Executive Produce An Album Vol. CORRECTING THE MISTAKES OF THE ARTIST

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This is a thread that I've wanted to make for a while.

The premise of it is that you get to choose everything about an album. The tracks that are used, not used, and the order in which they go in.

If you like an artist and they release an album that falls short of expectations, or is lackluster, or the artist just doesn't show effort in the creation of the album you begin to think about the anatomy of the album. The songs the artist picked, the beats he took, how were the features, what energy was the artist looking for. When you do this, you begin to say how the album would have been better "If he used this song, or he didn't put this on here, or this song belongs at the end of the album rather than the beginning." A perfect example of this is All Eyez On Me by 2Pac.

I thought it would be fun to do that, and have some awesome music discussions.


There are a couple rules:
1. When you post an album, talk about the background of it from your perspective (where the artist was when they released the album career wise, etc.)
2. If you add songs it has to be around the time the album released (you can't just put stuff from Blueprint 3 on Blueprint 1). Any songs from mixtapes, unreleased tracks, loose singles, a song that was on a soundtrack around the time of the album release etc.
3. You have to use songs that actually exist. No dream songs, just what is out there.
4. Not everyone's perspective is going to be the same. So you can do your own of the same album.



First one I'm doing is The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse By Jay-Z (2002)

 

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The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse (2002)

2001 was a year of highs and lows for Jay-Z. The Blueprint was a classic album and it looked like Jay stood alone at the top of hip hop with no challengers. Then Nas drops Ether in response to Takeover, and sets in motion 2002, a year in which Jay-Z stumbled. Jay-Z’s 7th solo studio album looked to regain momentum for Jay by continuing on the Blueprint name, and stirring up a lot of hype. Jay-Z also stunned a lot of people by saying the album would be 2 discs, entitled The Gift & The Curse. Unfortunately, Jay-Z suffered the same problem that most artists have when they release a double album. The artist can scrounge up enough tracks through struggle to make a double album, but not enough material to avoid repetitive, useless, and boring tracks. Many of the commercial and fan reviews of the Blueprint 2 reflect that sentiment.
My stance is that inside Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, there is a classic, but there are far too many fillers on the album he released for the Blueprint 2 to be considered that.
I think Jay-Z had the correct idea with the gift and curse idea. At the time he was beginning to become the icon he is today, but he was also under serious fire due to Ether. A yin and yang idea, you can’t have the gift without successes (Blueprint), but it also comes with the curse (Ether, people questioning his ability, people beginning to challenge him). The problem with this idea was that it was poorly executed. No matter how great of an artist you are, you will not release a double album without a lot of fillers and uninspired music. Rather than a double album with 25 songs, it should have been 1 album 15 songs, but split into two sections (The Gift & The Curse).

So with no further ado, I bring the 15 track Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse.

Keep In Mind The Original Track List

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Disc 1: The Gift
1. A Dream feat. Faith Evans & Notorious B.I.G.
2. Hovi Baby
3. The Watcher 2 feat. Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts
4. ’03 Bonnie & Clyde feat. Beyonce
5. Excuse Me Miss feat. Pharrell
6. What They Gonna Do feat. Sean Paul
7. All Around the World feat. LaToiya Williams
8. Poppin’ Tags feat. Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista
9. **** All Night
10. The Bounce feat. Kanye West
11. I Did It My Way

Disc 2: The Curse
1. Diamond is Forever
2. Guns & Roses feat. Lenny Kravitz
3. U Don’t Know (Remix) feat. M.O.P.
4. Meet The Parents
5. Some How Some Way feat. Beanie Sigel & Scarface
6. Some People Hate
7. Blueprint 2
8. N Please feat. Young Chris
9. 2 Many ****
10. As One feat. Rell, Beanie Sigel, Young Gunz, Memphis Bleek, Peedi Crakk, Sparks
11. A Ballad for the Fallen Soldiers
12. Show You How
13. ******* & Sisters
14. What They Gonna Do II

The Gift:

1. A Dream (featuring Faith Evans & Notorious B.I.G. produced by Kanye West) 4:12
This song could easily be put on the Gift or the Curse section, but it works great at setting the tone for the entire album. You see the juxtapose position of success and struggle through his conversation with Biggie.
“I see I said, jealousy I said/ Got the whole industry mad at me I said /Then B.I. said, Hov remind yourself /Nobody built like you, you designed yourself /I agree I said, my one of a kind self / Get stoned every day like Jesus did/ What he said, I said, has been said before/ Just keep doin your thing he said, say no more”


2. Hovi Baby (produced by Just Blaze) 4:21

“I’m so far ahead of my time I’m about to start another life, look behind you I’m about to past you twice.” The entire second verse is

3. Excuse Me Miss (featuring Pharrell produced by The Neptunes) 4:41
The beat of Hovi Baby & Excuse Me Miss flow well together and Jay effortlessly kills the flow.

