#155 Jay-Z, 'The Black Album' (2003)
Previously #349
Here he is, Hip Hop’s first billionaire, Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z, AKA Hova. With this, his eighth studio album, Jay-Z announced his retirement following 7 years in the biz as a recorded music artist. I remembering listening to Jay-Z last time around, but I don’t think I actually heard him. As previously mentioned, I only started reviewing albums from #300 onwards last time, and so anything before that that I held prejudice toward wasn’t taken much notice of. That’s the thing about writing reviews, it forces you to listen. I’ve now listened, and what a cool record it is. More than that. I finally heard what the rest of the world has; ‘The Black Album’ is an incredible record. The album starts with ‘December 4th,’ an autobiographical track with narration by his mother, Gloria Carter; “Shawn Carter was born December 4th, weighing in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces. He was the last of my four children. The only one who didn't give me any pain when I gave birth to him. And that's how I knew that he was a special child.” The song talks about his days as a drug dealer and goes on to describe his rise as one of music’s biggest musicians.
For his “last” outing, Hova tapped some of the world’s biggest producers across the various tracks. On ‘Encore,’ a track produced by Kanye West, comes a line “What the hell are we waiting for?” I immediately sat up and thought “who has he sampled here? I know this so well!” Took me a minute or two, but I realised that I knew it from Linkin Park. And then it hit me, it was from their 2004 collaboration EP, ‘Collision Course,’ a mash up EP with Jay Z. I was working in CD retail when that came out and we would often listen to the album. Also, the track ‘Numb/Encore’ was the single from the record. I love hearing music in its original context, it gives me chills every time. Speaking of singles, ’99 Problems’ is on this record. A genre-defining track produced by Rick Rubin, production reminiscent of his work with Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. ‘Justify My Thug’ a rework of Madonna’s ‘Justify My Love,’ takes on a life of its own. Other highlights for me include ‘Change Clothes’ (classic production by The Neptunes), ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’ and ‘Moment Of Clarity’ (produced by Eminem). Danger Mouse famously mashed this album up with The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ to make ‘The Grey Album,’ a definite must-listen. ‘The Black Album’ topped the charts in the US, where it’s been certified 3x platinum. A really fun listen.
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