![jay z the black album allmusic jay z the black album allmusic](https://s3.amazonaws.com/hiphopdx-production/2016/09/jay-z-the-blueprint-2001-featured-640x422.jpg)
![jay z the black album allmusic jay z the black album allmusic](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DN79G8OYT9A/UCpHdqxYpMI/AAAAAAAACvA/7RF11daNK4s/s1600/50-cent3.jpg)
It’s threaded with the expected braggadociosee the knowing 'What More Can I Say'but even better are the moments when Jigga turns inward. And the Neptunes provide a soft-soul bed for “Allure.” That cut’s allusion to Michael Corleone sounds prophetic in light of “the worst retirement ever:" “Every time I felt that was that, it called me right back. The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. The Black Album was said to be JAY Z’s victory lap before retirement, and he would’ve bowed out with a bang, serenaded by thrilling, brass-heavy beats from the best producers of the day. Kanye West’s reggae stylee-zation (the sampled voice is Max Romeo’s) on “Lucifer” adds aural depth to a gun-laden cautionary tale. Diplomatic Immunity is the debut studio album by The Diplomats, released on March 25, 2003. Rick Rubin hooks up Mountain and Billy Squier samples for the philosophical “99 Problems,” while Jay describes a traffic stop in one of his most trenchant verses. MTV Unplugged- Jay-Z Bonus Material-Jay-Z Beats,Rhymes. Lets think about that for a moment, because Jays stated decision to retire from making music in 2003 was, for those who believed it, astonishing. After that opening trilogy, he mostly drops the conceit and just rocks the mic, with the help of some of the most imaginative tracks he’s ever used. Jay-Zs black album is something else: for starters, its actually called The Black Album, and it was conceived from the outset as its makers last record. 'Every album's a color.' Jay-Z famously compared his catalog to a Rubik's Cube, specifically in how trying to complete a new side inevitably 'fucks up the other color.'Since then, as his career. His mom’s spoken reminiscences of Shawn Carter’s childhood on “December 4th” help set the elegiac yet boastful mood, while “Encore” and “What More Can I Say” shade that vibe into a “My Way”-style claim to immortality. But credit his skills for a resonance that the album holds even after his official return to performance. No one could have known just how visible Jay-Z would remain after needling detractors with “Maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black” in the opening minutes of his “final” release, 2003’s Black Album.