Blueprint 3: The First Impression Review

Gooooooooooood morning, Blogadelphia!

As you know by now, I have been quite obsessive about avoiding leaked songs from Jay-Z's new album. Why? Because I like to hear important albums all in one sitting and soak the the whole album in in a single listening experience. That, and I obviously don't give a shit about bringing traffic to my own site. D'ahh well.

Well...today I find myself with 2 very important tools at my disposal: 1) A ton of morning free time 2) A full copy of BP3, complete with bonuses, b-sides, the whole works.

Sooo...I'm gonna take the opportunity to do something a little different this morning. Something I will call a "First Impression Review". With the exception of 3-4 songs, I haven't heard any of this album yet. So in real time, I'm gonna jam it out here at my desk, and "live update" (always wanted to say that) you on my initial impressions for each.

How am I doing this? Personally, I think there's a very simple formula to "judge" the "quality" of dope Hip-Hop: First solve for R(apper), wheras R=L(yrics) + F(low). Then, use R to help solve for J(am).

J = [R+B(eat)+H(ook)+C(oncept)] / 5.

Got it? Of course you do...that wasn't confusing at all and it made perfect sense. Don't ask me how I developed that formula...just accept it as truth.

Moving along, I will be listening to each song, and grading each quality on a 5-point scale. again, I'll be doing this "live", so keep checking back to follow along. Let's GO!
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PRECONCEPTIONS: In terms of pure entertainment value, not necessarily skill, Jay-Z is probably my favorite rapper of all time. Because of this, he's on a very short list of artists for whom I get nervous before their albums are released (see: Kanye, N.E.R.D., Incubus, Bloc Party, etc). So...my expectations are VERY high for Mr. Carter. I expect alot more from him that probably ANY other emcee in the business (I refuse to say "in the game"). Unfortunately, the few leaked songs that I have heard so far REALLY haven't impressed me. To be honest, 3 monts ago, i was expecting this album to rival the Black Album...at this point, I'll settle for Kingdom Come.

First song coming in a few . . .

What We Talkin' About (ft. Luke Steele)
Rapper: (4.5 Lyrics + 4.25 Flow) = 8.75
Beat = 4.5
Hook = 4.25
Concept = 4.75
TOTAL = 4.45
This is a great start to the album. Bonus for the Luke Steele appearance. I'm already feeling a little bit better about this album. I think Jay says here what alot of over-25 fans are feeling: There's just too much bullshit and WWE-style dramatics in the music these days. If he holds true to this form and doesn't bother going after useless rappers like Jim Jones and Game, I'll be a happy man.

Thank You
Rapper: (4.5 Lyrics + 4.75 Flow) = 9.25
Betat = 4.5
Hook = 4
Concept = 4
TOTAL = 4.35

OK, we're 2 for 2! I really like this one. It's like a Jay-Z 101 type song. Like, if someone were to ask you, "Who is Jay-Z and what does he do?", this is a perfect track to play for 'em. The flow on this was very '90's and that always a big plus. OK...I can breathe now...this album won't suck! Whoooo!

D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
Obviously, not a first impression, but whatevs.
Rapper: (4 Lyrics + 3.5 Flow) = 7.5
Beat = 4.75
Hook = 4
Concept = 5
TOTAL = 4.25

We all know the story with this. Really, the song wins thanks to a beat so hard it makes you scrunch your face up all crazy and an amazing concept. If you really listen, Jay's not saying too much, and his flow is kinda dull. The hook it super simple, but in this context...it works.

Run This Town (ft. Kanye West & Rihanna)
Again, not a first impression
Rappers: [Jay-Z (3.5 lyrics + 3.75 Flow) x 2, = Kanye (4.25 Lyrics + 4 Flow)] / 3 = 7.58
Beat = 4.5
Hook = 3.5
Concept = 3
TOTAL = 3.72

This song still rates a big "Ehhh" for me. The whole thing is a bit of a mess. The beat is dope, but it over-powers both rapers. Rihanna is CRAZY annoying. Jay gets out-gunned by his protege. The whole "run this town" idea doesn't hold true for the whole sonng, especially Kanye's verse. If this song were just Track 4 and not the lead single, I might feel differently.

