Up next on Audio Proof we have what could be Jay-Z heir apparent, Mr. J. Cole himself. This is most likely a leak off his highly anticipated (by me anyway) album. This is one truly ridiculous gem. It’s that pure hiphop with a new voice. If mainstream is trending in this direction, I’ll be one happy person.

Take a listen, drop your thoughts in the comments.

Want more from hip-hop’s J. Cole? Download the newest FREE mixtape from DatPiff {J.Cole – Roc Nation}

And finally an awesomely cinematic single-shot video, a rarity for hiphop, definitely a MUST-SEE for any fan:

J. Cole – Who Dat (Directed by BBGUN) from bbgun on Vimeo.

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Now, I’ve never been a HUGE Rick Ross fan. Of course I’d bump Maybach Music now and then, but once Jay-Z hops on something, you need to listen. Jay certainly doesn’t disappoint and the addition of John Legend is just simply beautiful.

A simple, but effectively exciting beat lay a beautiful foundation from the start. This is a must-have for the iPod! Just one of those hype you up in the middle of the day tracks.

Not much else to say, just listen.

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Empire State Of Mind from Brock Mills on Vimeo.

You’ve got to check this one out! Definitely a great montage. A photographer set Jay-Z’s Empire State to photos he took throughout all of New York City. Definitely a great thing to see if you’re an NYC fan, lover, or just urban enthusiast.

Definitely worth checking out!

This guy Brock Mills who created it has some AMAZING photography too. You should definitely check him out and take a look at his prints, I think they are for sale.

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This is probably one of the most anticipated releases in hip-hop over the past 10 years aside from Dr. Dre’s Detox and Raekwon’s Only Built for Cuban Linx 2. With Jay’s always relevant nature and mass appeal, it may be more anticipated by the regular public. Either way, Jay-Z had a lot riding on this album in the eyes of real hiphop fans.

Jay prepped it very well with the release of D.O.A (Death of Autotune), but unfortunately, the Blueprint 3 as a whole couldn’t live up to they hype.

Jay-Z – The BluePrint 3 – Album Rating 7/10

Overall: Jay-Z and The Blueprint 3 comes close to living up to it’s billing as a return to classic Jay-Z. Unfortunately though, it just lacks the gusto in both production and content. Jay-Z is too complacent, there’s nothing left to prove. The Blueprint 1 was in the height of the Nas / Prodigy feud, and the Blueprint 2 was competing with other classic albums. The Blueprint 3 is too much like Kingdom Come on the beats.  There are a lot of REALLY GOOD tracks, but then some REALLY BAD ones. I think spending some more time would have been good, but it’s definitely worth picking up, the good songs make it as close to a classic you can get these days.

Highlights: Empire State of Mind, A Star Is Born, Young Forever, and of course DOA and Run This Town.

Lowlights: So Ambitious, On To the Next One, Hate

Track by track review.

1. The intro track, ‘What We Talkin About’ is good,  staying relevant while keeping some classic Jay appeal.
2. The boring, and disappointing ‘Thank You’ is almost like a waste of a track, reminds of me ‘Can I Kick It’ from reasonable doubt, which was the only skippable track…skip this one too’.
3. ‘D.O.A.’ – Classic, ’nuff said.
4. By now we’ve all heard ‘Run This Town‘. This could’ve been another classic track if not for Kanye’s nonsensical verse at the end. Still worth listening to as it fits it’s spot on the album. This is a great track to examine for production purposes which we’ll be doing in a future post.
5. Empire State of Mind – One of the best tracks on the album, especially if you’re a new yorker, ever have been, or want to be. Jay shows major NYC love, vivid pictures of the city from his words.
6. Jay gets some help from Young Jeezy on ‘Real As It Gets’. The problem here isn’t Young Jeezy, it’s the boring synth beat with the stock Fantom sounding drums. Just an all around boring track. Skip it.
7. ‘On To The Next One’ - Really Jay? Why? Swizz Beats? Dude has done the same song on every album for the past 10 years, and they’ve all sucked.  Definitely the worst track on the whole album.
8. Drake and Timbaland join Jay on ‘Off That’, and surprisingly, it almost works. Too “pop” for my tastes, but it’s well put together.
9. Now this is Jay! ‘A Star is Born’ has Jay giving tribute to hiphop history. Everything from Wu to Mobb Deep and Outkast get shouted out in this one. This is definitely Jay-Z at his best. Up there with the best on the album.
10. ‘Venus vs Mars’ is a very different track that doesn’t really fit in the rest of the album. Almost the standard “chick track” that Jay has been doing his whole career, not my cup of tea, but definitely not as bad as things like ‘On to the Next One’. I’d skip it.
11. The next one is a pretty good beat where Jay kills it, but for whatever reason they thought it would be a good idea to have the horrible voiced Kid Cudi attempt to sing on the hook, and repeat the hook a lot. If you can get past the hook, it’s okay, but that’s a lot of torture to go through. Jay is great on it, I see a remix in the future.
12. Kanye, Kanye, Kanye…save it for your albums. ‘Hate’ is one of those tracks that makes you wonder what the fuck Kanye is on and why Jay would agree to it. They both sound bad on this track. Maybe it’ll grow on me, but on first listen…SKIP.
13. One of the strangest tracks on the Blueprint 3 has got to be this one. ‘Reminder’ sounds more reminiscent of Moment of Clarity than anything else, just as boring, just as awkward. Some good lines, but a bad hook, and bad beat selection…I’ll be skipping.
14. Pharrell…please go back to wherever you’ve been hiding, the game has not missed you. This track just sucks, no matter what Jay-Z says can’t save it. Skip it…it’s called ‘So Ambitious’.
15. After a string of must skip songs, Jay-Z brings a little bit of comedy with ‘Young Forever’. The superhit by one hit wonder German group Alphaville provides the inspiration. Yeah, that same ‘Forever Young’ song. I couldn’t help but start laughing while first listening to this on the train. Jay pulls it off though, it’s kind of strange, but it works. Jay has that swagger that a lot of the album was missing. The guy always knows how to end a project.

