With his Def Jam days over, Jay-Z’s move to his own Roc Nation records brings with it his latest musical offering, The Blueprint 3. Produced (mostly) by Kanye West, The Blueprint 3 is one of the best hip hop albums of the year. The tracks on Hov’s latest material are golden. However, “Real as It Gets,” a track featuring Young Jeezy, has more of a “Southern twist” to it, something Jay-z fans aren’t used to. The heavy hitters on this album are the singles” Run This Town” featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, and “A Star is Born” featuring Roc Nation’s first signed artist, J. Cole. The selection of beats on this album is very well put together. It also demonstrates how Kanye West has matured as a producer. If this album is a sign of things to come from Jay as well as his new label, the quote below is more than enough to sum up how well things are going to end up for the media mogul/rapper.

“Hey,
got so many different Monikers but only one Jay
they come they go,
some real some foe,
some friends some ___
but no I goes nowhere this Hov”
Jay Z - A Star is Born

In addition, I’d also like to note that this reviewer was shocked as well as pleased that there was no appearance of Lil Wayne on this album.