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Tag Archives: Jay-Z
Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3”
By now, you’re probably used to blogs and websites (sometimes Plug One, more often sites bigger than this one) presenting track listings to major albums as “exclusives.” And in some cases they are “exclusives” — labels often issue choice morsels … Continue reading
Open letter from Jay-Z, et al
I usually don’t post things like this, but I am doing it so I can add that October 6 is the deadline to register to vote in New York, but not necessarily in the rest of the country. Many sites … Continue reading
Jay-Z leaves Def Jam, joins Live Nation
A New York Times story posted this evening (April 2) reports that Jay-Z is leaving Def Jam and joining forces with music industry behemoth Live Nation. According to the story, Jay-Z is on the verge of signing a $150 million … Continue reading
Jay-Z leads “Heart of the City” tour
Remember Kanye West’s “Big Brother,” where he recounted how he and “big brother” Jay-Z always try to top each other? Well, before Kanye kicks off his “Glow in the Dark” marathon in May, Jay-Z will launch his “Heart of the … Continue reading
“American Gangster” attracts Jay-Z
Every year since 1999, Jay-Z has teased his fans with rumors of a forthcoming album. It usually begins in the spring, as top-flight producers brag of heading into the studio with Jay Hova. It picks up steam in the summer, as fans openly begin to wonder: will Jay-Z "bless us" with another masterpiece? By the start of the fall, someone makes it official: Jay-Z is back. (This time around, the New York Times did the honors.) Then you know the rest: near-constant MTV updates, early leaks on the Internet, a number one debut on the Billboard charts, blah, blah, blah.
Why do fans continue to fall for this well-worn strategy? Well, it’s Jay-Z, one of the most popular artists of the past decade. And for American Gangster, his soundtrack to the upcoming Frank Lucas biopic of the same name, S. Carter is promising a return to the crack-rapper-made-good persona that we first fell in love with on Reasonable Doubt, not the sandals-wearing AARP candidate from Kingdom Come. Jay-Z’s American Gangster arrives via Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam on November 6. The first single, "Blue Magic," dropped last week.
However, since American Gangster is a period piece set in the early 70s with Hollywood superstars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, little to none of Jay-Z’s music will be used in the movie. So Island Def Jam has prepared a proper American Gangster original motion picture soundtrack. It features soundtrack music from 2008 comeback player of the year candidate Hank Shocklee, and vintage cuts from Sam & Dave, Bobby Womack and others.
The track listing for the Jay-Z album hasn’t been announced yet, but the compilation’s track listing is available below. (October 3 update: The songs for Jay-Z’s American Gangster was unveiled on Rollingstone.com earlier this morning, and are listed underneath the soundtrack.)
Fourth-quarter comebacks from Jay-Z, Nas
Three years after The Black Album and his "retirement" from the rap game, Jay-Z finally returns with his 9th album of original material, Kingdom Come. The disc is scheduled for release via Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam on November 21.
Last week the Def Jam president "leaked" what may become the most overanalyzed MP3 in history, "Show Me What You Got." An in-depth history of the song by Jay-Z and producer Just Blaze is available for perusal at XXL magazine, and a video will debut on MTV on Oct. 16.
Meanwhile, Nas is launching the hype machine for his new album. The title was tweaked from Hip-Hop is Dead? to Hip-Hop is Dead…the N, and its release date was pushed back from November 7 to December 19. The first street single is "Where Y’all At."