American Gangster...

[abeautifulhaze]

Joint is a classic.

It has passed the test of time.

I listened to this joint 3 times today....while rubbing shoulders with millionaires in a business conference.....while throwin back shots and gropin whitegirls in downtown Manhattan....and playing the hood twisted, burning piff on Gun hill with the Yardies...

Flawless album. Best Hip-Hop album since "The Fix" and "God Son" era...early 2000's.

I know a lot of y'all _s hate Jay just cause life is cheating y'all....but this album is a classic....tell me otherwise.

 

[BaltimoreLove]

SMH, american gangster was a poor excuse for music,

i wish bullet wounds would stop hovs baffonery

 

[air bonilla 23]

Totally agree. Album is

from start to finish. Doubted Hello Brooklyn atfirst, but it's fire in the whip. The production is solid and the lyrics are on point. People might not agree but give it 2 or 3 years.... it's gonnabe up there with the top 3 Jay albums.

Sweet

 

[DVMNXK]

Classic? You bugging son, it's dope but far from classic.

Check out this mix called Classic Gangster....joint is way doper than the OG.

Brooklyn 2.0 over Big Daddy Kane joints > life.

 

[illscan]

it's dope but far from classic.

 

[tuff g0ng]

I've been saying this album was for real since 11/6/07...

NT's Jay haters are a lot worse than NT's Jay stans, they'll never give the man his due.

 

[abeautifulhaze]

Yeah I checked that Classic Gangster....I mess with it heavy.

Them bass heavy tracks fom the 80's go hard over these lyrics.....but that just go to show that this album is classic. Lyrics and flow are flawless.....putit over any beat and you still get a gem.

How is it dope but far from a classic Illscan?...explain. I know you into grass roots _ but comeon. At least give an explanation. A majority of the albums thatyou consider Hip-Hop classics...don't have the lyrical content or quality production thats found on AG.

IMO "God's Son" is a classic too....put it against a lot of albums that the Hip-Hop press classifies as "classic albums" and the souland subsatance of that album will destroy them....I feel the same way about AG.

 

[the pga tour]

Top 4 Jay album, and the best album of '07.

Jay never fell off. You could accuse him of being redundant, but that's because minus a couple year hiatus, he's been putting out albums every yearsince '96.

 

[illscan]

How is it dope but far from a classic Illscan?
It's been said a hundred times on here & around my way. The whole concept was a scapegoat to get back to tough guy, real N rap. I'mnot buying it for one minute. He saw he needed to go the other way with his career & took the opportunity to do so.
On the other hand, I won't say the lyrics were wack, but the whole thing was just too obvious & see thru to me.

And wow............. I'm far from a backpack type individual (grassroots??). I enjoy originality in any form. From some straight nerd rap to some realignorant type I SH. It all depends. Reasonable doubt is far from "grassroots" & I still contend it's one of the best crafted hip hop albumsof all time. RD, even though it's on the same type steez, feels more organic in its conception.

 

[abeautifulhaze]

Originally Posted by iLLscan

How is it dope but far from a classic Illscan?

It's been said a hundred times on here & around my way. The whole concept was a scapegoat to get back to tough guy, real N rap. I'm not buying it for one minute. He saw he needed to go the other way with his career & took the opportunity to do so.
On the other hand, I won't say the lyrics were wack, but the whole thing was just too obvious & see thru to me.

And wow............. I'm far from a backpack type individual (grassroots??). I enjoy originality in any form. From some straight nerd rap to some real ignorant type I SH. It all depends. Reasonable doubt is far from "grassroots" & I still contend it's one of the best crafted hip hop albums of all time. RD, even though it's on the same type steez, feels more organic in its conception.


Why are you commenting on barbershop talk and hater quotables? Can you tell what Jay-Z was going through in his life that made him devote months of his life torelease a major label album with this type of content? When has he ever strayed from "tough guy" lyrics?...What was too obvious?

What about the music???!! Where did the album fall short musically?! How do you know RD and AG weren't conceptualized in the same midframe...just differenttax brackets?

 

[definition of dopeness]

Album is dope, and i still spin it from time to time, but i think it's to soon to call it classic. Classic albums have to be time-tested, and this albumain't been out but 6 months.

