Jay-Z's American Gangster: A Guided Tour By Jigga, Jermaine Dupri,Rakim, Just Bl

[Meho]

MTV News has an exclusive look at the upcoming 'concept' album, and how it's been recorded at breakneck speed.

By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Tim Kash

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"I'm off the wall like Michael Jackson, these other ni--as is like Tito. Shout-out to Randy." — Jay-Z from American Gangster.

NEW YORK — The lounge in the Roc the Mic studio is sprinkled with Jay-Z's inspirations and signatures of success. Hanging from the walls are platinum plaques of albums and framed covers of iconic magazine issues — the Rolling Stone with Kanye West dressed as Jesus, the 1996 cover with a shirtless and proud Tupac Shakur, the XXL with Biggie on the throne and another Rolling Stone with Jay on the front. On it is Hov's inscription to his team: "Let's make history again."

On Friday night, there was wine poured, cheese and crackers served and ABC Family channel playing on a flat-screen TV (don't worry, it was changed to the Indians-Yankees playoff game) for a gaggle of journalists who were given one of the most elite invites of their careers: a chance to hear Jay-Z's album American Gangster, weeks before it hits stores on November 6 (see "Jay-Z At Work On Concept Album Inspired By 'American Gangster' Film"). As an added bonus, the Jiggaman himself would be playing.

"I'm a bad muuuuuhf---a. I really made it. Al Capone, Michael Corleone, Scarface, they ain't make it. I'm iller than all them n---as," Jay-Z said with a grin as he manipulated the tracks from his laptop in the control room of the studio. "This is a cautionary tale, but it's not true."

The album is conceptual — such a movie on wax that Jay eventually wants to make it into a movie on film; a more expensive, polished, focused "Streets Is Watching," if you will. That's besides the fact that the album was inspired by another movie. If you've been keeping just an earlobe to what's going on in pop culture, you'll know Denzel Washington has a film called "American Gangster" coming out on November 2, directed by Ridley Scott and co-starring the RZA, T.I., Common and Russell Crowe (see "T.I. Says 'American Gangster' Is Like An All-Star Hip-Hop Collabo"). While the album played, the drama unfolded on a flat screen that hung above the studio console (not the bootleg where you see the back of the heads of the people in the fifth row, either; this was the I-have-juice-with-the-movie-company real deal).

Jay told the reporters that he had no plans of making an opus until a few weeks ago, when he was invited to a screening of the film, and his inner D-Boy got a wake-up call. Not that Jay had a sudden urge to skydive from the his 28th-floor president's office and stand in front of the nearest bodega to hustle, but the film brought back memories of when Jay lived a more disreputable lifestyle. As portrayed by Washington, the movie's real-life subject, Frank Lucas, possessed a laid-back demeanor, drive and business acumen that Hov could relate to. So, he decided to make an album that filled in some of the scenes and emotions that Jay felt he wanted to see in the film, but for one reason or another didn't make it to the big screen.

Here's the irony that those who live a charmed life sometimes run into: While Jay was conjuring up this idea to do a record to complement the film, Diddy was sitting on tracks that would serve as the jumping-off points of the album.

Jay talked about how P.D. had approached him about wanting to executive-produce one of his albums, but Jay has never let anyone exec-produce his LPs and wasn't going to start now. Still, Diddy — who had no idea Jay was thinking about doing the "Gangster"-inspired album — called Hov about a month ago to Daddy's House Studios to hear some records he had in the stash. The tracks, which were being built by producers Sean C. and LV, happened to have that soulful '70s feel indicative of the "American Gangster" setting.

"That's our kinda sound; that's what we do," LV said. "We was in the studio one day. Me, Puff and Sean, we was going through the joints; just listening, bugging out, dancing, having a good time. Puff was like, 'Let me just call this n---a right now.' Maybe like 15, 20 minutes later, Jay walked in. This was like three or four weeks ago. We played him the first couple ones, and he felt the zone. He felt the vibe."

Jay reacted immediately: "I was like, 'Sh--! Where did you get this music and what are you doing with it?' " Jay described of his initial session with Puff.

He got to work right away, and although Diddy and his producers weren't in the studio while he was laying his vocals and making hooks, the songs were definitely collaborations.