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I mean what else can you say? It’s about time Jay flexed his muscles and proved his influence in the game.

It’s kind of strange that Kanye who is king autotune these days gets a co-production credit (last I heard) along with No ID. Plus in the song, Lil Wayne doesn’t really get ripped like he deserves to be.

Obviously you’ve got guys like T-Pain who that was his style coming in, but you can’t turn on the radio without every song being auto-tuned. But on the subject of this track…great beat, great message, just hope it works.

Is Jay-Z really leaving Def Jam? Anyone know if the rumors of Jay starting something new with Lyor Cohen are true? I guess so with the cameo and all.

Also, some more good news: Jay’s 11th solo effort, Blueprint 3 is slated for release on September 11th, 2009. I guess that’s some kind of message.

All I can ask for is a couple of Dj Premier tracks, at least some Clark Kent or Buckshot…something. After a few disappointing albums, Jay needs to get back to Blueprint form.

Blueprint 1 – Classic

Blueprint 2 – If it would have been one disc, it would have been a great album

Black Album – Good, but coulda been better

Kingdom Come – Okay

American Gangster – Not a big fan

Blueprint 3 – Classic? If DOA and Brooklyn Go Hard give us an idea of the way Jay is going, then I’m excited about it.

Maybe, just maybe, Jay-Z will be able to bring Hip Hop back.

Oh and is it just me, or does Jay-Z look like Pharoah Monch these days?

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Dj Premier is more than a legend to us hip-hop fans, producers, and artists. If there was a movie about the “Golden Age” of Hip-Hop, Primo would definitely be doing the score. His contributions to the game can be seen with every great artist of our time. From Jay-Z’s ‘D’Evils’ and ‘So Ghetto’ to the Illmatic classics, then the Gang Starr stuff, and the list goes on and on.

One thing though, is that some of Premiers best work slipped through the cracks. Whether it was because of an outshining “commercial” single, or a lack of promotion. While the beats may have definitely peaked at a point in the early 2000’s, Premier stays relevant today as evidenced in the list below as well as with the new Ludacris – MVP track.

Even some tracks with great artists just never really got the shine they deserved. Now we change that!

NOTE: To all the hardcore Primo fans (like myself) these tracks won’t be new to you, but there may be a few gems you completely forgot about.

1. Ras Kass – Goldyn Child

2. Jaz-O – The Love is Gone

3. Royce da 5′9″ – BOOM!

4. Brand Nubian – The Return

5. CNN – Invincible

6. Rakim – Waiting for the World to End

7. Fat Joe – That White

8. All City – The Actual

9. Sauce Money – Against The Grain

10. Group Home – The Legacy

11. Craig G – Ready, Set, Begin

12. Big L – Intro (The Big Picture)

Get a copy of Dj Premier – Slept On Classics Vol 1 for your iTunes

DOWNLOAD

Look out for part 2 coming soon! Any suggestions? Drop them in the comments!

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This time it’s no other than the GOAT himself, actually sounding pretty good. The beat is the real star here. Just when you thought Kanye completely lost his mind and went too far, he brings it back with some real hiphop. This is almost some Wu-Type stuff. Only thing better than this might be the Raekwon – Staten track, but the original has to get love first.

Jay-Z – Brooklyn We Go Hard (from the Notorious Soundtrack)

It’s really hard to count Kanye out when he can deliver like this…too bad this doesn’t get spin while they still play Love Lockdown six times a day on local radio…thank god for Pandora.

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