Depending on who you asked, Jay-Z was in a make or break position circa 2007. After dropping The Black Album, one of the greatest albums of his career, and disappearing into a brief retirement, Jigga returned with Kingdom Come, a solid album that a lot of critics judged entirely too harshly. Some were saying that Jay-Z should have stuck to his guns on retirement, clearly he was rusty and running out of ideas. Then the Ridley Scott-directed film American Gangster dropped, and Hov was so inspired by the movie that he set out to make an entire album inspired by the film. American Gangster was born, and it seemed to spark a rejuvenation in Jay-Z, many critics hailing it as his best album since The Blueprint and even hearkening back to his classic debut, Reasonable Doubt. But was the album the modern day classic it was hyped to be?1. Intro (feat. Idris Elba and Angel Hood)
A dramatic spoken introduction, with Idris Elba and Angel Hood explaining what it means to be a gangster. Contains dialogue excerpts from the film spoken by Denzel Washington.
Skit rating: 3.5/5.0
2. Pray (feat. Beyoncé)
"Mindstate of a gangster from the '40s/meet the business mind of Motown's Berry Gordy/turn crack rock into a chain of 40-40's/sorry my jewelry's so gaudy," Jay spits in the opening bars of the album. These bold boasts summarize the mood of the album: Jay-Z is the modern prototype of the American gangster that made it big through illicit activity and then went straight and kicked his feet up. The hustler that made it out of the 'hood. The dark track goes on to tell a story of a man who paid his dues, dodged the law, and fought against the oppression into which he was born in order to build a better life. He's seen some things he wishes he hadn't seen, done some things he wishes he hadn't done, but it was all in the interest of bettering his circumstances. Beyoncé's prayers are dispersed between the verses, as she asks God for His forgiveness of the hustler.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 This dark instrumental and its paranoid strings suit the mood of the track excellently. Built around a sample from Hank Marvin's "New Earth." Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 Jay has always demonstrated wisdom beyond his years, and even though he is approaching ancient-by-rap-standards age, one must remember that to the world, he's still a fairly young man at this time, at only 36 years old, speaking with the experience of an old man. This track is an introspective journey through the life of the American gangster, and the album couldn't have been set up more perfectly.
3. American Dreamin'
This soulful track has a hook constructed with a sample of the angelic voice of Marvin Gaye, singing "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again," as Jay-Z spins a tale of a young man with big ambitions--he was supposed to go to college, had dreams of Harvard, a smart boy that wanted to make his mama proud--but when that didn't work out, he turned to the dope game. Jay weaves his way through an intricate description of a hustler's journey, from starting out green to working towards the dreams of wealth.
Instrumental rating: 3.5/5.0 The optimistic strings of the instrumental and the sweet singing of Marvin Gaye stand in contrast to the somewhat cautionary lyrics. Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV and Mario Winans.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 The lyrics speak from the disappointment of not being able to follow nobler dreams and turning to dealing to make ends meet, to the caution and danger of dealing, to the dreams of wealth and making it out of the streets. The American dream, indeed.
4. Hello Brooklyn 2.0 (feat. Lil' Wayne)
A tribute to Jay-Z's old stomping grounds, the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Lil' Wayne drops by to contribute a fairly unnecessary but not terrible verse and hook, although his vocal inflections will bother some listeners, especially those that are predisposed to disliking Wayne. The two MCs rap over a simple beat with a sample of the Beastie Boys' "B-Boy Bouillabaisse [Section 5, Hello Brooklyn]" ("hello Brooklyyyyyyyynnnnnn!").
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 A fairly simple drum-driven instrumental, but with a little less boom-bap than I prefer from this type of beat. Produced by Bigg D.
Lyrical rating: 3.0/5.0 Decent lyrics and a passable tribute to Brooklyn. As far as songs about New York go, Jay would outdo himself a few years later with "Empire State of Mind."
