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'''''The Black Album''''' is the eighth studio album by American rapper [[Jay-Z]], released November 14, 2003, on [[Roc-A-Fella Records]]. It was promoted as his final studio album, which serves as a recurring theme,<ref name="Touré"/> although Jay-Z returned to solo recording with ''[[Kingdom Come (Jay-Z album)|Kingdom Come]]'' in 2006.
'''''The Black Album''''' is the eighth studio album by American rapper [[Jay-Z]], released November 14, 2003, on [[Roc-A-Fella Records]]. It was promoted as his final studio album, which serves as a recurring theme,<ref name="Touré"/> although Jay-Z returned to solo recording with ''[[Kingdom Come (Jay-Z album)|Kingdom Come]]'' in 2006.


The album debuted at number one on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]'' chart success, including [[Hot 100]] top-ten hits "[[Change Clothes]]" and "[[Dirt Off Your Shoulder]]". Upon its release, ''The Black Album'' received acclaim from most music critics. ''The Black Album'' was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Rap Album]] at the [[47th Grammy Awards]],<ref>[http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/v2/news/0205/11/grammynominees.html Grammy Award Nominees]. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.</ref> ultimately losing to [[Kanye West]]'s ''[[The College Dropout]]''.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/in_depth_showbiz/main673822.shtml Grammy Award Winners. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.]</ref>
The album debuted at number one on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]'' chart success, including [[Hot 100]] top-ten hits "[[Change Clothes]]" and "[[Dirt Off Your Shoulder]]". Upon its release, ''The Black Album'' received acclaim from most music critics. ''The Black Album'' was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Rap Album]] at the [[47th Grammy Awards]],<ref>[http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/v2/news/0205/11/grammynominees.html Grammy Award Nominees]. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.</ref> ultimately losing to [[Kanye West]]'s ''[[The College Dropout]]''.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/in_depth_showbiz/main673822.shtml Grammy Award Winners. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.]</ref> The album was ranked #349 in [[Rolling Stone's]] [[500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 greatest albums]].<ref>http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/jay-z-the-black-album-20120524</ref>


== Release and promotion ==
== Release and promotion ==

Revision as of 09:33, 1 September 2013

Untitled

The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released November 14, 2003, on Roc-A-Fella Records. It was promoted as his final studio album, which serves as a recurring theme,[1] although Jay-Z returned to solo recording with Kingdom Come in 2006.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including Hot 100 top-ten hits "Change Clothes" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". Upon its release, The Black Album received acclaim from most music critics. The Black Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards,[2] ultimately losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout.[3] The album was ranked #349 in Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums.[4]

Release and promotion

Jay-Z said the album would have a different producer for each track, and early magazine advertisements listed a series of numbers (representing tracks) and a producer for each number. Dr. Dre and DJ Premier were originally supposed to be among these producers however did not make the final cut.[5] The final album did feature a variety of producers, although Roc-A-Fella producers Kanye West and Just Blaze produced two tracks each, in addition to the two produced by frequent Jay-Z collaborators The Neptunes.

Remixes

An a cappella version of the album was released to provide material for remixes and mashups. Such albums included Kev Brown's, The Brown Album, and Kno vs. HOV by Kno of CunninLynguists. These were followed by Danger Mouse's The Grey Album.[6] The latter gained attention due to unauthorized use of samples of songs by The Beatles. Subsequent remixes have mashed-up the a capellas with Prince (The Purple Album) and Dr. Dre (The Black Chronic). Further mashups have been created using the music of alternative bands Pavement ("The Slack Album") and Weezer ("The Black and Blue Album").

The only officially released remix album is Collision Course, Jay-Z's collaboration with Linkin Park. It was produced by Mike Shinoda and included a DVD featuring the two acts performing together.

Lines from the album have been sampled by other artists into entirely new songs.

  • The chorus to T.I.'s "Bring Em Out" was based on a line from "What More Can I Say", which Jay-Z in turn got from Audio Two's "Top Billin'".
  • Joe Budden's "Stuntin'" based on a line from "What More Can I Say".
  • Cassidy's "I'm a Hustla" and Juvenile's "Way I Be Leanin'" were based on lines from "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".
  • Clipse's "Number One Supplier" was based on a line from "Public Service Announcement".
  • Clipse's "Where You Been" was based on a line from "Threat".
  • Beanie Sigel's "All the Above" uses a line from "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)".
  • The chorus to Freeway's "It's Over" was based on a line in "Encore".
  • RZA's "Straight Up the Block" chorus was based on a line in "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"
  • Jedi Mind Tricks' "Put 'em In The Grave" chorus samples "Threat."
  • Bobby Creekwater's "Hello World" samples "December 4."[7]
  • Vakill's "Farewell to the Game" samples "December 4."
  • Tyler, The Creator of OFWGKTA based his song "Jack and the Beanstalk" from his debut album Bastard around a sample from "What More Can I Say".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Robert ChristgauA[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork Media8.0/10[13]
PopMattersfavorable[14]
Rolling Stone[1]
Vibe[15]
The Village Voicefavorable[16]

The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week.[17] The Black Album has sold 3,516,000 original copies in the United States as of July 2013.[18]

