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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
AllMusic

Besides rhymes that challenge those on Reasonable Doubt as the most crafted of Jay-Z's career to date in terms of not only lyrics but also flow and delivery, The Blueprint also boasts some of his most extravagant beats.

100
HipHopDX
With his well-established flow, comedic verses and “rewind-me” lines, Jay Z has hit the streets with an album that shows why he is the number one contender for the crown of New York.
100
Uncut
Almost every tune sounds like a hit.
87
Pitchfork
What holds it together is Jigga's overwhelming self-assuredness-- the kind of justified confidence you can imagine witnessing from a world conqueror or cult leader.
80
NME
Jay-Z is the don of the one-liner, the couplet, the verse and the chorus too.
80
NOW Magazine

A brush with prison life last year ... hasn't put the New York MC on the straight and narrow. If anything, Jay sounds even closer to the streets on his hard-hitting new album.

70
Rolling Stone

Though he's a sharp, detailed writer, a meticulous craftsman and an influential stylist ... Jay-Z is not extremely expressive or innovative, and The Blueprint threatens at times to slide into monotony.

67
Entertainment Weekly
Jay spits his outlaw boasts and pimp-slap toasts with the same coolly obstreperous flow that’s always gilded his thug-life clichés. But lyrically and musically, ”Blueprint” is mostly bear-market.
60
Slant Magazine

Less is often more, and with tracks like “Never Change,” Jay-Z fails to make the samples his own. They are the “blueprints” on which the rapper lays his rhymes and, in essence, takes all the credit.

GratedStraws
100

Jay Z did 9/11

Tielur
94

Imagine bumping one of the greatest hip hop records of all time on your Sony Walkman in the morning on the train to work from Brooklyn and you see a fucking plane hit the World Trade Center. Shit crazy bro.

BradTasteMusic
99

This is literally the best thing to ever exist

DJTheGamer5000
94

Goddamn I forgot how good this album was

Deerob3
93

The Blueprint was the 6th studio album by Jay-Z, released in 2001.

At one point, The Blueprint was on of my favourite hip-hop albums of all-time. It is not my favourite anymore, but it is still amazing. There are lots of strong moments on this album, having almost no skips. Kanye's production on this is also amazing. A lot of the songs on The Blueprint sounds like Kanye songs, which isn't surprising as Kanye did sample some songs for The Blueprint. Overall, The Blueprint is a great hip-hop ... read more

clippers
92

jay z creates a classic album on 9/11.
fav track: renegade/heart of the city

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Track List

1The Ruler's Back
3:48
90
2Takeover
5:13
92
3Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
4:00
93
4Girls, Girls, Girls
4:35
86
5Jigga That Nigga
3:24
80
6U Don't Know
3:19
91
7Hola' Hovito
4:33
87
8Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)
3:43
97
9Never Change
3:57
93
10Song Cry
5:02
95
11All I Need
4:25
87
12Renegade
5:37
feat. Eminem
93
13Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)
3:40
89
14Lyrical Exercise
3:46
Hidden Track
88
15Girls, Girls, Girls, Pt. II
4:14
Hidden Track
84
Total Length: 1 hour, 3 minutes

Year End Lists

#4/NME
#5/Paste
#7/SPIN

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