not impressed..

Isn't that the horns from rumpshaker?

Yeah this is big news that it leaked. Apparently the feds are now involved. Crazy.

rumpshaker used them but theyre originally from a public enemy song, hence flav being on the hook

but those horns are way too annoying imo, sounds too much like 80s faux-noir movie cheese

hiphop's best ear for beats has lost his focus

meanwhile the guy who implies on bringing it all back by claiming 'hiphop is dead' is title-tracking (the same fricking record) with will.i.am beats

ps. im up for 44 four's tho

they're originally from the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, actually.

FRESH!

it's ok.
i doubt it's the first single.

on subsequent listens this is better than i initially thought

just is crazy with the drums. but the horns are way too prominent for my tastes, jays flow gets buried in there, and kindda becomes insignificant to the whole

yeah, I guess...I still don't like those horns though.

now i like this better than 'kingdome come' (where just blaze rocks that break, but jay-z sounds like an old man. seriously)

album is gonna (kindda) suck. i can feel it.

this song has really grown on me.

CHRIS MARTIN WILL ROCK YOU IN YOUR ASS

fuck i spoke too soon

i tried to hate this (really did) but i keep nodding my head

(even the terrible "the n" i like)

fuck jay-z for burying nas in the noise (surrounding kingdome come). i guess nas got played (again). i hope good things happen to him tho.

GET THIS CREEPY VOICE OUT OF MY BUTTHOLE

who's got an mp3 of AZ rhyming over this?

so what does everyone think of this album? I think the best commentary I've seen so far was Badmintonstamps calling it "the first album of the Washington Wizards Era". Anyways, I heard a review of it on NPR this morning that sort of blasted it. That was pretty shocking until I realized that Oliver Wang wrote it. Since when is he contributing to NPR?

oh it is probably his 2nd worst album.

better than vol 2 for sure.

even 2.1 had much more 'mature' shit ('some how some way'). also dre schools him (on where he could’ve taken it, etc) on the verse on 'imagine' ...and dre's not the best rapper

i guess he shouldve done better if you consider the standards. but its still a good hiphop album (at least dump that swizz beats horshit for some timbaland and you have one). these hipster critics lack perspective anyway. subject matter hardly made jigga albums. swagger, flow n beats did. its like the black album or vol 2 didnt have some of the wackest shit, too

'nas wins this round' (and i hope there aint more rounds!)

I picked up the spec ed tonight and popped in the album to listen to it full on for the first time, and not just scattered songs. I really like it. While agreed with most of the reviews I read previously, I think by listening to the album as a whole, it comes off better. Certainly not his best work, but not the critical mulling worthy release some (ok, most) critics want to believe it is.

the dre tracks are pretty enjoyable even if they are just his standard 2 types of tracks that hes been doing for the last 10 years

I need to hear this.

Heard the single and like it...never really listened to much Jay Z...just stuff in bars or on the radio...any suggestions for a first album to pick up.

Start with Blueprint, then Reasonable Doubt (my favourite)