5. No Hook
"The most important thing in business is honesty. Integrity, hard work. Family. Never forgetting where we came from..." Denzel Washington speaks at the beginning of this track, before Jay launches into another introspective rap that touches on everything from growing up without a father and without guidance, to running the streets and disappointing moms, to reconciling with the father that left him only to lose him again to death, all in a brief three minutes with no hook. The track is again dark and personal, and the lyrics are among Jay's most complex and compelling, and you find yourself wishing it went on a little longer by the time it wraps up.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 The dark guitar chords and faint choral vocals in the instrumental, all taken from a sample of Barry White's "Love Serenade," provide the perfect backdrop for another of Jay's stories of struggle. Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 Hov has a way of bringing the listener into his world with his descriptive lyrics, and still leaving with something of a mystique, even after pouring his heart out on wax. No matter how much Jay tells us, we always leave with the feeling that there's more to tell, and wanting to hear the rest of the story.
6. Roc Boys (And the Winner Is...)
The mood switches up considerably with the first single, "Roc Boys," as Jay takes a moment to celebrate the success the hustle has brought him. "We the dope boys of the year, drinks is on the house," Jay jubilantly spits on the hook, over a rousing beat filled with soulful horns and saxes. As a song, it's excellent, although it met with only moderate success as a single. Interestingly, Roc-a-Fella in-house producer Kanye West's only contributions to this album are the "we in the house" vocals he provides to the chorus.
Instrumental rating: 5.0/5.0 I happen to love this instrumental. The horns that drive the track, sampled from the Menahan Street Band's "Make the Road By Walking," make for an excellent celebratory beat. Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 As Jay thanks the people that made his success possible, from the streets to his family and friends to the tools he used to get there, even the most sheltered suburbanites won't be able to help singing along to say "thanks to the duffel bag, the brown paper bag..."
7. Sweet
A little more mellow than the previous song, "Sweet" finds Jigga contemplating the ethics of his rise to the top here, saying that "if I grew up to be a doctor, my nephew would have grew up to do the same" and wondering whether the influence he has on his loved ones is a positive or negative thing.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 Sampling Rudy Love & the Love Family's "Does Your Mama Know," this bluesy beat adds another smooth backdrop for Hov's reflective lyrics. Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 Jay is again introspective on this track and his rhyme schemes are again of a more complex nature while the flow still sounds smooth and effortless.
8. I Know (feat. Pharrell)
A reunion with the Neptunes, the production duo behind some of Jay's biggest radio hits, this song marks the only track on the album not built around a sample. As much as I like the Neptunes' beats for the most part, their material post-2006 has been a little spotty for me, and this track is no different. The beat is vintage Neptunes in terms of being a smooth, radio-ready beat, but is nothing outstanding or groundbreaking by their standards. Pharrell lends his vocals to the hook while Jay spits his game on the verses, which are somewhat surprisingly lyrical; Jay tends to dumb down some of his lyrics on these type of tracks, but apparently on this album he was too on top of his game to slow down.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 An average, typical Neptunes work. Not too bad, not too great. Produced by the Neptunes.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 Jay's game starts off as smooth as ever. The story progresses into a story of a relationship gone bad, as he describes his negligence of his significant other until she eventually leaves him, leaving both of them fiending for the other.
9. Party Life
Over a soaring, bluesy beat and a vocal sample from Little Beaver's "Get Into the Party Life," Jigga continues putting his mack game down, and while the lyrics are less complex than in other places on the album, his swagger is on a million. This track is the definition of smooth and there's not much more I can say about it than that.
Instrumental rating: 5.0/5.0 This beat is so smooth, soulful and bluesy. Fantastic instrumental, one of the best on the album. Produced by Diddy, co-produced by Sean C & LV.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 Not the most complex lyrically, but as smooth and playa'ed out as vintage Big Daddy Kane.
10. Ignorant Shit (feat. Beanie Sigel)
This track, in a symbolic way, marked the end of the old Roc-a-Fella dynasty, as Beanie Sigel would be the last original Roc-a-Fella artist to appear on a Jay-Z album following the dissolution of Jay's partnership with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Jay and Beans both talk their "ignorant shit" on this record, and both of them make allusions to the absurdity of censorship, with Beans pointing out that "even if you mute it, the curse is there" and Hov demanding that "till we all without sin, let's quit the pulpit-ing." It wouldn't be long before Sigel would began throwing his own rocks at Jay's throne, and aside from a spot on Beans's album that would drop about a month after American Gangster, this was the end of their working relationship.