"As soon as I would finish a record, it seemed like Puff was here in minutes," Jay laughed.

"Jay would have the beats," LV elaborated. "He'd do the record, and he'd send it back to us. We'd fill in the blanks as far as making them full records. From having live horns, live strings, live drummers. This percussion dude, he was coming in with bottles, banging on bottles, just sprinkles of sh--. We went all out. We brought in musicians to bring it out. Jay probably just heard a sample and some drums. Once we got the vocals back, we brought in all the extra candy.

"The first record [we got back] was the record called 'Sweet,' " LV continued. "When I heard it with Jay's rhymes, I was just like, 'Jesus Christ!' ... Puff was hyped. He'd come in the studio and start bugging out, getting everybody hyped. This is still going on right now. We're mixing records. Sometimes it'll take us three days to mix one record."

So far the Bad Boy production team has done "Party Life," the aforementioned "Sweet," "No Hook" (which takes a little from Def Jam recording artist The-Dream's song "Shawty Is a Ten": "I don't need no hook for this sh--"), "Roc Boys" and "Pray."

"That's a real emotional record," LV said of "Pray." "It was tense. The record is real aggressive and has movement. When I made that beat, I was feeling a certain way that day, upset. That's what happens."

Jay is intoxicating on the track. He switches lanes from real-life accomplishments to speaking from the perspective of a kid about to slide head-first into dealing narcotics.

"Pray for me, I'm going in," he raps. "Mind state of a gangster from the '40s/ Meet the business mind of a young Berry Gordy/ Turned crack rock into a chain of 40/40s/ My jewelry so gaudy."

He later rhymes about seeing police corruption and drug abuse from a young man's eyes and being confused. "I'm trying to beat life 'cause I can't cheat death ... / Move Coke like Pepsi, doesn't matter what the name brand is."

Continue to Part 2 of this American Gangster preview, in which Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell Williams, Just Blaze and others narrate their part in the album's creation.

Next, Jay called on Pharrell Williams, No I.D., DJ Toomp, Just Blaze and Jermaine Dupri to build around what he established with Puff. The result, Jay explained, is in the lyrical bloodline of his debut, Reasonable Doubt ("Heroin got less steps than Britney," Hova raps on the celebratory "Roc Boys").

"He went back to the creative mode of the beginning," Dupri said. "I thought that was brilliant, because people say, 'He needs to go back to Reasonable Doubt,' just like how people say, 'Nas needs to go back to Illmatic.' Even in R&B. People say, 'If Michael Jackson comes back, he needs to do an album like Off the Wall.' For an artist to go back to the beginning, that's incredible to me. He went as close as he could to the beginning of his career."

Musically, A.G. lies somewhere between his genesis and The Blueprint, perhaps his pinnacle so far.

"It's funny. These are the type of records I started off doing," Jermaine Dupri said of Jay's more funky, soulful stylings. "But I started having bigger successes with other types of records. People always ask me for [something similar] to the last record that was a big hit for me, instead of letting me be creative and do what I do."

Dupri worked on A.G.'s "When the Money Goes" and the possible last track of the LP, "Fallen."

"I sat there and listened to his album before I even made that beat," JD said of "Fallen." "I was in New York and listened to everything else that was on his record. That's what inspired me to make that beat. It was a real creative flow in the studio. I'm a producer, I'm not just a beatmaker. I don't like just sending beats. When I've done that in the past, ain't nobody ever pick a beat that I just sent them. I always feel that I give you my better work when I'm under the pressure of you sitting there with me and you telling me, 'Nah, I don't like this,' or, 'I like that.' "

JD felt Jay needed a song that talked about the gangster losing it all.

"It just hit me: He needs a record talking about when he knows he did something wrong [and] he knows it's gonna tear his life down," Dupri elaborated. "Every movie we seen, the gangster always does one thing [wrong]. It's not a series of things, it's the one thing. We sat down and talked about every movie before he finished the verses. I ask him the question, 'Do you know one gangster who made it after he made that move?' In 'Carlito's Way' when Vinnie Blanca came to the table and Carlito ain't doing nothing ... Vinnie really wanted his ass kicked by the great Carlito. When Carlito didn't do nothing, he realized he could be taken out of the game. When Scarface f---ed up with Sosa, that was the beginning of the end."

