Moment of Clarity

Rappers retiring – what’s that? Mase did that, but hands down, who missed him? Now it’s a totally different type of issue, ‘cause a definite heavyweight is leaving: Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” is meant to be the Brooklyn native’s last effort as a rapper! And one thing is clear: You can hate Jay or love him, but there’s no question about the fact that he had a major, major impact on the rap scene. So whether “The Black Album” is good or whack, there’s no difference: All the guy leaves is a big black hole in the rap scene, ‘cause from now on we will lack of the guy no other artist will be able to fill in for. So what is there to talk about? Well, how about a moment of clarity on the record?

“The Black Album” comes with 14 tracks done by a who’s who of different producers, and even though Jay always claimed that this record would be pre-“Reasonable Doubt”, it’s not: it’s everything. 9^th Wonder’s “Threats” goes back to ’95, Kanye West’s “Lucifer” is 2003 and beyond, and Rick Rubin’s “99 Problems” is probably before ’92. Anyways: What Hova himself does is always state of the art. You can blame the guy for always being ego-centric, but then you gotta blame each and every man in this game. You can blame for Hova for always being about his drug-selling past etc., but how can you blame the only guy with nine albums under his belt (except for LL) for repeating himself (while sales keep rocking)? There’s no question about Hova’s lyrical ability: The Eminem-produced “Moment of Clarity” is just one good example, the anthem-inspired “What More Can I Say” is another one. From the explanation for trying to get rich with the rap game to an analysis of his own position in the rap game, Jay-Z practically does everything. And, yes, the subjects aren’t new, but the way he talks about them is new with each and every song he writes. The personal matter of taste is deciding whether there are lame and short-falling tracks on this one – to me, it’s the redo of Madonna’s “Justify My Love”: “Justify My Thug” comes with a lame beat and stays lame. “Change Clothes”, the Neptunes-produced radiosingle, is just another Neptunes episode, and quite frankly, we know that type of track already… Highlights? Well, a whole lot of them: “What More Can I Say”, “99 Problems”, “Moment of Clarity”, “Threats”…

I can’t help myself, I like each and every record of this guy. After listening to this album 10 times plus, I desperately want more of Jay-Z’s musical legacy. You think different? Fine. I don’t. I just hope that this shit about Jay’s retirement ain’t a moment of clarity, but more of a fake. 'Cause with the black album, there's only one moment of clarity: Get this record!