Jay-Z's fifth studio album in five years was released in 2000. Rick Rock and up-and-coming beatsmith Just Blaze shared half the album, with the rest of the production featuring beats provided by The Neptunes, Kanye West, Bink, Rockwilder, B-High, Memphis Bleek, and TT. Guests included members of the Dynasty group Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Amil, as well as Freeway (who would later join Sigel and Bleek in Roc-A-Fella's new group State Property), Scarface, Snoop Dogg, and R. Kelly.
Just Blaze opens "The Dynasty", a clear reference to the fact that the featured rappers have been designated as heirs by Carter himself, and immediately delivers a beautiful bouncy jazzy boom bap, for the excellent delivery of Jay-Z: magnetic sample from Kleeer's "She Said She Loves Me" made chipmunk soul by the genius of Just Blaze, pleasant hi-hats, sparse drum, frenetic piano, dark resounding rhythm, Hova tears up the cut, one of his best intros of his career. Beat wisely left to breathe at the end. The second cut, "Change the Game", introduces both Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel right away: decent bouncy hardcore boom bap from Rick Rock, but neither really stands out or simply distinguishes themselves from Jay-Z here, perhaps also due to the less-than-stellar production on what is the second single chosen from the record, which becomes a hit. The Neptunes are on the next cut, a solo from the host over a basic, Middle Eastern funky beat, rather insipid despite the rapping. Also featured are Sha Haley and future State Property member Omillio Sparks (who provides the hook), uncredited. Twelve artists are credited as writers on the track and receive royalties from it, practically all except Sparks, who takes the chorus from a Rick James song and gets no credit for the track. This is designated the project's lead single.
One of the first tunes to pay attention to comes in "Streets Is Talking": tight and dirty bouncy jazzy boom bap by Just Blaze, good delivery by Jay-Z, Sigel kills the cut in the last stanza. It's the first real show of strength from this MC, who is also present in the fifth pick, blessed by a light and simple jazzy boom bap by Kanye West, which introduces a tight looped soul sample; here Scarface risks making both Sigel and Jay look bad. The second "external" guest, Snoop Dogg, arrives immediately, on a calm rhythm with hardcore and jazzy tones made by Rick Rock, this commercial tune suffers from a poor hook and the presence of Bleek. With Just Blaze behind the keyboards, the entire LP comes back to see the light: excellent rhythmic, skeletal, fast and tight jazzy boom bap, with an underground appearance, great fast delivery by Hova and Sigel, solid cut among the best on the album.
If it stopped here, it would be a nice tape, instead it's necessary to definitively welcome Memphis Bleek, from here on a cumbersome and omnipresent element within the tape. Fortunately, Sigel doesn't definitively say goodbye to the album. However, the eighth choice doesn't work: the credited guest is a certain "Dynasty" and in reality represents the trinity Bleek-Sigel-Amil, a female rapper who is part of the label. Hardcore and simplistic boom bap by Bink, good Jay-Z, the others less good. Rick Rock has not been good up to this point in production, and I have never liked Bink's rhythms too much, personally, but Rockwilder arrives with great arrogance and claims to deliver the ugliest rhythm of the entire album: deeply annoying boom bap, subtly annoying, could only come from a producer of this caliber, he wastes both Jay-Z's delivery and a good hook with only one rhythm. In my annotation, I didn't mince words towards this guy. What was in his head? How can someone who whistles the whole time over rapping sound good to him?
Sigel and Bleek spit bars also in the tenth track, on Rick Rock's bouncy and simplistic boom bap, a cut without excesses or weaknesses, with average deliveries and a normal R&B chorus not credited by Lil' Mo. Memphis Bleek makes a decent dark and simplistic beat for his solo, "Holla": it's one of the weakest tracks here. We get to "1-900-Hustler" great driving single of the album: rushed jazzy boom bap, Jay-Z with Sigel, Bleek and Freeway, another member of Roc-A-Fella Records, great deliveries with Free obviously in evidence, after fifty minutes of guys who look like Carter, his delivery style automatically stands out without too much difficulty. The case of "The ROC" is strange because it goes quite unnoticed, the rhythm is provided by Just Blaze, but the producer here messes up the production and delivers a bouncy funky boom bap. Just Blaze redeems himself on the next pick, "Soon You'll Understand": gorgeous soulful jazzy boom bap, great chipmunk soul sample from Al Kooper's "Love Them from 'The Landlord'" looped in the background, Jay-Z, aided by the beat, pulls out a fantastic delivery. Rick Rock lays down a dystopian and disturbing beat for the penultimate track, another solo by Hova, before the closing song, produced by TT: light jazzy boom bap relaxed and beautiful, great delivery by Sigel, functional female chorus, sung by a little girl, last verse to Jay-Z.
Often compared to the album Nas had made with his friends in the group The Firm a few years before, this one is also seen as a failure: from my point of view it is not, despite the undeniable similarities. The project began as a Roc-A-Fella compilation, intended to be a showcase for many of the label's artists, including members of the group Dynasty. Later, for purely commercial reasons, it became an official studio album by Jay-Z, his fifth in five years. Lyrically, the product retains similar lyrics to those of Carter's previous works, remaining focused on braggadocio and gangsterisms, while musically the author gives up on his historical collaborators — for the first time ever there is not a beat by DJ Premier in his album — and relies on emerging guys who will soon change the sound of the hip-hop scene such as Neptunes, Just Blaze and Kanye West.
Released by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam with Universal distribution, the album sells over half a million copies and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200, the third album in a row to do so. A month after its release it's certified double platinum, obtains good feedback also in the markets of Canada, UK and Europe and is welcomed positively by critics. Overall, it's a good hardcore album, raw and violent, with its imperfections and a weak central section, with few tracks that manage to climb Jay-Z's discography until they pair the best moments.
Rating: 7/10.
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