Blueprint 3 is out 9/11, eight years to the day of The Blueprint‘s release, and Jay-Z is pulling out all the publicity stops. Over the weekend he courted the commie pothead demo via an appearance on Real Time (where Bill Maher presented him with a bound book of his lyrics) and then the Williamsburg hipster demo (same demo really) via an appearance at the Grizzly Bear show (more on that in a minute). Now, right on time, the LP has leaked. As we mentioned, the first track’s chorus features chopped vocals from Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele, whom Jigga discovered in an episode of Entourage and collaborated with remotely. Take a listen to “What We Talkin’ About.”
And here’s “Hate” featuring Kanye and an Al Roker shoutout.
Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Swizz Beats, Drake, J. Cole, Pharrell, and Mr. Hudson (but not MGMT) also appear on the album.
As for the Grizzly Bear love, “I don’t understand why people are always surprised to see me at shows! … They’re an incredible band,” Jay tells MTV:
“The thing I want to say to everyone — I hope this happens because it will push rap, it will push hip-hop to go even further — what the indie-rock movement is doing right now is very inspiring. It felt like us in the beginning. These concerts, they’re not on the radio, no one hears about them, and there’s 12,000 people in attendance. And the music that they’re making and the connection they’re making to people is really inspiring. So, I hope that they have a run where they push hip-hop back a little bit, so it will force hip-hop to fight to make better music, because it can happen, because that’s what rap did that to rock.”
The Blueprint is out 9/11 via Roc Nation. That night he plays an Absolut-sponsored concert at Madison Square Garden benefitting the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund. [Jay @ Williamsburg Waterfront pic via CARLES.]
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this is all a little too surreal to me. but cool. very cool.
someone needed to push jigga’s new album forward.
just kidding.
but seriously yall
This shit is really crazy, but it’s great. More proof that Grizzly Bear is the key.
Maybe my fan-fiction where Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian guest on the next Beyonce isn’t too far off.
Haha oh man. “Hater” is awful!
that beat is excellent
Nice! I’m impressed with Jigga’s taste in music.
both songs are soooo bad. wow. I really have liked a bunch of his stuff but…..ew
Not exactly convinced. More than anything, Jay Z is a very astute businessman. He knows the lily white geeks at Pitchfork would cream themselves over these statements and that alot of money can be made.
I am a biased Jay Z doubter/hater – so take that for what you will.
DJ Red-Cent – Two Weeks Of The Hard Knocks (Jay Z vs. Grizzly Bear) http://bit.ly/Vwqxa
Album leaked. Google that shit!
i don’t have much against Jay-Z, not a huge fan of his music either…but comon people, he’s a sharp dude and a shrewd businessman.
he sees the trendy wave that is indie rock and he’s hopping on the bandwagon to future benefit from it. “These concerts, they’re not on the radio, no one hears about them, and there’s 12,000 people in attendance”…uh, yeah.
and a pretty dope new spot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM1mPXJ95vc
Yes – this is the sound of indie-rock dorks getting PLAYED by a hustler.
He might be using us, but he did sample justice on “On to the Next One” and Empire of the Sun on “What we talkin about.” I could see it if it was just the concert, but including them in his long-awaited and supposedly career-defining album is kind of a big step to just conquer the indie market.
This is just a sign of where the next decade will take us. Like I said, indie is the new hip-hop.
I know I probably missed this bit of info, but anyone know what ended up happening to the MGMT collaboration?
I think that he thinks, that’s who he is collaborating with.
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group. Smooth Warner, smooth. Guess I won’t be checking this out now.