While Jay was making new songs with Dupri, he was getting input from friends about the songs he had in the can.

"I was trying to make a beat, and he was playing his records for people," Dupri told. "LeBron James came by. It was a listening session while I'm creating the record. It was hard for me in the beginning, but then I had to fall into the whole mode of it."

"It reminded you of the 'Fade to Black' movie, because in the room it was me, No I.D., Jermaine Dupri, L-Rock, Jay, Guru, Ty, Ty," DJ Toomp said of his studio experience. The Atlanta producer behind some of T.I.'s huge hits — including "You Don't Know Me" and "What You Know," as well as Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing" — said he had wanted to work with Hov for the past three years.

"They was like, 'All right, Toomp, let's see what you got,' " he said. "I dug into my computer, man, and there was one main track I was messing with that I felt he would feel. And, boom, I played it, Jay started freestyling to it right there and looked at me, like, 'Whoooo!' He had that little frown how people do. Jay was like, 'Hey man, that's it. Don't play this for nobody else.' "

That song turned out to be a track called "Say Hello to the Bad Guy."

"I sampled Tom Brock," Toomp said of the beat. "It's kinda pimped out with a Southern flow to it. It reminds you of something Jay-Z would do, but I put my touch to it with the 808s and bass lines. But it's a slower track and drum-heavy."

The first record released to the masses has been "Blue Magic," an '80s-feeling ode to the name on the little blue packets of heroin Frank Lucas' cartel used to pump throughout New York. Not only is the beat a throwback, but the hook takes from En Vogue's "Hold On," and Jigga's flow on the track pays homage to Rakim.

"I was like, 'Wow,' " Rakim said of "Blue Magic." He was flattered by the tip of the cap. "Jay-Z, that's my dude. For him to say, 'So at that time I'm Rakim,' that's love right there. Jay, if you hear this, good lookin'. You're inspiring me."

Pharrell Williams helped create that track's big sound. "I wanted to make something that felt like King Kong," he explained. "You heard the drums on it? Big boulders! That sh--sounds like King Kong is waking up, like, 'Rrrrrooar!' We're just trying to set a reference of the place of nostalgic drug dealing. When Rakim said, 'I came through the door, I said it before,' n---as was making so much money when that was out. When that record came on, you would lean against your M3 in the Dapper Dan seats. They would come to Virginia doing that sh--, selling tons of drugs. As kids, we idolized that 'cause we ain't know no better. So I made that record, even though the Frank Lucas story is not in the '80s, [I set it in] the drug-dealer era I could relate to. "

On Friday, Jay agreed that most of his fans could better relate to the '80s than to the late '60s and '70s era of the "American Gangster" movie. But here's the quagmire he's made for himself: "Blue Magic" doesn't really fit the feel of the rest of the album, so Jay is contemplating where to put it on the album's track list. He and Pharrell shot a video for the single weeks ago, but he's been sitting on it while trying to make up his mind. He's also considered making "Blue Magic" a bonus track along with the "I Get Money" remix.

Although the LP is less than a month from being released, Jay is taking every last minute to craft it. You can partially blame the New York Mets and their historic September collapse. "They was in first place for just about the whole season and didn't make it to the playoffs! That sh-- showed me one thing: No matter what, I gotta finish strong," devoted Yankees fan Hov explained with a smile.

"I'm a little upset, not with him, but just with the way things happened with the movie getting pushed up," Just Blaze said. "Originally, it wasn't supposed to be out for ... another month. I had my schedule worked out, because I had X, Y, Z to work on, and me and Jay was going to work through October. That was my timeline. Then the album got pushed up because the movie got pushed up. We still got a little time. He was saying, 'If you come with something, like the same way you came with "P.S.A." before ... .' 'Cause with me, I do that with every album, come with something at the very end to bring it home. But I got two records on there that I love, regardless. I got a couple of days, but it only takes five minutes to make the magic. Just have to have those stars lined up right."