The Black Album received acclaim from contemporary music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 84 out 100 at Metacritic.[19] According to The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), The Black Album is "old-school and utterly modern", as it showed Jay-Z "at the top of his game, able to reinvent himself as a rap classicist at the right time, as if to cement his place in hip-hop's legacy for generations to come".[20] Steve 'Flash' Juon at Rap Reviews.com gave the album a nine out of 10 rating and stated, "Whether this release will settle the debate about his rank in hip-hop or just fuel the discussion further is ultimately not as important as whether or not this is a good album. It's not a good album – it's a GREAT album." [21] Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album four out of four stars and stated, "He enlisted beats from an all-star cast of producers, who come through with top-shelf work. But it's Jigga's trademark lyrical dexterity and diversified deliveries that put him on a level all his own."[22]

In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention ((3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)),[23] indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."[24] He cited "99 Problems" and "My 1st Song" as highlights and quipped, "Raps like a legend in his own time—namely, Elvis in Vegas".[23] In a retrospective review, Robert Christgau gave the album an A rating in his consumer guide for MSN Music.[9] Christgau noted varied producers on each track, writing that "each one sounds different, each one means different, and each one kills", and wrote of its legacy:

History has vindicated this album. On a meticulously hyped valedictory no one believed would be his actual farewell, the fanfares, ovations, maternal reminiscences, and vamp-till-ready shout-outs were overblown at best. But on an album where the biggest rapper of all time announces that he's the biggest rapper of all time, they're prophetic. Bitch about Kingdom Come and American Gangster if you must, but not The Blueprint 3 or Watch the Throne, and not his label presidency, amassed fortune, or close personal relationship with Warren Buffett. He's got a right to celebrate his autobiography in rhyme because he's on track to become a personage who dwarfs any mere rapper, and not only can he hire the best help dark green can buy, he can make it sing.[9]

Pitchfork Media ranked The Black Album at number 90 on its list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s,[25] and Slant Magazine ranked it number 7 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 2000s.[26] According to Billboard, the album is Jay-Z's top selling album of the 2000s and the 136th highest selling album of the decade in the United States.[27] In 2012 Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade.[5]

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Samples Length
1 "Interlude" Just Blaze 1:22
2 "December 4th"[28] Just Blaze 4:32
3 "What More Can I Say" The Buchanans 4:55
4 "Encore" Kanye West 4:11
5 "Change Clothes" (featuring Pharrell Williams) The Neptunes 4:18
6 "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" Timbaland 4:05
7 "Threat" 9th Wonder 4:05
8 "Moment of Clarity" Eminem, Luis Resto (co) 4:24
9 "99 Problems" Rick Rubin 3:55
10 "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" Just Blaze
  • "Seed of Love" by Little Boy Blues
  • "No One Can Do It Better" by The D.O.C.
 2:53
11 "Justify My Thug" DJ Quik 4:05
12 "Lucifer" Kanye West 3:12
13 "Allure" The Neptunes 4:52
14 "My 1st Song" Aqua, Joe "3H" Weinberger 4:45

Chart history

Chart positions

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album (First Run)
November 23, 2003 – November 29, 2003 		Succeeded by
In the Zone by Britney Spears
Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album (Second Run)
December 7, 2003 – December 13, 2003 		Succeeded by

Personnel

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Touré. Review: The Black Album. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  2. ^ Grammy Award Nominees. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.
  3. ^ Grammy Award Winners. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.
  4. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/jay-z-the-black-album-20120524
  5. ^ a b "Jay-Z, The Black Album (2003) — 25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status". Retrieved December 8, 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "Complex" ignored (help)
  6. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484608/remixers-create-new-shades-jays-black.jhtml
  7. ^ Bobby Creekwater – "Hello World"
  8. ^ Bush, John. Review: The Black Album. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  9. ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (September 9, 2011). "Jay-Z". MSN Music. Microsoft. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  10. ^ Drumming, Neil. Review: The Black Album. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  11. ^ Baker, Soren. Review: The Black Album. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  12. ^ Columnist. "Review: The Black Album". NME: November 22, 2003. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
  13. ^ Staff. Review: The Black Album. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  14. ^ Goldstein, Hartley. Review: The Black Album. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  15. ^ Editors, The. "Review: The Black Album". Vibe: 120. January 2004.
  16. ^ Berry, Elizabeth Mendez. Review: The Black Album. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  17. ^ "Back In 'Black': Jay-Z Swan Song Bows On Top". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  18. ^ Paine, Jake. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/7/2013". HipHop DX. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  19. ^ The Black Album (2003): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  20. ^ Hoard, Christian. "Review: The Black Album". Rolling Stone: 424–425. November 2, 2004.
  21. ^ "The Black Album" (2003): Jay-Z: Reviews. RapReviews.com. Retrieved on December 16, 2010.
  22. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: The Black Album. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-10-02.
  23. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (January 13, 2004). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York: Village Voice Media. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  24. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  25. ^ Pitchfork staff (September 30, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100–51". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  26. ^ Slant staff (February 1, 2010). "The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s: 10–1". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
  27. ^ Decade-end Charts. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-29.
  28. ^ "Jay-Z 'Decoded'", Fresh Air interview transcript, November 16, 2010. Song title is Jay-Z's birthday; his mother speaks on the track about his birth; recorded on her birthday, September 17. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  29. ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/2006-12-09/rap-albums
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