Jay-Z
Blueprint 3
Adam Hutcheson

“Jay Z would be nothing without Linkin Park” my mate flippantly concluded. After I managed to choke down my vomit and he regained consciousness I started to think about the origins of his statement. I suppose me and him represent the two contrasting sides of Jay Z’s following. At Glastonbury he really answered (recently retired) doubters, and from then the challenge was set. The millions of new fans watching started wanting an actual album from this man. They felt like they would start buying CD’s again if he could stop buying everything and selling everything for a few weeks to record an album. For such people who didn’t really know much about him before it was a test to see if he could live up to his much publicized ‘King’ status. For me and the more familiar fans it was a test to see if he could live up to their expectations too. I was already sold on internet leaked tracks such as Jockin’ Jay Z and out of loyalty built on 10 number one albums so far.

In reality as an album it’s slow to have an impact. Very easily skippable singles, some weird sounding production later on, and a lot of guest appearances. By three or four listening days in the weird production begins to fit; you find lyrical gems at the bottom of the murky water. You find he’s still hungry, challenging and has a lot to prove. Like almost every Neptunes track ever So Ambitious sounds ridiculous at first but then it starts to thicken out and you remember why they’ve been collaborating since Blueprint.

A big theme on the album is based on this, reminding. You remember that Kanye West is a dazzling producer (and not just a ‘Jackass’ who interrupts someone no-one even knew was talking) with his complex rhythms and ‘cheese strings’ that suit Jay’s flow so well. The Swizz Beats track On to The Next One is an absolute monster- I can’t wait to hear it in a club and throw my drink on the floor; reminding us that he’s not too old to make club tracks. Look out for new talent in Drake and J. Cole who get the Fabio Capello ‘nod’ reminding us that he’s still connected to modern hip hop. I can’t not mention Mr Hudson; probably the most annoying ‘Englishman’ since Elijah Wood a sad reminder that he still wants to make money at the cost of some credibility.

The most important thing that will separate the two types of Jay Z fan (pre and post Glastonbury) will be the understanding that the Blueprint 3 is meant as a follow on from Blueprint 1 and 2. Following a similar formula, catchy singles “that keep the registers jingling” mixed with, in my opinion, very risky album tracks. Saying that; it’s important to note that Blueprint 1 was ‘written’ in less than a week. Blueprint 3 feels a lot more crafted, the risks much more calculated, indicating to me that Jay was a lot more careful about this, and indicating he felt that post Glastonbury pressure. The fact he’s overtaken Elvis to have the most number one solo albums of all time is an indication that he’s seen this through. Given Jay’s ‘jump ship’ attitude to Rocafella, Rocawear and Def Jam it’s relieving to find he’s not leaving the music industry crumbling behind him.

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Ani Carpenter

First of all the album has fab artwork. The front design is of a sort of woman made from boobs and faces and legs and flowers, a collage of shapes and colours. I actually hadn’t heard of Little Dragon until a few weeks ago when I saw the video for ‘Twice’, which reminded me of the video for ‘Bedshaped’ by Keane and I quite liked them. Made up of Swedish vocalist Yukimi Nagano and some close friends from high school, they are how you would expect a modern group from that hemisphere to sound, kind of Sigur Ros; dreamy and atmospheric. Although I wouldn’t say they’re atmospheric in the Sigur Ros extent, they definitely have that dreamy, hallucinogenic depth, especially on tracks like ‘Feather’ and ‘A New’, which I thought made a good album intro. However, they replace the heaviness with electro vibes and synths a-plenty. It’s cool and very 80’s sounding. One of the best things, I think, is Nagano’s voice. She’s a bit Gwen Stefani-esque and it really compliments the synths and electronic vibe to the album. Read on >>>>>

 
‘My Step’ is another great track and it sounds like something you would find on ‘GTA: Vice City’, and everyone loves that so this must be cool? J Some said on YouTube that ‘Blinking Pigs’ made them want to run. Now, I’ve listened to it and, I can see where they’re coming from. It’s nothing like Godskitchen or Pendulum (old stuff!) or, I dunno, whatever it is that I work out to but it does have a strong beat and a nice melody to which one could dance. Worth listening to. My opinion of ‘Little Dragon’ is that, I like them. They’re a quirky, original-ish band from Sweden, always a plus, with some good chillout songs. And I like to chillout. There are also tracks that you may wanna put on at a disco for an 80’s feel, and I do like the 80’s. It’s not the stuff I’d rave about but I would give them a thumbs up and anyone who likes dreamy, synth-y songs with a retro vibe, it’d be right up your street. It’s quite clever really, in how they’ve produced their electro-pop, synthetic sound. Nagano said she wanted to convey man’s reliance on machines in their sound by making music with computers and effects. Quite poetic, if you think about it. It’s deep. Also ‘Twice’, that I mentioned earlier, seems quite big. It was apparently on ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ and there are remixes and stuff of it. YouTube it.

Written by Ani Carpenter

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