Jay-Z - American Gangster

After "Kingdom Come" was declared a failure for going only double platinum, it was clear that Jay-Z had to change his game, something he'd never really done before. Not that "Kingdom Come" sucked or anything, it just didn't have that jaw-drop "oh shit!" quality that should accompany every new Hova release. My guess is Jay sat back and decided to make an album that reflected him as an artist and a person rather than trying to chart fifteen hits. At this point he's untoppably rich and famous, and could afford to just do it the way he wanted to. So, "American Gangster." First of all, it's clearly inspired by the movie of the same name, one of the lamest films by one of my favorite directors, Ridley Scott. There are lyrical references to and samples from it throughout. Luckily it doesn't bash you over the head. But the album does follow a loose narrative structure, almost making it Jay-Z's first concept album, except there's other tracks thrown in at various points.The production is exactly what the mature Jay-Z should sound like. The Black Album wishes it could have been so consistent. All thick soul loops from the 70's that give that feeling of class that always graces the best Jay-Z tracks, and I would say that in places it is the best it's been in that respect since "Reasonable Doubt." Jay's lyrics are pretty much perfect throughout, flashy without being flashy, because this is his serious record. The only real misstep is the last verse of the otherwise banging "Ignorant Shit", with its Just-Blaze flipped "Between the Sheets" (and the obligatory Biggie references that implies). Check out this home run derby: "They're all actors, looking at themselves in the mirror backwards, can't even face themselves, don't fear no rappers, they're all weirdos, De Niros in practice, so don't believe everything your earlobe captures, it's mostly backwards, unless it happens to be as accurate as me and everything said in song you happen to see, then, actually believe half of what you see, none of what you hear, even if it's spat by me. And with that said, I will kill n****s dead, cut n****s short, give you wheels for legs, I'm a K-I, double L E-R, see y'all in hell, shoot n****s straight through the ER, whoah, this ain't BR, no, it's S.C., C.E.O., the next Lyor, no, the next leader of the whole free world." In the last verse Jay complains of people complaining of his lyrics and something to do with Don Imus and Paris Hilton and the like; really, Jay's so far above that he could have just ignored it altogether. Oh yeah, and "Hello Brooklyn 2.0," a remake of a criminally overlooked Beastie Boys gem and featuring Lil' Wayne, should have been the dopest shit ever recorded, but isn't. Oh well. These lyrics aren't quite as tight-knit and multi-layered as the rhyme labyrinths on "The Black Album," or "Reasonable Doubt" for that matter, but Jay definitely gets across the whole idea that he's just so relaxed and laid-back and on top of his game that he can spit bombs without even trying, and isn't that what a Jay-Z album is really all about? It didn't work on his last album, but it really works here (example: "Party Life," where he finishes verses by detachedly marveling at the wit of what just came out of his mouth). "Just the sound of his voice is a hit!"Witness the triumphant return of Jay-Z. An overlooked masterpiece.