Empire State of Mind (ft. Alicia Keys)
Rapper: (4.25 Lyrics + 4 Flow) = 8.25
Beat = 4
Hook = 4
Concept = 4.25
TOTAL = 4.1

Not too shabby. Cool for an album cut. I will say, I hope Jay isn't gonna keep up that "dada dada DAH da" flow up for the whole album...I'm not diggin' it. Thankfully he changed it up a little for the last verse. Did anyone catch that little Anna Wintour / Winter bit? Dope.

Real As It Gets (ft. Young Jeezy)
Rappers: [Jay-Z (4L +4F)x2 + Jeezy (3.75L + 3.75F)] / 3 = 7.67
Beat = 3.75
Hook = 3.5
Concept = 3.5
TOTAL = 3.68

Looks like we're deep into "album cut" territory on this one. Not a bad song, it just didn't move me one way or another. Has anyone else noticed that Young Jeezy has gotten significantly better over time? Think about it. I still don't wanna buy his album or no shit like that, but he's definitely better today than he was 5yrs ago. The irony is, the better he gets, the less popular he becomes. Hmm.

On to the Next One (ft. Swizz Beatz)
Rapper: (3.75L + 3.5F) = 7.25
Beat = 3.5
Hook = 2.75
Concept = 3.5
TOTAL = 3.4

Yuck. I might have been a little generous with some of those scores. This might be the first F-FWD song on the album. Swizz sounds ridiculous, the "on to the next" under the beat is annoying, Jay is dull. I appreciate the "Yo, XXX is played out, we don't do that anymore", but damn, it's the underlying theme of about 4 songs on the album...we get it.
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OOOOOOkay...slight change in plans. I'm gonna have to temporarily put this review on hold (I'm enjoying the hell out of this, BTW). I'm gonna go have lunch with my girl...not that you care. And since I have no respect for my employers, it's gonna be an extended lunch. SO..I'll be back in about 2hrs or so. Until then, my friends . . .
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I'm BACK!! Halftime is over, let's get back to business . . .

Off That (ft. Drake)
Not a first impression.
Rapper: 3.5L + 3.5F = 7
Beat= 3
Hook = 3
Concept = 3
TOTAL = 3.2

I don't like this song. If it were anyone besides Jay-Z, I'd hate it. But, being the greatest commercial ever, Hov can even put a little shine on a turd. Timbaland's beat sounds 10yrs old, and considering that the song is about not doing old shit...well. Drake sounds like he's singing out of his nose. This is just a bad song, salvaged by a great rapper. Sorry.

A Star Is Born (ft. J. Cole)
Rappers: [Jay-Z (4.25L + 4.25F)x2 + J. Cole (4.5L + 4.5F)] / 3 = 8.67
Beat = 4
Hook = 3.25
Concept = 4.75
TOTAL = 4.13

Now this, I like. Maybe even more than my "scientific" system might indicate. I LOVE the idea of a rapper as big a Jay-Z taking time to salute the contributions of his "peers". Telling somebody "yo, you nice" takes alot more courage than a pointless diss. The symmetry of "introducing" people to J. Cole on this song was perfect. AND J. Cole absolutely did his thing! Remember, not only is he a virtually unknown "internet rapper" on a friggin' Jay-Z album . . .but Jay is his BOSS. Considering the pressure he was under for his verse, I think he killed it (hence his score being higher than Jay's). Good shit.

Venus vs. Mars
Rapper: 4.5L + 4.25F = 8.75
Beat =4.25
Hook = 3.5
Concept = 4.5
TOTAL = 4.2

A better hook, and this would be some top-shelf shit. The concept is dope, and Jay pulls it off in a really creative way. Probably his best wordplay so for. Looks like the album is picking back up after that soggy bit in the middle.

Already Home (ft. Kid CuDi)
Rapper: 4.25L + 4F = 8.25
Beat =4
Hook = 4.25
Concept = 3.75
TOTAL = 4.05

Another nice one. Pretty good. You know, I think I like Cudi alot better as quirky voiced singer than I do as a rapper. I will say this, though...Jay is really getting redundant with some of this subject matter. He's like the dude who keeps saying "I don't care" for an hour after something happens. If you don't care, and you're over it...then stop talking about it. We get it. I'm really not interested in hearing more of it.

Aaaaaaand I just saw the title of the next song...