The Blueprint˛: The Gift & the Curse

Disc 1
1	A Dream 4:12
2	Hovi Baby 4:21
3	The Watcher 2 / Truth Hurts 5:57
4	'03 Bonnie & Clyde / Beyoncé 3:25
5	Excuse Me Miss 4:41
6	What They Gonna Do / Sean Paul 4:53
7	All Around the World / LaToiya Williams 3:52
8	Poppin' Tags / Killer Mike 6:00
9	F**k All Nite 4:19
10	The Bounce 4:18
11	I Did It My Way 3:42
Disc 2
1	Diamond Is Forever 3:55
2	Guns & Roses 4:25
3	U Don't Know Remix 4:27
4	Meet the Parents 4:58
5	Some How Some Way / Beanie Sigel 5:37
6	Some People Hate 4:31
7	Blueprint˛ 4:49
8	N****a Please / Young Chris 4:37
9	2 Many Hoes 3:34
10	As One / Freeway 3:48
11	A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier 4:41
12	Show You How Bonus Track 2:58
13	B*****s & Sisters Bonus Track 2:38
14	What They Gonna Do, Pt. 2 Bonus Track 3:46

Barnes & Noble

It was only a matter of time before Jay-Z dropped a double disc. Fortunately for his fans, like a fine wine, the Brooklyn rapper seems to get better with time. Although it makes a few missteps, the sequel to 2001's critically hailed The Blueprint features some of the hottest joints of the Jigga Man's career. The album's first and overall weaker disc, subtitled The Gift, comes off a little like hip-hop karaoke, as Hova gratuitously cops material from 2Pac (" '03 Bonnie & Clyde," featuring Beyoncé Knowles), Dr. Dre ("The Watcher 2," featuring Rakim, Truth Hurts, and the Doc himself), Digital Underground ("All Around the World"), and the Notorious B.I.G. ("A Dream," featuring Big's widow, Faith Evans). But it isn't totally a derivative dud. "The Bounce" is yet another grade-A, Timbaland-Hova collaboration, and Jay perfects his Dirty South flow alongside Big Boi from OutKast and other members of the Dungeon Family clique on "Poppin' Tags." It's on Disc 2, The Curse, however, that Jay picks up steam. He indulges his rock jones on the Heavy D–produced "Guns & Roses," featuring Lenny Kravitz singing and playing on the guitar hook, and tries to score heaven points by admitting to random acts of charity for Columbine and 9/11 on "Some People Hate." The Curse ends with the live-sounding, Neptunes-produced "A Ballad for a Fallen Soldier," where Jay waxes poetic about the parallels between the lives of a soldier and a hustler. Although it would have been a better single disc, The Blueprint 2 solidifies the foundation of Jay-Z's now-sprawling hip-hop empire. Ron Hart

All Music Guide

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." John Bush

Rolling Stone

On Vol. 2 Jay-Hova ups the ante, producing something of a hip-hop "White Album": two discs worth of party anthems and serious songwriting, with a small army of guest rhymers and producers in tow. Christian Hoard