The Blueprint˛: The Gift & the Curse CLEAN VERSION Jay-Z

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CD

  • Release Date: 11/12/2002
  • 2 Disc Set
  • Sales Rank: 32,257
  • Label: ROC-A-FELLA
  • UPC: 044006338026

Listener Rating: (1 ratings)

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  • Overview
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  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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The Blueprint˛: The Gift & the Curse

Disc 1
1LISTENA Dream / Faith Evans 4:12
2LISTENHovi Baby 4:20
3LISTENThe Watcher 2 / Rakim 5:57
4LISTEN'03 Bonnie & Clyde / Beyoncé 3:25
5LISTENExcuse Me Miss 4:41
6LISTENWhat They Gonna Do / Sean Paul 4:54
7LISTENAll Around the World / LaToiya Williams 3:52
8LISTENPoppin' Tags / Big Boi 6:00
9LISTENF**k All Nite 4:19
10LISTENThe Bounce 4:18
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Disc 2
1LISTENDiamond Is Forever 3:55
2LISTENGuns & Roses 4:25
3LISTENU Don't Know / M.O.P. Remix 4:27
4LISTENMeet the Parents 4:58
5LISTENSome How Some Way / Beanie Sigel 5:37
6LISTENSome People Hate 4:31
7LISTENBlueprint˛ 4:49
8LISTENN****a Please / Young Chris 4:38
9LISTEN2 Many Hoes 3:34
10LISTENAs One / Peedi Crakk 3:48
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About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

Jay-Z kept The Blueprint incredibly tight, focusing on a single sound and letting nothing interfere with some of the best raps of his career. The Blueprint˛: The Gift & the Curse is a radically different record, with the most respected rapper in the business trying on a range of styles, collaborating with a lot of guests (from Rakim to Lenny Kravitz to Scarface to Beyoncé Knowles), and working with an army of producers (Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Heavy D, Kanye West). No one else in hip-hop possesses enough power of personality to carry a 110-minute double album, and if Jay-Z can't quite manage it either, he certainly delivers some solid material in the process. The discs are split into "The Gift" and "The Curse," though there's no concept in view, just a loose collection of tracks ranging from unapologetically sexed-up party joints to theatrical epics and even taking in a Dirty South feature for Outkast's Big Boi. It's clear Jay-Z's in control even here, and though his raps can't compete with the concentrated burst on The Blueprint, there's at least as many great tracks on tap, if only listeners have enough time to find them. Good choices for highlights include the Neptunes' bounce track "Excuse Me Miss," the horn-driven blast of "The Watcher 2" produced by Dr. Dre (featuring Truth Hurts), and "I Did It My Way," which balances the trad-pop singalong of "Hard Knock Life" with the digital drumrolls of "The Takeover." [The album is also available in this clean version.] John Bush, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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  • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

Blueprint: The Gift & the Curseby Anonymous

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January 31, 2003: As one of Jay-Z's biggest fans I was disappointed with The Blueprint2: The Gift and the Curse. My main problem with the CD isn't the quantity of songs it's the quality. This could have easily been one of the best albums of the year had it been condensed to one disc. If "All around the World" had been eliminated from disc one it would have had a nicer flow to it. But after hitting that bump it sorta kills the rhythm that the first disc had going. Disc two could have been more focused on lyrics and harder beats. My next complaint is that a majority of these songs are rereleases of previously heard tracks. The first track lifts an entire verse from the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy". It wasn't really even necessary, as Jay could have easily created a flow about similarities between him and Big. This is followed by "'03 Bonnie and Clyde" completely lifting Tupac's "If You Were My Girlfriend". Then we get a rehash of "U Don't Know", which is great with M.O.P. but it lacks originality. This is immediatly followed by "Meet the Parents" in which Jay tries his hand at storytelling, (Nas does it better)but uses the exact same beat he used on "Lyrical Exercise"(Breathe Easy) from the Blueprint. "2 Many Hoes" is good but it was also good when Mase released it and it was a Neptunes produced track. And lastly the horrible "As One" which P. Diddy already sampled the beat from Earth, Wind and Fire, is redone on this disc and sadly, Puffy did it better with Bizzy Bone. The bright spots on the album comes when Jay-Z gets creative without the help of any of his guests. And that's about 75% of the album so it's a pretty decent album. I'll it give 3 Stars but it's lacking compared to the Blueprint.