Zack: I consider Blueprint to be Jay-Z’s third best album, and fourth if we’re counting Watch the Throne. Hova himself has it second without WTT. But yeah, sure, let’s make this the only Jay-Z album on the list. The Blueprint is an incredible and classic album, but I’d rather take the ungodly, Kanye-infused polish of the Black Album or the lyrical mastery of Reasonable Doubt any day. With that bit said, I’m going to talk about Renegade for way too long, because holy shit is that song incredible. Renegade was the first time I actually understood the concept of riding a beat. I heard Eminem say “rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics” over that “bum-badum-badum-tsk” beat and just went OH! Em so effectively used long O’s and sharp S’s to match the beat that it is basically a perfect example of rapping as a technique. Also, Renegade is responsible for me bonding with my old North Philly neighbors. I was stoop chillin’ with my old roommate when a neighbor walked down the street with a bodega bag. Renegade started playing and he turned to us and asked if we knew what song it was. I have listened to Renegade so many times that I can tell it’s about to play from the static in the air beforehand, so I responded immediately. He nodded and handed me a beer from his bag, asked for a shot of whiskey from the bottle I had, and then left. Every time I left the apartment after that, if he was outside he would stop me and give me a full rundown of wherever there had been a shooting or seemed to be heavier-than-normal police activity. Renegade may very well have prevented me from getting mugged on an occasion or two. Anyway, Renegade is a perfect song, although it is mostly an Eminem song (to paraphrase Nas, Eminem bodies Jay on his own shit) and so I’m happy Blueprint is on the list just so Emily gets to listen to it.
Favorite Tracks: Renegade; Renegade again [actually Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)]; Renegade a third time [actually Takeover]
Emily: At some point a few years ago, probably at a party or other get-together, Zack told a friend of mine from law school that he knew all of the words to Renegade. I don't know the context in which that came up (and Zack probably doesn't remember), but I assume it was relevant to . . . something. Anyway, any time I mentioned Zack to this friend for several months thereafter, he would say that Zack must be awesome because he knows all of the words to Renegade. Again, I don't know why this was so impressive to my friend, but I'm sure if I asked him about it today he'd say the exact same thing. I'm sure I've heard Renegade before today, but now that it's fresh in my mind I can see why knowing all the words is quite a skill to have, and one that would be most impressive in a karaoke room. And, after reading Zack's review, I can see why he knows all the words to Renegade. Since The Blueprint was new to me (aside from the few singles I already knew), however, I'll focus on the album holistically. I've never really been into Jay-Z, even as I started listening to more rap and hip hop over the last several years. We went to the On the Run tour with Jay and Beyoncé a few years back (but had to leave halfway through for our friend's TMJ emergency), but the rationale behind that was 95% for seeing Beyoncé and about 5% for hearing 99 Problems and maybe Big Pimpin'. I like Watch the Throne, but mostly for the Kanye parts. And one of my dad's favorite songs is Empire State of Mind, which both he and I really only like for the Alicia Keys parts. So overall, Jay-Z has been incidental at most to my enjoyment of a lot of other music (and something has gotten in the way of it), but today was the first time I had focused on Jay-Z alone, and I enjoyed much of this album. The Kanye-produced beats are particularly strong, and the lyrics are still raw and biting (probably because Jay was facing 2 criminal trials and several rap beefs at the time, whereas now he's the CEO of Tidal and has three kids). And, yes, the rapping on Renegade is super impressive.
Favorite Tracks: Takeover; Renegade; Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