4. Bonnie & Clyde (featuring Beyonce produced by Kanye West) 3:25
A single that you won’t get away from. Never going to be his best single, but it was a necessary track to have, and continues the story from “Before I jump out the window.. What’s your name?” in to having his ride or die.

5. Show You How (produced by Just Blaze) 2:58
Moved from The Curse CD, to the Gift side. Begins to set up Jay teaching other rappers how to act, what to do. Shows his height of success as being a true veteran at the top of his game.

6. Poppin’ Tags (featuring Big Boi, Killer Mike & Twista produced by Kanye West) 6:00
I’ll Show You How, to what he is doing and the spoils of his success. Such a smooth track that 4 distinctly different styles just torch the beat)

7. The Bounce (featuring Kanye West produced by Timbaland) 4:18

8. The Watcher 2 (featuring Dr. Dre, Rakim & Truth Hurts produced by Dr. Dre) 5:57
This is the transition point from the Gift to the Curse. He has his success, but he has to be a certain level of paranoid due to what he has been through, seen, and the position he has that makes others challenge him.

“Know the **** I don't write be the illest **** that's ever been recited/In the game word to the hyphen in my name”

(Songs cut: What They Gonna Do, All Around The World, **** All Night & I Did It My Way… All tracks that symbolize what was wrong with Blueprint 2. Some listenable songs, but nothing that isn’t more than a filler.)

The Curse:

9. Diamond Is Forever (produced by Big Chuck) 3:55
The question whether or not Jay-Z could come back was asked a lot after Ether, Jay is letting you know the Diamond is Forever.

10. 8 Miles & Runnin’ (featuring Freeway produced by Eminem) 4:08
This track is off the 8 Mile Soundtrack. Fits perfectly into the idea of the Curse, and how people never gave him the shot, and now that he has succeed more than anyone else has the same people who wouldn’t help him, want him to help them.

“Back when nobody would found he had talent, nobody would sign me/ Nobody believed in me, nobody but mommy blindly/ But how can she deny me? Me being the youngest runt / To come up outta her tummy, she got nothin' but love for me / When ****** would want me, the industry shunned me /
That's why I'm takin' all the industry's money/ Revenge is sweet honey, we run this”

11. U Don’t Know Remix (featuring M.O.P. produced by Just Blaze) 4:27
Not sure it belongs in the Curse section, but it’s hard to put this song anywhere in the Gift section on the original or this version. Way too much energy.
“And it just get worser/ Every time I sign my signature in cursive/ Just add another million to these verses/One million, two million, three million, four/ And the money's really worthless/I'm pissing you off on purpose/My nephew's situated and my mom is straight/So I'm ready for whatever drama should come my way”

12. Early This Morning (produced by Guru) 2:30
Was an unreleased track on Blueprint 1, but is a good way to transition into the message of the next track.

13. Meet The Parents (produced Just Blaze) 4:58
One of Jay-Z’s best storytelling song. So much complexity and full circle to it.
“The old man didn't think he just followed his instinct, Six shots into his kid, out of the gun/****** be a father, you're killin' your son”

14. Some How Some Way (featuring Beanie Sigel & Scarface produced by Kanye West) 5:37
Perfect transition from the idea of falling into a life of crime because the environment you were born into, to a yearning to getting out and doing more/better for yourself and the people around you.

15. Blueprint 2 (produced by Charlemagne) 4:49
The title track, and the finale of the album. Pretty much a middle finger to everyone who doubted him and Nas.

(Songs Cut: Guns & Roses, Some People Hate, … Please, 2 Many ****, As One, A Ballad For The Fallen Soldiers, ***** & Sisters, What They Gonna Do)

Total Run Time 66 minutes 16 second.