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The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse (2002)

Where the lyrics of The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse take you, and where it was really made.

The double album was split into a pop-rap disc and a hardcore disc, and Jay-Z later called it one of his worst albums.

Key places

Encore, Los Angeles (2002)

Recording site Encore Recording Studios — Encore is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Master Sound, Virginia (2002)

Recording site Master Sound — Master Sounds in Virginia is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sony Music Studios, New York (2002)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — Sony Music Studios in New York is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse: seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z
• Released November 12, 2002 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group
• Double album: The Gift (pop rap-oriented) and The Curse (hardcore hip-hop-focused)
• Primarily produced by Just Blaze and Kanye West, as with The Blueprint (2001)
• Guest appearances include Kanye West, Faith Evans, The Notorious B.I.G., Dr. Dre, Rakim, Beyoncé, Sean Paul, Lenny Kravitz, Beanie Sigel and Scarface

Background

• Recording sessions followed The Blueprint (2001), a critically acclaimed and commercially successful album
• Just Blaze and West had recently established themselves as major producers on the strength of The Blueprint
• Other producers include The Neptunes, Timbaland, No I.D., Darrell "Digga" Branch, Charlemagne, Big Chuck, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kendrick, Heavy D and Neff-U
• Unlike The Blueprint, which had almost no guest appearances, this album features many guests, including out-of-genre artists such as Lenny Kravitz and Sean Paul
• Pharrell provides vocals and hooks on many of his produced tracks, such as Excuse Me Miss and Nigga Please
• No strict concept; the first disc is mainstream and pop-oriented, the second is dark, emotional and street-focused
• The Curse includes a dark retelling of Meet the Parents, an escape-from-the-ghetto song Some How Some Way, and a diss of Nas and Jaz-O on Blueprint2

Recording

• Recording locations are listed in the source as Encore (Los Angeles), Master Sounds (Richmond, Virginia), Manhattan Center (New York), Boiler Room (Providence, Rhode Island) and Sony Music (New York)
• West's verse on The Bounce, produced by Timbaland, is uncredited on the album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Shawn Corey Carter, born December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York City.
• Raised in Marcy Houses in Bedford–Stuyvesant; mother Gloria Carter raised him and his three older siblings after his father left when he was 11.
• Dropped out of Trenton Central High School during his sophomore year.
• Adopted the stage name Jay-Z in homage to his mentor Jaz-O.

Career

• Began recording in the late 1980s, contributing verses to Jaz-O's records.
• Co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records; debut album Reasonable Doubt (1996) was critically acclaimed.
• Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) became his most commercially successful album, certified 6× Platinum in the US.
• The Blueprint (2001) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Led Def Jam Recordings as president and CEO from 2004 to 2007.
• Founded Roc Nation in 2008 and later 4:44 (2017) and Everything Is Love with Beyoncé (2018).
• Has 25 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Blueprint 2 received lukewarm reviews from music critics
• Critics praised Jay-Z's performances but found the album inconsistent and criticized its length
• Metacritic: generally favorable reviews, weighted average 64 out of 100 from 19 critic scores
• Nathan Rabin: the record led many to claim that Jay-Z lost his grip on rap music
• Nathan Rabin in The A.V. Club: overreaching but surprisingly solid, with a first disc of clever pop-rap jams and a darker, more erratic second disc
• Christian Hoard in Rolling Stone: another strong record from hip-hop's most dependable voice, with Jay-Z's flow more impressive than the production, long on bouncy funk and forgettable R&B samples
• John Bush in AllMusic: Jay-Z showcased some exceptional songs but could not carry the 110-minute double album as consistently as its predecessor
• Soren Baker in the Chicago Tribune: the reworking of other rappers' music was unimaginative and the rest lacked his usual enthusiasm
• David Browne in Entertainment Weekly: it reminds him of nearly every other double CD and could have been a good single disc
• Robert Christgau named U Don't Know (Remix) and Poppin' Tags as highlights and was disappointed by the Paul Anka sample on I Did It My Way
• Rollie Pemberton in Pitchfork: Jay-Z weaves through every imaginable style with unyielding expertise
• Billboard: the most ambitious and most fully realized album of his career
• Q: felt it surpassed his previous album
• Chris Ryan in Spin: Jay-Z was tightening the screws of his delivery and discovering a bruising poetry in his flow

Reappraisal

• In 2013 Jay-Z said he considers it one of his worst albums due to its overabundance of tracks

Records

• Debuted atop the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 545,000 units
• Received triple platinum certification from the RIAA
• Two singles peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100: '03 Bonnie & Clyde (feat. Beyoncé) and Excuse Me Miss
• Blueprint 2.1, a one-disc reissue, was released in 2003

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jay-Z said in 2013 that he considers it one of his worst albums because of its overabundance of tracks.
• The Bounce includes West's first appearance as a rapper on a Roc-A-Fella release, though he had earlier contributed an uncredited hook to The Blueprint's Never Change.
• The Bounce samples vocals from Audio Two's 1987 single Top Billin' and from Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun's 1993 song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai.
• Robert Christgau was disappointed that Jay-Z sampled Paul Anka for I Did It My Way when he could not get permission to use Frank Sinatra's recording of My Way.
• The 2003 reissue Blueprint 2.1 contains half the tracks of the original and adds two hidden tracks; La-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Again) also appears on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Bad Boys II.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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