Toe Jay Simpson
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I was following Jay from the beginning and I never thought dude had this album in him. That was a special place and a special time
The Blueprint 20 Year Aniversary Thread
- Thread starter JordanWearinThe45
- Start date
Damn. It’s crazy dude only had one feature on here.
and even the feature was dope (for the time).
and even the feature was dope (for the time).
Jay ever speak on what inspired the musical direction on this album? His previous albums were real contemporary, in line with the popular sounds at the time but this one was the opposite of what was hot at the moment and stood out because of that. Still does. One of the best produced albums ever.
Classic 
Rev Leon Lonnie Love
damned mine eyes, DAMNED mine eyes!!
Didn't realize this album got so many coli quotables on it 
It's much more enjoyable than I last remember
It's much more enjoyable than I last remember
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
Classic album. Glad its getting love on here. In recent years I've seen opinions that this album was overrated, but I definitely disagree.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I think it came strongly from him being inspired by the beats and new producers he was hearing at the time from Bink, Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Alchemist (even though he didn't make the album).
A bulk of this album was recorded in 3-4 days. Never Change, Heart of the City, Girls Girls Girls, U Don't Know, All I Need, Momma Loves Me, Izzo, Takeover, and a couple others were done in less than a week. As I understand it, Kanye came through and gave a beat tape to Dame Dash, and Jay immediately started making songs, not even with the intention of planning an album. Just Blaze and Bink were up at the studio, heard the joints, and started making beats to match the vibe, and suddenly an album was not only underway, but almost finished. Those 3 producers did 12 of the 15 beats on the album, and the joints produced by Timbo, Eminem, and Trackmasters came at the end of the recording process.
Also, some of the groundwork for Blueprint had been laid already. If you go back and listen to Dynasty, it had soulful joints like This Cant Be Life and Soon You'll Understand. And it had live and loud sample joints like Dynasty Intro, 1-900 Hustler, and You Me Him Her. Dynasty was kind of like the Blueprint to Blueprint. And The Reason by Beanie Sigel sounds a lot like Blueprint with its production, and dropped a few months before Blueprint. So every time Jay-Z was at Bassline Studios, he was hearing beats all the time from Just, Bink, and Kanye.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I remember I hadn't heard Kanye rap before, so for a few months I had no idea who was rapping on the Never Change hook. It wasn't until Kanye did the hook for Guess Who's Back and Guerilla Monsoon Rap that I started realizing it was the producer doing the hooks.Never Change gotta be a top 5 HOV track. Classic album, bought this the day it dropped at a empty Circuit City near me after I got out of class early
Got it in every format
I know I can't be the only one to not know who was doing that hook at first, right?
HipHopStan
Top 113 Poster
I was so excited for this album and I was anticipating it all damn summer. The morning of 9/11 came and I was going to ask my mom to take me to Target to get it after school. Then, of course the terrorist attacks happened, and I totally forgot about the album until that Saturday when Jay called into MTV to talk about everything that had happened that week.
I hope I'm not over dramatizing this, but this album helped cheer and get my spirits back up after that terrible tragedy.
If there was one thing that disappointed me, it was Jay was hyping a Michael Jackson appearance on the album, but it didn't happen. The album is still a classic regardless of that. "Heart of the City" was my favorite track.
I'm curious: Did any of you all go out on 9/11 to get his album?
I hope I'm not over dramatizing this, but this album helped cheer and get my spirits back up after that terrible tragedy.
If there was one thing that disappointed me, it was Jay was hyping a Michael Jackson appearance on the album, but it didn't happen. The album is still a classic regardless of that. "Heart of the City" was my favorite track.
I'm curious: Did any of you all go out on 9/11 to get his album?
BlueHeffner
Veteran
I have this and LAD tied for my favorite album ever
Back when bron was likeable
Back when bron was likeable
I thought those were mj vocals on girls girls girls.
BlueHeffner
Veteran
YE