a more Soul/R&B-centric 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. Kanye West would later incorporate some of the production and sampling techniques he used on this album into his own solo albums (see The College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation.)

The song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" has later on been used in the movie trailer for the film American Gangster, in which Jay-Z did not have a role. But later, based an album off the movie's concept which also became Number #1.

Accolades

• Ranked #2 in Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of 2000-2004".
• Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 of 2001".
• Ranked #7 in Spin magazine's "Albums of the Year 2001”.
• Ranked #4 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001".
• One of only a handful of albums to receive a perfect rating from both The Source and XXL.
• Ranked #12 in Wire magazine's "50 Records of the Year 2001".
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Track listing

#	Title	Songwriter(s)	Producer(s)	Featured guest(s)	Sample(s)
1	"The Ruler's Back"	Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrell Phil Hurtt Bunny Sigler	Bink		"If" by Jackie Moore "The Ruler" by Slick Rick
2	"Takeover"	Shawn Carter Kanye West John Densmore Robby Krieger Ray Manzarek Jim Morrison Lawrence Parker Alan Lomax Eric Burdon B. Chandler R. Lemay	Kanye West		"Five to One" by The Doors "Sound of da Police" by KRS-One "Fame" by David Bowie (interpolation) "Oochie Wally" by Bravehearts
3	"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Berry Gordy Alphonzo Mizell Freddie Perren Deke Richards	Kanye West		"I Want You Back" by Jackson 5
4	"Girls, Girls, Girls"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Tom Brock B. Relf	Just Blaze	Additional vocals: Q-Tip, Slick Rick and Biz Markie	"There's Nothing in This World That Can Stop Me from Loving You" by Tom Brock "High Power Rap" by Disco Dave & The Force of The Five MC's
5	"Jigga that Nigga"	Shawn Carter Jean-Claude Olivier Samuel Barnes	Poke and Tone	Additional vocals: Stephanie Miller and Michelle Mills
6	"U Don't Know"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith Bobby Byrd	Just Blaze		"I'm Not To Blame" by Bobby Byrd
7	"Hola' Hovito"	Shawn Carter Tim Mosley	Timbaland
8	"Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Michael Price Dan Walsh	Kanye West		"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" by Bobby Blue Bland
9	"Never Change"	Shawn Carter Kanye West Bobby Miller	Kanye West	Additional vocals: Kanye West	"Common Man" by David Ruffin
10	"Song Cry"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith D. Gibbs R. Johnson	Just Blaze		"Sounds Like a Love Song" by Bobby Glenn
11	"All I Need"	Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrell	Bink		"I Can't Break Away" by Natalie Cole
12	"Renegade"	Shawn Carter Marshall Mathers Ryan Montgomery (uncredited)	Eminem	Eminem
13	"Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)"	Shawn Carter Roosevelt Harrel Al Green	Bink		"Free at Last" by Al Green
*	"Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)"	Shawn Carter Justin Smith	Just Blaze		"Got to Find My Own Place" by Stanley Clarke
*	"Girls, Girls, Girls (remix)"	Shawn Carter Kanye West	Kanye West		"Trying Girls Out" by The Persuaders

(*) Indicates bonus track

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Canadian Albums Chart	3
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	1
U.S. Top Internet Albums	21

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
2001	"Girls, Girls, Girls"	17	4	9
2002	"Jigga that Nigga"	66	27	7
2002	"Song Cry	-	45	-

Personnel

• Slick Rick - Vocals
• Biz Markie - Vocals
• Q-Tip - Vocals
• Richard Huredia - Mixing
• Tony Dawsey - Mastering
• Jimmy Douglas - Engineer, mixing
• Timbaland - Producer
• Jason Goldstein - Mixing
• Poke and Tone - Producer
• Jonathan Mannion - Photography
• Tony Vanias - Recording director
• Damon Dash - Executive producer
• Shawn Carter - Executive Producer
• Eminem - Producer, vocals
• Kanye West - Producer, vocals
• Kareem "Biggs" Burke - Executive producer
• Just Blaze - Producer
• Jason Noto - Art direction
• Victor Flowers - Organ
• Josey Scott - Vocals
• Shane "Bermy" Woodley - Assistant engineer