 

[illscan]

How do you know RD and AG weren't conceptualized in the same midframe...just different tax brackets?
I mean how do you "know" anything??? That's just the way I feel about it. That's the vibe I got from the album & the dudesaround my way who I put stock in as far as their opinion on such matters. Not just any scallywag getting a shape up in the barber shop.
What can I say......... It's a good album, just not classic to me.

 

[true 3 blue]

Say Hello *****

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

I totally agree. CD is GREAT and I still have it in heavy rotation

 

[abeautifulhaze]

Originally Posted by iLLscan

How do you know RD and AG weren't conceptualized in the same midframe...just different tax brackets?

I mean how do you "know" anything??? That's just the way I feel about it. That's the vibe I got from the album & the dudes around my way who I put stock in as far as their opinion on such matters. Not just any scallywag getting a shape up in the barber shop.
What can I say......... It's a good album, just not classic to me.


I smell you....but when I analyze music...I try to block out what others think about a project and just listen to the music.

 

[roc boy jada]

 

[visualmusic]

Classic? Disagree. But I do feel like its one hell of an album. My only problem with it is 'Hello Brooklyn' and the chorus for 'Ignorant %%%$'could've been better. Besides that, its one of my favorite Jay albums.

 

[crossisom]

TBP
RD
TBA
Vol 2
Vol 1
TBP2
AG
Vol 3
TD: RLF
KC

That's where the album stands to me. It's great, but not going to be considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. That's what a classicis. One thing, it gave us fans hope for possible new music too. He concocted this thing in like less than three months though. Come on now! Who else can dosome +!%! like that? I still listen to it from time to time.

 

[abeautifulhaze]

AG is better than Vol. 1 and 2.....no question.

 

[illscan]

I try to block out what others think about a project and just listen to the music.
Maybe I should have stated that more clear........... Each of us got to the same conclusion independently in a different way. But we were allsaying the same thing with a different approach. You understand?????????

 

[abeautifulhaze]

Yeah but what does his motivation to make this album have to do with the music that he laid down?

Dudes are giving Nas a pass for making 2 albums that are obvioulsy ploys for attention and publicity...but EVERYTHING Jay does is scrutinized under amicroscope?

Lets talk about the music here.....

If you are going to question motives and gimmicks....then we are gonig to need to re-examine Pac's legacy, NWA's albums, Biggie's catalogue,"The Great Adventures of Slick Rick", several Wu-Tang albums, Kool G's later albums, Public Enemy's career.....etc. etc.

What are your qualms WITH THE MUSIC?!

 

[mr subliminals]

Party Life might be Jays best joint since who knows.. Joint is soooooo soulfoul and laid back its crazyyy... I vibe to it ATLEAST 3 times a day

 

[illscan]

If you are going to question motives and gimmicks....then we are gonig to need to re-examine Pac's legacy, NWA's albums, Biggie's catalogue, "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick", several Wu-Tang albums, Kool G's later albums, Public Enemy's career.....etc. etc.
It has to do with intention with me. The intention with American Gangster was to get back on the coca rap because it sells & it's an easyout when you have nothing left to say, not because he was actually inspired by the movie (at least IMO).
Wu, for example were always stylistically inspired by movies, that's there I SH. From the Kung Fu flicks to the Mafia I SH. That's how they have alwaysdone.

And I'll never give Nas a pass for his lackadaisical ways. He's def dropped his share of basura albums. If anything though, I think Nas gets morecriticized than Jay. He gets to rock the lime green suit in a video & nobody wilds the eff out like nas in the pink joint. He gets to drop mediocre albums& dudes defend it to the death, while Nas fans even I SH on Nas bad albums.
I'm rambling, but yo................... At the end of the day, AG was just too obvious for me.

 

[true 3 blue]

And I'll never give Nas a pass for his lackadaisical ways. He's def dropped his share of basura albums. If anything though, I think Nas gets more criticized than Jay. He gets to rock the lime green suit in a video & nobody wilds the eff out like nas in the pink joint. He gets to drop mediocre albums & dudes defend it to the death, while Nas fans even I SH on Nas bad albums.
I'm rambling, but yo................... At the end of the day, AG was just too obvious for me.
I read this twice trying to make sure i understood you, don't you mean he gets criticized less?

 

[buggz05]

Originally Posted by abeautifulhaze

while rubbing shoulders with millionaires in a business conference.....while throwin back shots

Necessary regarding this album?