+++OFFICIAL JAY Z THREAD+++

[sonunox34]

Two things

1. Can someone pleaaaase get like a 3+ min remix of Beach is Better... I don't even care who does it.

2. Frank on "Ocean" is why he's such a damn good lyricist. He's so DESCRIPTIVE, so much more than these basic R&B cats. He paints a serious picture.

Posted it once before when i first did it but one more time for those who missed it. I did a quick jam over tom ford. Not the OG beat, i just saw someone do a quick remake but I pulled this off not even a week after it came out.

Sir... you have a deep understanding of the fretboard. +1

 

[sunshineblotters]

As usual more radio pop garbage with recycled biggie lyrics from jay-z. At least he sampled biggies voice in one of the few songs with biggies lyrics. Jay-Z shouldn't waste his time with music anymore. Rap doesn't pay and he isnt good at it.

 

[Bad Religion]

Not, "this is a bad album." Not, "Jay-Z lost it".

Jay-Z isnt a good rapper?

Really...

View media item 516435

 

[sunshineblotters]

^The only truly great albums he hes are the ones that everyone likes. Reasonable doubt was great. Black Album was fantastic. Blueprint was also great. I also really liked BP2. Vol 2 was okay. But everything else is trash. He could've been a great rapper but he DECIDED to be trash for record sales.

"Dumb it down and double my dollar" and "Truth be told, if skills sold, id be lyrically talib kweli. I want to rhyme like common sense but I sold 5 mill, I aint rhymed like common since" are both quotes of his. He put himself on blast so if you wont take it from me take it from him

 

[jayfiend]

Homie you said "Rap doesn't pay and he's not good at it"

That's saying alot.

Your just not a fan of his music seems like. And that's fine but if you don't think that he showed he can still rap on this album. Well I don't know what to tell you.

As far as AG goes. I agree it was an OK album. But it just got boring to be fast. After like a month I just forgot about it.

I've listened to "Beach Chair" more times than everything on AG combined.

I think one of the reasons I think I love this album so much is because IMO he showed he can use banging beats but still be creative in what he raps about.

Instead of just saying " Ain't worried bout nothing" over and over on a song for 4 minutes

 

[sunshineblotters]

This guy sells his ventures for hundreds of millions. How does rap pay in comparison. That's why all these rappers open restauraunts, sell water and vodka, start clothing and record companies, and ****. THAT pays. I dont see many rappers getting rich off music. Rockstars can get rich off music simply because rock sells WAY more. So that part at least is correct. Not a matter of opinion. Successful doctors have more than rappers that are just starting out or been in the game for 5+ years without business ventures.

 

[nako xl]

^^

I was speaking strictly in terms of AG, I think that's a quality album that's all. However u wanna rank or group his albums is strictly up to you, I just think AG gets glossed over because it isn't deemed a classic.

Ill stand by BP3 as a good album too, I know that's another album people get away with bashing but I remember a bunch of good songs off of it.

No sarcasm if you don't mind post the track list and what songs you think are wack.

I'm not as high on AG as everyone else on #NT is.  I think it's very good, I just never get the urge to listen to anything on it ever.  Maybe Ignorant **** and Blue Magic but the album just doesn't compel me too much.  That's not saying I don't think it's very good.  I just think it's a little overrated because people were so thirsty for that from Jay.

BP3 songs I think are ok to great and enjoy listening to:

DOA, On to the Next One, Already Home, Run This Town, Hate, and sometimesssssss A Star is Born and Off That even though several things about that song objectively suck.  I don't like Young Forever or Empire State of Mind at all but I understand why they exist.

Everything else, Jay should have recycle binned.

 

[deuce king]

Personally, I have AG as a classic. 

 

[antidope]

Personally, I have AG as a classic. 

 

[ace rawstein]

Yep AG is a classic to me as well. Dude has four undeniable classics IMO.

Then I would place MCHG, BP3, Vol 3 in the middle being all really good albums... After that things are just ok to average maybe. Only thing really really weak is Kingdom Come tho.

 

[swerve]

Personally, I have AG as a classic. 

 

[nako xl]

Yep AG is a classic to me as well. Dude has four undeniable classics IMO.

Then I would place MCHG, BP3, Vol 3 in the middle being all really good albums... After that things are just ok to average maybe. Only thing really really weak is Kingdom Come tho.

what's the fourth classic, Vol 2 or Black Album?

Cuz regardless, calling the other one average or worse than mchg/bp3/vol3 is... yikes.

 

[swerve]

Yep AG is a classic to me as well. Dude has four undeniable classics IMO.

Then I would place MCHG, BP3, Vol 3 in the middle being all really good albums... After that things are just ok to average maybe. Only thing really really weak is Kingdom Come tho.

what's the fourth classic, Vol 2 or Black Album?

Cuz regardless, calling the other one average or worse than mchg/bp3/vol3 is... yikes.

It has to be The Black Album.

And I agree that Vol. 2 shouldn't be placed below those albums.

 

[nako xl]

And I mean, for all the highs American Gangster has there are some LOWS man...

Almost 1/3 to 1/2 of that album is forgettable. The good songs are about as good as any he's made, but maybe he should have kept that concept at about 10-11 tracks because some of it is pretty bleh.

 

[ace rawstein]

Yea black album is the 4th classic to me.

