Jay-Z Album: “American Gangster (Edited)”

He partied for a while, now he's back to the block.

This was creative, genius even. Jay-Z puts out an album, Kingdom Come, that isn't well-received by his traditional constituents. Their problem? Jay-Z has gone "soft," he's rapping about his wealth, his opulent lifestyle rather than spitting the obligatory lyrics about the dope game and the corner, muses that simply aren't part of his life anymore. How can he reconcile being true to himself with giving the streets what they want? Create an entirely new genre: The hip-hop concept album. Sort of a portal through which an artist can exist in an alternate reality. In one brilliant move Jay-Z neutralized his prior detractors and avoided accusations that he's drawing on a culture he's no longer a part of. After all, American Gangster isn't about Jay-Z, or is it?

Make no mistake, musically this isn't Black Album 2. American Gangster is clearly a compromise between the lyrics that the fans demand and the music that Jay appreciates. Gone are the hard-hitting beats of Dirt off Your Shoulder and Lucifer, replaced by an ensemble of horns and strings. In fact, half the tracks wouldn't seem out of place on a Kanye West album. Pray and Roc Boys (And the Winner Is...) clearly demonstrate the trend. The effect is slightly startling but not unwelcome. Akin to Kingdom Come, the beats of American Gangster show a maturity, a refinement that's not in the Black Album. Which is most appropriate is up for debate.

The lyrics however, are vintage Jay. He hits especially hard on No Hook (Hustle' 'cane, hustle clothes or hustle music/ But hustle hard in any hustle that you pick) and Pray (Treat shame with shamelessness/ Aim stainlesses at _____ , You know the game this is/ Move coke like Pepsi, Don't matter what the brand name is). He slows it down to a lounge tempo on tracks such as I Know featuring Pharrell and Party Life. The guest appearances are especially noteworthy. The Jay/Nas collaboration on Success is brimming with artistic ingenuity, if not commercial viability. Siegal's short interjection on Ignorant ____ perfectly compliments Jay's flow. Most interesting is the much-hyped Lil' Wayne cameo on Hello Brooklyn 2.0, where Jay lyrically eviscerates Weezy, perhaps the track's true motive? But the question remains, is the Jay-Z of American Gangster on par with the Jay-Z of the Black Album? Perhaps the best barometer is the resurrected track Ignorant ____ which features bars from both 2003 and 2007, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the younger Jay comes out on top.

In short, American Gangster should please the critics and the streets. It's an effort on par with The Blueprint and just shy of 2003's masterpiece. The album proves that Jay is at his best when he has something to prove, here's hoping that he doesn't fall victim to complacency for his next project.

After an impressive premiere, where does the hip-hop concept album go from here? Clearly there's a danger that it could become a standard marketing tool in the wrong hands, and if Jay really connects with the next Potter flick, we could be subjected to bars about hustlin' at Hogwarts. However in moderation, it might provide for an interesting departure for rappers who are afraid of stepping outside the bounds of what is considered acceptable in rap culture. American Gangster may go down in history as something of a paradox, it could mark a return to street-culture for Jay-Z and at the same time symbolize something much broader: An expansion of rhythm and poetry beyond the block and into uncharted territory.

This concept album is loaded with good songs that showcase Jay-Z sill at the top of his game. If you want to hear three amazing verses laid down with a distinct purpose, listen to "Ignorant Sh**." Jay-Z just kills on that song. You don't get that kind of performance anywhere else. "Roc Boys" might have been the best rap song of 2007, combining the horns and Jay's talents. "I Know" is a soulful song that proves once again that Pharrell and Jay make a great combination. "Pray," which features Beyonce and a haunting beat, is another good effort. And the Marvin Gaye sample in "American Dreamin" makes that song a great listen.

There is a little bit of dead weight on the CD, but not much. A very fine CD by the king of the rap game.

Jay-z came through very heavily without any dissapointments on this project. As everyone who is a loyal fan knows, Jay has a catalog in Hip-Hop that speaks for itself. However only some things are worth listening to while others are a bit shaky. With this project he totally made me a believer again as he was beginning to lose me as a fan, that he is more than capable of not only bringing good music to the table, but also holding most of an album on his own. Jay brings an undeniable and very interesting amount of storytelling that will have you focused on nothing else but what he has to say next. He clearly sends messages to all the people in "Urban Culture" who feel he has lost his street swagger which he gave on most albums in his early days such as ("Reasonable Doubt" & "Vol.2")with tracks like "No Hook", "American Dreaming", "Blue Magic", "Ignorant Sh*t", "Party Life", & the highly anticipated collaboration between him & former Hip-Hop foe Nas titled "Success". Overall Jay-z did what people loved him for in his early days which is rhyme like his life depended on it. Purchase this album and i guarantee you won't be dissapointed.

This is a great masterpiece from the " KING of HIP HOP", Jay lyrics were incredibly genius and the production was bananas. With the south running the game, New York in general needed this album. It flows extremely well from beginning to end. I will have to say that this is one of Jigga's most intenseful, vivid and captivating albums. Once again Jay never seems to let me down. For any real hip hop head I am guaranteed you will not be dissapointed. Hov literally killed the game with this one. COP THIS IF YOUR LOOKIN FOR SOME REAL HOT MUSIC! This definitely some of his best work ever recorded next to fellow classics Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and Black Album. STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!

As a HUGE Jay-Z fan, I had high expectations for this cd. Shawn Carter did not let me down, instead he surpassed everything I thought I wanted from this cd. I love it from beginning to end. It is one of the most cohesive cds I have heard in a while. My fave track changes just about everyday. Today I am in LOVE with "American Dreamin" and "Say Hello." Even if you were never a Jay-Z fan prior to this, American Gangster would def turn you into a fan quickly. It has been in constant rotation at my house and at work. I cannot get enough of it :)