Jay-Z's 9th and last album is a masterpiece.
The packaging of this Vinyl gate-fold DoLp is special, so you get a direct feeling how important this statement is. The producers involved are carefully chosen. Just Blaze for the Intro and 2 other trax, Kanye West on 2 trax, Timbaland + The Neptunes for the Radio Hits with the clever hooks are names that we would expect on a Jigga album. After "Change Clothes" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" the super luxury bangers from 'The Black Album' "Threat" with fantastic production by 9th Wonder and vocals by Cedric The Entertainer, who sounds exactly like the late great Old and Dirty Bastardcomes comes along and suprises you.
The next big surprise comes with the Rock sampling anthem produced by Rick Rubin, the heavy "99 Problems (And A Bitch Ain't One)" - maybe the most untypical Jigga Tune ever.
Another highlight comes with the collaboration with West Side Beatsmith / Rapper Entrepreneur DJ Quik with the Madonna borrowing Justify My Thug, that also sounds like nothing else Jay-Z ever did before. Eminem laces another Beat on this album with the intrspective Moment Of clarity.
Here he raps about his life his experiences and his lifestyle, somthing Jigga always was obsessed with- unlike Nas who rapped about a million different topics Jay-Z sticks to what is mostly on his mind...
For Reggae and Prodigy fans the use of Max Romeo/Lee Perry's Chase The Devil on "Lucifer (Son Of The Morning)" comes as a treat.
You find only 14 Cuts on this DoLP and 12 Songs, but each is so good and full with strong raps, great beats and fine chosen samples, that it surpasses many other records with 18 or 23 Cuts . So here you have it. Like on Jay-Z's first album Reaonable Doubt there is only Quality Stuff selected = all killer no filler. Maybe a few less songs about himself would have made The Black Album even greater, but hey it's his Party and he decided what he wanted to rap about.
Already 3 years ago and no new Jay-Z record in the stores.
So The Black Album stands the test of time astonishingly well for a contemporara Rap Record.