George Bush-ing The Button: Jay-Z's New Album
The other shoe dropped, just one day after Kanye West was allowed to be the most famous rapper in America with a still sort of staggering 957,000 albums sold in one week, when Jay-Z announced he'd be releasing his companion album "inspired by" the forthcoming Denzel Washington film American Gangster this fall. It's been just hours since the announcement and "cash-in" and "sell-out" and "4th quarter Hail Mary" are already floating around the web, critical catcalls at the ready in the wake of the fairly horrendous Kingdom Come, which Jay had the gall to call too "sophisticated" for some listeners in the piece. Thanks, man! Good lookin' on respecting your audience! Maybe next time we don't pander to the Monday Night Football crowd, k?
That said, from where I sit, just six weeks away from the proposed November 6 release date set to line up with the film's release, this feels like the inverse of Kingdom Come. It seems like even less people will buy this album, with less exposure and less hype. And by all accounts, by which I mean Jay's and Brian Fucking Grazer's (So glad Grazer gets to hear Jay's album before some people who knew who Jay was 5 years ago), this is an art record, fueled by Jay's understandable connection to the story of noted '70s drug kingpin Frank Lucas -- and may become a motivating factor in Jay's decision to come back to music full-time. If Jay does make an album that becomes acclaimed and beloved by fans, it's not likely it's going to be a mega-hit. Hard Knock Life is historically one of the the biggest winners in the sales category for Jay, but it's hardly as beloved as Reasonable Doubt.
Just a sidenote: Jay tells Billboard with regard to the Kanye/50 battle (which only happened 8 days ago, but feels like an eon):
"Artistry wins. If you're going to emulate something, then emulate art. Because you can emulate a record or a trend, but that doesn't win at the end of the day."
Like I said: Art.
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Comments
1.
A JIGGLE FAN says:
I can't wait JIGGLE KEEP BRINGING THE NOISE
09/25/2007 at 3:08 PM
2.
dana says:
"inspired" is the new "copied from"!! lol how UN ORIGINAL!! i just wish dude would SIT DOWN! is anybody still excited about a jay*z release? he should have stopped at the blue print, thats where he peeked perfessionally and lyrically. the more he raps now-a-days the more he is tarnishing his rep. IMO
09/24/2007 at 5:41 AM