Just produced the title track ("I'm trying to get Larry Gold to possibly do the strings," he said. "He was the string arranger for a lot of the Sound of Philadelphia records"), as well as "Ignorant Sh--," which features Beanie Sigel ("The '07 Ice Cube, see if I care if this verse get aired. Even if you mute it, the curses is there"). For "Ignorant," Just flipped a sample of the Isley Brothers' "In Between the Sheets," which was originally slated for The Black Album, and, after some tweaking, was brought back. Jay touches on censorship and Don Imus on the record, among other things. " 'Scarface' the movie did more than Scarface the rapper did to me," he raps. The song comes at a time on the album when Jay's character is at his height and is blissfully reckless.

The only other MC to appear on the album is Nas, via "Success." Nas loved the song so much when he heard the album, he asked to be on the track.

Hov said he feels that people actually have to listen to the body of work as a whole to really get it. And next summer, the fans will get to sesee it all live.

"I look forward to touring with American Gangster, 'cause of the musicality," he said, adding that he's currently looking for a band to take out with him.

What was it like for Jay to make an album as gutter as he wanted to without having to worry about trying to come up with a radio-friendly single? After a round of chilled tequila shots from bottles taken out of the 40/40 Club fridge, his answer was simple: "It's fun."

[Makaveli's Food & Liquor]

I'm really not a big Jay fan, i only own Reasonable Doubt, but this shit sounds insane!! I'm likely to cop, relying on it living up to the hype, guess we'll find out soon.....

[Lazar]

That shit must bee a CLASSIC. And I hope so fucking much it will be a classic but after "Kingdome Come"...

[.:Hercy Buggz:.]

Wow...thats all i can say!

[Meho]

Wow indeed. The fact that:

- JD and Puffy are giving him soulfull, 80's-ish beats
- Jay probably not even putting Blue Magic on the cd, so that it won't mess up the concept

2 week to go baby!

[Hatesrats™]

 

[Eddie G.]

Wow, I didn't even know Jay had a new record coming out.  This is gonna be something I'll even check for, it sounds like he's going back to his roots, and those are the records I love by him.  The fact that its a concept album and that he did the whole thing in a couple months without even hyping it up makes it that much more appealing to me too.

[PLANT]

Im glad he said Blue Magic doesnt really fit the sound of the album.  Im really looking forward to this now. 

[GATMAN]

Sounds like a classic

[NotoriousTDA]

fuck the jay haters, this shits gone be bangin'!

[LyRiCaL_G]

wow, im looking forward to a jigga cd....thought kingdom come was weak....i think jigga is better suited to the heavy hitters from the eastcoast

[Shallow]

I guess I'm the only one who thinks this is gonna suck. I'll keep an open mind. Hell I'll even buy the damn thing. But something tells me the story is going to suck or be all over the place and it's going to be like Jay Z playing Jay Z in an audio movie. Maybe he'll prove me wrong. Can someone say The Firm?

[jeromechickenbone]

I guess I'm the only one who thinks this is gonna suck. I'll keep an open mind. Hell I'll even buy the damn thing. But something tells me the story is going to suck or be all over the place and it's going to be like Jay Z playing Jay Z in an audio movie. Maybe he'll prove me wrong. Can someone say The Firm?

No you're not.  Jay's albums have largely been hype nearly his whole career.  Kingdom Come was such a lame attempt at an album, you could tell it was thrown together quickly.  I thought that Blue Magic joint was average at best. 

Don't get me wrong, I def wanna hear it.  If it's dope I'll most def give it props, but the album is gonna have to speak for itself, not some hype article from MTV.

[LyRiCaL_G]

^^^thats one thing that worries me....the hype machine with these big media cats like mtv...they working with jay or they speakin independent of influence/name/power....im not even big on jigga or anything but i appreciate he can spit some real lyrical shit when he wants to and im looking forward to this...probably because im looking forward to the film too....but we'll see...i hope its good, i dont hope anyone to make wack shit but yeah i guess its better to wait and see instead of gettin all hyped up and then realising its weak...either way i'll be honest and let u know what i think

pz

[R1ZE]

http://sharebee.com/6328a718

Dead Presidents 3 ^

This shit is gonna be classic, bank on it.