Instrumental rating: 4.5/5.0 Driven by a familiar, commonly used but still not getting old sample of the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets." Produced by Just Blaze.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 Jay and Beanie's "Ignorant Shit" is a far cry above the REAL ignorant shit being seen increasingly often elsewhere in music.
11. Say Hello
Over a surprisingly soulful instrumental from the usually synth-happy DJ Toomp, Jay talks some more crap but with a bit of a twist, as he points out again that he and his Brooklyn hustlers were never "thugs for the sake of being thugs," but rather "moving dimes 'cause we ain't doing fine."
Instrumental rating: 4.5/5.0 Tom Brock's "The Love We Share Is the Greatest of All" is the sample that provides this incredibly soulful beat. Produced by DJ Toomp.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 Another excellent lyrical effort from Jay-Z describing the difference between the types of thugs who are in it for the image, and the ones who are in it to better themselves and leave it all behind.
12. Success (feat. Nas)
The much-anticipated first time former rival Nas would appear on a Jay-Z album is a major success, no pun intended, as the two New York heavyweights vent about the changes that come with being on top; as Nas puts it, "worst enemies want to be my best friends/best friends want to be enemies, like that's what's in." Jay's opening bars are a paraphrase and interpolation of lyrics from Eminem's "I'm Back," which I find somewhat ironic, as Nas at one point used Jay and Em's collaboration "Renegade" as evidence of Jay's irrelevance when Em "murdered you on your own shit."
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 The organs that drive this beat are lifted from Larry Ellis & the Black Hammer's "Funky Thing (Part 1). Produced by No I.D., co-produced by Jermaine Dupri.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 Jay and Nas at the top of their game on one track is a beautiful thing to witness.
13. Fallin' (feat. Bilal)
Continuing the trend of the album's procession into the pitfalls of success, Jay points out the irony that selling drugs is almost as addictive as using them, as he becomes wrapped up in the money and power that comes with the trade. The things he buys become increasingly gaudy and unnecessary and in the process, he is putting a target on his back, both from jealous fellow hustlers and from the law, until ultimately he lands himself in jail and loses it all.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 Bilal's vocals blend with a vocal sample of the Dramatics' "Fell For You," and the paranoid strings and on the chorus contrast with the soulful piano on the verses to demonstrate the change of situations from positive to very negative. Produced by Jermaine Dupri, co-produced by No I.D.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 This cautionary tale about balling out of control hits home with there being so many rappers in jail because of either continuing illicit activity on the side of their fame, or gaining fame from their illicit activity.
14. Blue Magic (feat. Pharrell)
The second collaboration with Pharrell fares a little better than the first, although still fails to capture some of that old Jigga/Neptunes magic. Pharrell's beat sounds much more modern and electronic than anything else on this album, with some hard percussion and low synths, and his falsetto makes for one of the best hooks on the album.
Instrumental rating: 3.5/5.0 The beat stands out from most of the album with its more modern feel, and even the sample ("Hold On" by En Vogue) is newer than the rest.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 "Last of a dying breed, let the champagne pop/I partied for awhile, now I'm back to the block."
15. American Gangster
The triumphant title track is a lyrical exercise with no hook, over a Just Blaze instrumental that shifts and changes its rhythms, not unlike Kingdom Come's "Show Me What You Got." The track sums up basically the rest of the album and is something of a victory lap for the American gangster.
Instrumental rating: 5.0/5.0 Samples "Short Eyes" by Curtis Mayfield for a typically rousing and musically complex beat by Justin Smith himself. Produced by Just Blaze.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 Jay's celebratory close to the album is also a great display of Jay's lyrical ability.
Composite Ratings
Instrumental rating: 4.1/5.0
Lyrical rating: 4.1/5.0
Composite rating: 4.1/5.0
If this kind of album is the result of Jay-Z being truly inspired, then I hope he starts watching a lot more Ridley Scott films.
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