So Ambitious - Jay-Z ft Pharrell 1:55:00 PM

The newest track from Jay-Z and Pharell titled "So Ambitious" has just arrived. Worth a look check it out here...

So Ambitious - Jay-Z ft Pharrell

Add-2's Tale Of Two’s City v.3: The Rise & Fall (Mixtape) 1:09:00 PM

Meet Add-2. He is definitely on his way up to being a great rapper cause every song I hear him on he gets better. With smooth beats and his Lupe Fiasco-ish style this is definitely one hell of a mixtape to look for. Hit the link if your interested (I know I am, haha).

Add-2's Tale Of Two’s City v.3: The Rise & Fall├ Mediafire

Skyzoo - The Beutiful Decay and J.Period & K'NAAN - Belly Full (Bob Marley Tribute) 11:43:00 AM

Just two more hot songs from 'Duckdown Records'. First one (Beutiful Decay) has a nice scratch beat in the beginning and very strong vocals throughout the rest and the second one (Belly Full) has a Jamaican sorta beat which sounds a lot like a Bob Marley, I guess that's why its called a Bob Marley Tribute. Both are good songs so definitely check 'em out.

Beautiful Decay - Skyzoo | Belly Full (Bob Marley Tribute) feat. Kardinal Offishall, Steele & Baja (Dry Eye Crew) - J.Period & KNAAN

"Lets here it for New York, New York, New York" 2:54:00 AM

Personally, I think this is basically one of the best tracks on the album... not saying that I listened to the whole album but so far this is my favorite. I don't think I'll download the album leak and supposedly supposed to come sometime in the following weeks. Anyway's below is the link for the download... thank me later. UPDATE: Well apparently for some reason the links have all been shut down by Time Warner (finally), so I'll just post the YouTube video since I hate wasting this masterpiece of artwork I just made.

Survival Skills - Buckshot ft DJ Revolution 12:51:00 AM

I was just searching around for some hot new info for you guys when I came across this song. Its from http://www.duckdown.com/ a.k.a Duck Down Records which is Marco Polo's new record label. Give the site a look because they got some hot artists. Ill be looking around the site for a while more but I will most likely be posting some more links from these guys.

Survival Skills ft DJ Revolution (Produced By Illmind) - KRS-One & Buckshot

BK's Late Night Menu 9:31:00 PM

"Don't go to bed before the KING"

I just find this as one of the best commercials ever. That would freak me out so much if that happened to me. LOL. Thank me later.

Some Pretty Fly Gypsies 4:37:00 PM

First of all, Who is Fly Gypsy? But other then that I think he lays it down well. Kanye has some good parts and the background track is sick so definitely worth a listen. I also posted a link too the full mixtape if you wanted to download that as well. Thank me later.

Reasons - Fly Gypsy (FT. Kanye West) | The Vodka & Rum Mixtape

That New KiiD On the Block 3:37:00 PM

Hey im iiAtlas a.k.a Atlas Wegman i've know Niko J a.k.a Nile Adams since Kindergarden. We've always liked the type of music and style and basically everything else, so Niko invited me to become an author for the blog so shoutout too him. Hope you like my posts and now for my grand introduction...

AllHipHop's Blueprint 3 Review 11:46:00 AM

AllHipHop's interesting (and to be honest sort of expected) review of Jay-Z's higly anticipated 'Blueprint 3.'

Shawn Carter is a complicated man. Like many of us, he is composed of various and at times conflicting influences since his humble beginnings in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects. But unlike us, Jay-Z for the past decade-plus has been expected to carry the torch for the eclectic, global melting pot that is Hip-hop culture. He met the challenge at the dawn of this decade courtesy of the inaugural Blueprint, which laid a sonic design for producers, and lyrically solidified Jay as one of the great emcees of all time.

But as the first decade of the new millennium closes, Marcy’s beloved son finds himself at an artistic crossroads, prompted both by high-profile missteps (Kingdom Come, Blueprint 2) and successes (The Black Album, American Gangster). The recent criticisms have been heated from fellow artists (ie. Game) and fans alike, arguing the mogul is no longer worthy of being Hip-Hop’s vanguard. Has Jay-Z regressed from trendsetter to trend follower? With those naysayers as fuel, Jay-Z attempts to construct another outline for Hip-Hop’s future in Blueprint 3 (Def Jam).

Before Jay pontificates on the future, he plainly lays out past grievances over the pulsing synth arrangements of “What We Talkin’ About.” Targets are laid on past music (Dame, Jaz-O) and street (DeHaven, Calvin Klein) associates who are framed as individuals who stumbled from personal fiscal mistakes, or incorporating a handout/welfare mentality (“Grown men/Want me to sit them on my lap/But I don’t have a beard/And Santa Claus ain’t black”). To fans and artists, Jay references Hip-Hop’s success in Obama’s historic presidential run as an awakening to eliminate embarrassing Youtube videos and senseless violent feuds from the culture (“You can come with me to the White house/Get your suit up/You stuck on hardcore/I chuck the deuce up”).

On “Thank You,” Kanye West and No ID switch gears by providing Jay with a lush, orchestral sample of Brazilian artist Marcos Valle. With flamboyant horns in tow, Jay plays innocent straight man while deconstructing anonymous emcee rivals. Although no one is named, the Brooklynite frames them as fanatics with the zeal of suicide bomber, and in the end artistically destroy themselves (“I was gonna 9/11 them/But didn’t need the help/And they did a good job/Them boys are talented as hell!”).

