SoundNexx

IS JAY-Z STILL GANGSTER ENOUGH?
The life of any successful rapper is challenging! Once the money and fame comes into play, it quickly becomes a personal battle of success vs. image. Fans are fickle and have been known to quickly turn from adoring fans to venom spitting vipers at the drop of one mediocre track. Some rappers get into the business for the love of the game, but most get involved for lucrative reasons. While many rappers have tried to be truly successful in the rap game, only a few have managed to actually do it. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is definitely one of the successful ones. He came from rapping with Jaz-O in Montgomery Ward fake Hawaiian button-up shirts to being a record label President sitting courtside at the NBA All-Star Game with Beyonce by his side. The dude has definitely come up for sure, and most of us have watched this kat blossom into the celebrity he is today. Musically, Jay has had some stumbles over the years, but most fans have made excuses for his mediocre efforts because he has provided so many great ones.

Personally, I thought the infamous Black Album was over hyped because it was supposed to be his last project before his retirement from the rap game. Don’t get me wrong though, the album was good, but it just didn’t carry the “classic” label like everyone was trying to give it. I understood why most fans felt that way though. It had a lot to do with that album supposedly being his last one ever. It’s kind of like eating the last cookie or taking the last bite of your favorite sandwich. It’s normally the best part of the whole experience. Also, they marketed the hell out of that project too, so nobody could talk about anything else during that time. Great business move for sure, but there was a lot of criticism about the album when it dropped. The negative criticism I heard about that album was that it was too mainstream, not enough street records, weak production, blah, blah, blah…

Then Jay decided to come back to the rap game once again, which we all knew was going to happen anyway. Again, the excitement of his comeback album outweighed the final product! Honestly, I didn’t hate the “Kingdom Come” album, but it’s currently not getting any spins in my CD player or iPod either. Most fans were left slightly disappointed, but the happiness of Jay-Z being back on the microphone once again made most fans forgiving. The truth is that mainstream hip-hop needed that type of buzz back then, and it still needs it now actually. The only spirited competition that Jay-Z has at this point in his career is Nas, and that’s not really that big of a deal. Jay’s biggest competition is his former self in my opinion. We want the rapper phenomenon from the old "Reasonable Doubt" and "The Blueprint" eras of his career to reappear. Where’s that guy who traded verses with Biggie on that classic “Brooklyn’s Finest” joint? The truth is that old version of Jay is no more. It’s a disappointing realization, but it's true.

So, now it's Fall of 2007 and Jay-Z has announced that he will be releasing another album this year based off the upcoming Denzel Washington movie called "American Gangster" that just happens to be the same name that Jay is using for the title of his project. Marketing wise, that's a brilliant idea! In a way Jay-Z is kind of marketing his album like an unofficial soundtrack to the movie. I already know that the movie is going to be very gangster, but the real question is Jay-Z's album going to be gangster enough? Will his album live up to the epic proportions of this soon to be classic movie? Jay-Z needs to resurrect some of his past musical relationships and pull out all of the stops to make the album this time around that the 'Black Album' and 'Kingdom Come' should have been times two! If he falls short again, I don't know if the hip-hop fans will be very forgiving about it this time around?

I wish Mr. Carter the best of luck, and I hope he can prove the doubters wrong by doing what most feel he can't do, which is make a true classic album. Well, for those that have missed it, here is the rumored first single called "Blue Magic" featuring Pharell from the new joint!! Listen for yourself, and hear what you think...