The Blueprint 3
| Jay Z
The Blueprint 3
The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation, through distribution from Atlantic Records. It is the third Blueprintalbum, preceded by The Blueprint (2001) and The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse(2002). Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at several recording studios and was handled by Kanye West, No I.D., The Neptunes, Jeff Bhasker, Al Shux, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, The Inkredibles, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland. This is the first Blueprint album in the Blueprinttrilogy, as well as the first Jay-Z album since Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) to not feature production from Just Blaze."-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Jay-Z's weakest solo album, you'll be tempted to wonder if Kingdom Come was somehow underrated.
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Consequence of Sound
The Blueprint 3 is the model for aging gracefully once stardom has been obtained.
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Rolling Stone
It’s a catchy, pop-friendly record
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NME
The Blueprint 3’ delivers because of hefty beats and quality rapsmanship.
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The Guardian
A continually shifting patchwork of roughly cut-up samples
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LA Times
"The Blueprint 3" aims to show everyone he still has wicked skills on the mike. It does
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Spin
album is no big whoop
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HipHop DX
Blueprint 3 may not stack up to the storied first entry in the series, but it’s certainly a worthwhile contributor.
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Slant Magazine
Blueprint 3 is actually, kind of, pretty much a banger.
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Tiny Mixtapes
Arguably the first time in his career, sounds tired and old; too tired and too old to create a new blueprint
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Plugged In
decadence, drugs, violence, sex and king-like bravado.
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Focus HipHop
This is a really mediocre album
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Sputnik Music
It just ain't working.
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AXS
Stronger than the first two installments.
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Prefix Magazine
only able to go back to his creative coke-rap well under the auspices of a concept album.
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The New York Times
"The Blueprint 3” mixes its boasts with manifestos about the state of hip-hop
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Pop Matters
For better or for worse, this is what Jay wanted us to hear right now. It's just a shame that it's not entirely worth hearing.
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Music OMH
Not as groundbreaking as the first Blueprint was, this is nonetheless a strong record, its A-list guests and production tempered nicely
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Contact Music
'Blueprint 3' is certainly one of Jay Z's best and worthy of the title.
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Paste Magazine
Flashes of inspiration are few, but needed
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Telegraph
Hugely entertaining, mainstream rap album
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Great White DJ
More grown and sexy, sort of adult contemporary Hip Hop.
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The Line of Best Fit
It's the sound of Jay at his Hall of Fame podium as he looks out over the assembled masses and reminds us how he wants to be remembered
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IGN
Great flow, slick production, and creative self-aggrandizement.
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Beat Boxing Mayhem
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
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Clash
Impressive feat of being accessible and experimental while ‘keeping it real’
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