Fans seeking the feel of the original Blueprint soul samples can experience that same vibe on “Empire State of Mind.” With a boisterous but fitting Alicia Keys chorus, Shawn Carter encapsulates his love for NYC and incorporates name drops of everyone from Afrika Bambaatta to Bob Marley. The chemistry then extends to Young Jeezy on “Real As It Gets.” Although the Inkredibles’ production is undeniably tailored to Jeezy, Jay has no issues making the track his own by complimenting his younger colleague’s refrain duties with his trademark wit.



Unfortunately, the LP’s second half is not as cohesive and in some cases stumbles badly. The issues stem not from Jay-Z himself, but some questionable production choices and guest appearances. “Off That” falls flat because of Timbo’s unimaginative production, and a complete waste of Drake who simply delivers a forgettable, by the numbers chorus. Things don’t improve much on “Venus vs. Mars.” Jay retains the listener’s interest with a couplet-centered flow filled with rich allusions of everything from “Ether” to Star Wars’ C-3PO, but Timbaland’s production and arrangements leave you feeling this was better served for a Roc Nation mixtape.

Kanye West, who up until now was delivering some of BP 3’s best work, slips on “Hate.” Previously, West had tailored his production to Jay strengths, but here the Chicago star supplies a track that could have been an 808s & Heartbreak’s throwaway, or even worse “Drunk and Hot Girls Part 2.” Jigga gives it his best shot, even alternating vocal pitches to match the rhythm’s dirge pace and distorted vocal sample. Still, nothing can save this offering.

It’s well known that Jay-Z has been very concerned with his place among the greats since the new millennium. But another “career-recap” with “Reminder” screams overkill on several levels. Not only has it already been done better on previous albums (see Black Album, Blueprint), but the annoying, Autotune leaning chorus ironically titters close to the same formulaic music Jay vowed to eliminate on “Death of Autotune.”

With that said, there are several bright spots over the second half. Kid Cudi is another young gun reduced to chorus duties, but his vocals accentuate Kanye’s melodic, violin-centered sample loop. Jay works seamlessly with the beat, skewering crying artists who ridiculous claim he’s holding them back, and even takes a light-hearted moment to address cracks on his appearances mostly seen on message boards (“Oh they call me a camel/But I mastered the drought/What the f**k I’m animal/Half man, half mammal/My sign is a Sag/This is just what I plan to do/Oh don’t be mad”).

The Neptunes come through on “So Ambitious,” supplying Jay-Z with a jazzy, bass-heavy track reminiscent of Outkast’s Organized Noise production. Long-time fans will recognize Jay utilizing a flow similiar to his classic “In My Lifetime” single. Pharrell’s crooning doesn’t interfere, and instead listing his achievements to prove his greatness, he details his life experiences which clearly paints the same picture but without pretentiousness.

“Forever Young” closes the LP on a positive note, recapturing the vibe heard on “Beach Chair” and displaying Jay reflecting on the universal qualities of music. With all the recent digs at his age, he intuitively knows the fountain of youth is not from infantizing his music, but by creating timeless compositions that will transcend generations.

Artists with the talent of Jay-Z will always suffer from unrealistic expectations. Solid and good albums are unacceptable. Unless a classic is delivered every time, some fans will scream failure. Of course, attaching the Blueprint name to this project can do that, but on this album Jay-Z does show growth, and more importantly ambition. It’s not jaw-dropping like the first Blueprint or as succinct as the Black Album, but it’s not all over the place like BP2 and takes more risks the “safe” lane that was American Gangster (Jay can spin street hustler tales in his sleep).

Does Jay-Z need to retire? Absolutely not, and it’s ridiculous to even suggest. Blueprint 3 shows he has more to offer as an artist, and those without unbridled hate will continue to attentively follow his already legendary musical journey.

FINAL RATING: 6.5 out of 10 stars.

To be honest I really was expecting this to be the rating cause half of the album has leaked and the music just didn't seem like his best effort. I feel that Jay-Z did play the safe zone for this album. Additionally, I am actually really mad that Timbaland's beats got panned this album, I feel that he is just gettin' lazy these days. Well what do ya'll think? Comment... thank me later.

Tim Kash interviews Jay 4:40:00 AM

“I met him the day before the plane crash,” Jay told MTV News on Monday, days after AM was found dead in his New York apartment. “We were doing the concert, and he told me that he had to go down to South Carolina to do a show with Travis, and then we’d go and do our show.

“The plane crash happened, and I’m thinking, ‘Let him recover. We’ll talk about that some other time,’ ” Jay continued. “He called, like, ‘Nah, man, I’m still ready to go.’ I was shocked by that at first. He came, he had a bandage on his head, and he was ready to go. He was someone that really loved what he did. That’s passion: to love what you do and still go forward.”

The two impressed the crowd throughout their performance together. At one point, Jay ventured behind the turntables while AM hammed it up for the crowd. “Make some noise for DJ AM,” Jay ordered the crowd.

The first video is Jay talking about 'Blueprint 3' tracks leaking (yikes!) and the other video is about him talking about DJ AM and him remembering him. Personally, I don't like the idea of the BP3 leaking like this... people are going to overplay it and the album is going to get old before it even comes out! But, whatever that's just my opinion.