I'm not a huge fan of Vol 2 but I mean the hits on there speak for itself and it can definitely fall right in the middle of his catalog.

Low points on AG? Only thing comes to mind is Hello Brooklyn... What else?

 

[deuce king]

And I mean, for all the highs American Gangster has there are some LOWS man...

What are the LOWS on American Gangster as you have it??

 

[the natural mystic]

As much as I love AG, I can't call it a classic. It had some weak tracks such as Blue magic and roc boys.

No hook tho. :x

To me Jay has 3 classics. RD, BP1 and the black album.

 

[jthagreat]

Personally, I have AG as a classic. 

 

[deuce king]

As much as I love AG, I can't call it a classic. It had some weak tracks such as Blue magic and roc boys.
 

The devil is a liar. 

 

[nako xl]

And I mean, for all the highs American Gangster has there are some LOWS man...

What are the LOWS on American Gangster as you have it??

Hello Brooklyn is awful.  I kinda like the beat but it's awful.  Wayne ruins anything redeemable about that song.

I think (and I know I'm alone on this) that Sweet is a LOW.  I Know is whatever to me.  I could do with or without it.

Party Life is boring to me.  The problem with Party Life is American Dreamin and Say Hello are already on the album and are better songs.  It's also what detracts from Pray.

I get that Jay had this concept of "I'm in the 70s and I'm a hustler and this is what my year doing that sounds like" (we'll ignore that Hello Brooklyn doesn't fit into this frame at all) but what he does is make repetitive songs.  Half the tracks sound so much like each other, and considering Blue Magic, No Hook, and Say Hello are better, why did he also include Sweet, Party Life, and American Dreamin?

My issue with American Gangster is it gets repetitive and as a result boring.  You hear pray, american dreamin, skip hello brooklyn, then hear no hook and you're like ok... this album is slow man. then things pick up with Roc Boys and you're boppin a little, then he drags it back into the mud with Sweet.  then hits you with his obligatory pharrell featured soft song.  It's just not as imaginative as he and a lot of its fans would like to believe.

I wrote that sort of train of thought and I know i repeat myself and kinda ramble.  apologies if so.

 

[gllahone84]

Roc boys weak? 

 

[bluedeniro]

dudes be tryna make up ways to lesser a album AG was tough.

 

[deuce king]

And I mean, for all the highs American Gangster has there are some LOWS man...

What are the LOWS on American Gangster as you have it??

Hello Brooklyn is awful.  I kinda like the beat but it's awful.  Wayne ruins anything redeemable about that song.

I think (and I know I'm alone on this) that Sweet is a LOW.  I Know is whatever to me.  I could do with or without it.

Party Life is boring to me.  The problem with Party Life is American Dreamin and Say Hello are already on the album and are better songs.  It's also what detracts from Pray.

I get that Jay had this concept of "I'm in the 70s and I'm a hustler and this is what my year doing that sounds like" (we'll ignore that Hello Brooklyn doesn't fit into this frame at all) but what he does is make repetitive songs.  Half the tracks sound so much like each other, and considering Blue Magic, No Hook, and Say Hello are better, why did he also include Sweet, Party Life, and American Dreamin?

My issue with American Gangster is it gets repetitive and as a result boring.  You hear pray, american dreamin, skip hello brooklyn, then hear no hook and you're like ok... this album is slow man. then things pick up with Roc Boys and you're boppin a little, then he drags it back into the mud with Sweet.  then hits you with his obligatory pharrell featured soft song.  It's just not as imaginative as he and a lot of its fans would like to believe.

I wrote that sort of train of thought and I know i repeat myself and kinda ramble.  apologies if so.

I don't like Hello Brooklyn myself, so I'm with you there.  As far as you not liking Party Life, that's your opinion of course, but it's such a great song to me.  I wish Seymore Cake was here right now, dude had the perfect description of this song when AG dropped.  Something about this being the song you put on when your in your smoking jacket, chillen with a smoke in one hand and a glass of Brandy in the other, or something along those lines.

I Know is pure perfection, ain't no doubt about that.  Most folks don't even know that he's talking about addiction given the groove of the track.  Overall, every track on American Gangster is set in place just the way events took place in the actual American Gangster movie.  Check out these videos with the live performances and Jay gives brief description of the track in 2 of them. .........   

 

[the natural mystic]

I didn't like roc boys or blue magic. I personally think they are weak tracks. I hate both beats and the rhyme schemes.

I didn't like half of hello Brooklyn either.

Everything else was fire tho so miss with trying to degrade AG talk.

 

[nako xl]

Lol I usually try to avoid voicing my opinion on AG because it always requires a

I had a chick back in 08 refuse to let me smash at the end of the night because on our date I told her I felt a lot of American Gangster was repetitive and Jay could have done better.  "Call me when you've listened to AG again." *hails cab*

Look.  I agreed that it's a very good album.  Lyrically it's amazing.  My problem with it is the instrumentation and repetitive nature of the music.  I just felt like Puff gave him 20 beats that sounded almost identical to each other in structure and he used 6+ of them.

None of the songs are BAD (except for Wayne's voice on Hello Brooklyn which made the whole song unbearable to me) but I find the album boring.  So I can't have it in that top 4, and because I consider THOSE 4 classics, I can't consider AG one.  There has to be a line between good and unforgettable (classic) and a lot of AG is forgettable to me.