Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick marks the 20th anniversary of Jay-Z’s early-2000s triumph, proof that Mr. Carter still had “it.”
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: November 14, 2003
Vibe: 🔥🔥🔥
Lest we forget, The Black Album was supposed to be Jay-Z’s swan song. Dropping almost exactly a year after his clunky sequel The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, the formula plays as deceptively simple in retrospect—get as much big-name producing talent as you can in the studio with you, lay your signature braggadocio on thick over beat after soul-inspired beat, and call it a day … or a career. Of course, Jigga’s rap legacy has endured for another two decades, which, in turn, rewrote some of this chapter along the way. No longer the exclamation point on a brief but dazzling turn in the spotlight, it’s now a signpost for hip-hop heads to look back in awe. It’s not his best record (give me The Blueprint in that spot) nor his most thematically satisfying (that’d be 4:44), but it is his last great record, full of moments where Mr. Carter’s effortless chops behind the mic are on full display. Some of his best rhymes on this record are so casual they border on throwaways, like on “What More Can I Say,” where he drops the gem, “God forgive me for my brash delivery/But I remember vividly what these streets did to me.” If you’re like me, you hear that, shrug, and quietly ask yourself if Jay is rap music’s GOAT.
What struck me listening to The Black Album all the way through for the first time in years was how introspective he allows himself to get, a tactic he wasn’t exactly known for. He waxes nostalgic on “Moment of Clarity,” forgiving his father for drug-related transgressions before pouring gasoline on the music industry and standing there discussing its double standards, lit match in hand. The self-awareness peeks through even the most outsized slices of self-mythologizing, as on “Public Service Announcement,” where, after describing himself as “Che Guevara with bling on,” he sells the following line: “And I could blame my environment but/There ain't no reason why I be buying expensive chains.” Ultimately, those contradictions have always been at the heart of Jay-Z’s appeal. He’s got swagger to spare but manages to maintain a sizeable chip on his shoulder. Case in point for what’s still the record’s strongest moment, “99 Problems.” It starts out as a dispatch to his haters in the industry before segueing into two long-winded stories from his past about racial profiling and romantic duplicity, respectively.
It’s long and rambling and, at times, shouldn’t work as well as it does. But, when you’re a storyteller this talented, the results can be positively mesmerizing.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