Another 2 Allhiphop big ass articles on "American Gangster" (preview and intervi

[Meho]

By Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur
It's not really a make it or break it situation for Jay-Z. Still, the Def Jam president's tenth album, American Gangster, is critical in terms of his legacy and  remaining relevant in a burgeoning era of T.I.’s , Lil’ Wayne’s and Kanye West’s. The late 30-something boss is calm and collected much like the infamous heroin pusher Frank Lucas who provided the inspiration for American Gangster. The album was put together in a short period and, in an even shorter period, the clamor began. The talk will continue as Hov reveals his side on Kanye’s “Big Brother,” his status compared to B.I.G. and Pac and the issue with LL Cool J. Oh, there’s also the matter of that album. [Click here to read "Jay-Z: Manifest Destiny (The American Gangster Story)"]

AllHipHop.com: Do you still feel like you're sort of competing with B.I.G. and Pac even though they've been gone for over 10 years?

Jay-Z: The funny things about that I really had to start slowing down because after a while when you start putting out so much, as great as they was it's kind of not a fair argument because they didn't get a chance to go through this thing - you have to go
through a lot, you gotta go through a lot of scrutiny and maintain a certain level. Though Pac has a lot of work, he put it all out at one time. If I made 17 records or when I was making Reasonable Doubt them s**ts would be retarded. They didn't get a chance to really fulfill their potential. When somebody's been around five years, it's different, and six and seven and as long as you be around and the longer you stay relevant, it's like “Damn, you can't really argue because they didn't really get a chance to go through it.” You don¹t
know what would have happened. It's like, you know, incomplete. What happens? What happens on a 7th album? 8th album? That shit is very difficult. Very difficult. That ain't easy. That's difficult. You know, ni**as when you fresh and crispy with the new slang - you could do that. You can just hit n***as with the slang, make the hook with the hot slang and ride it out. But to really make, 9, 10 [albums], it's something different.

Interviewer: Your nephew has started rapping and making the rounds around New York City.

Jay-Z: My nephew’s already winning a thousand talent shows. He’s already, uh, they had him on Hot97 and all kinds of stuff, winning talent shows. He wants to be a rapper. I mean I don¹t suggest at him. I want him to be whatever he want to be. Well, be a dope dealer….I wouldn't have let that happen. I told you I'm better than The Godfather, I did it. [laughing]  But that's cool, if that's what he loves. As long as he knows the scrutiny that he's going to be under and  the pressure that people are going to put on him and he's ready for that and he's willing to really work at his craft. That's what I tell him all the time. I don't even mess with him. I don't help him out. “Yo, work on your craft, work on it, work on it constantly until you get to a certain point, then I'll pull him.” Then he'll have a “Big Uncle” record and it'll be all good. [Referring to Kanye West’s “Big Brother.”]

AllHipHop.com: When did you start recording this album?

Jay-Z: Maybe like three weeks [ago] total. Like I started, left a foundation, then I left it alone. The last two weeks, I really drew down on it.

Interviewer: So there was no plan to do an album before you saw the film.

Jay-Z: Nah…

Interviewer: How did this album differ from all the other gangster movies you’ve seen?

Jay-Z: Besides the Black guy being higher than the mob in everything…? [room laughs]

Interviewer: You’ve put yourself in those positions before like as the Black Scarface.

Jay-Z: I wasn’t hot when “Scarface” was hot. [room laughs] My Spanish action ain’t really all the way where it needs to be for that.

AllHipHop.com: On “Blue Magic,” you say “F**k Bush.”

Jay-Z: Yeah. You had to pick that line. [room laughs]

AllHipHop.com: I’m just saying… [room laughs]

Jay-Z: It was really a triple entendre, double. “Money over broads, you got it, f**k bush.” F**k broads or f**k bush. I just thought it was some clever s**t. [room laughs]

AllHipHop.com: Aiight.

Jay-Z: That s**t was f**kin’ hot! The s**t is layered, man. F**k Bush. Get outta here or f**k bush. F**k bush! Come on, man. [room laughs.]

Interviewer: You brought back “Ignorant S**t.”

Jay-Z: Yeah, its like one of those jams that you feel bad you let go. I recorded that for The Black Album. And it leaked, but I thought it was so great. “Ignorant S**t – conceptually in the album – when you are out of control saying, “F**k, s**t, a**, b***h, and you just going crazy. It also deals with censorship as well. It serves two purposes.

Interviewer: You think Scarface the rapper is going to look at you sideways [for rapping about him]?

Jay-Z: No, I’m sticking up for him. I’m saying “Scarface” did more than Scarface the rapper. I’m on his side. So no, absolutely not. Unless he wants to be in trouble. That s**t on him. Nah, Brad is my boy.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve had over a 10-year run in terms of recording albums. What keeps you motivated?

Jay-Z: I like the challenge of it. With rap music, you can make a hundred classic albums in a row and somebody make a hot song and compare you to him. It’s the only sport like that – well basketball a little bit. [They] did compare Harold Minor to Jordan when he first came out; for one second. But, the challenge of it. If everybody was like, “Alright, you got it [you’re the best]” then there wouldn’t be any reason to record an album. I’d go shoot jump shots at the next practice facility. The challenge of making material.

AllHipHop.com: Did you ever go through a phase – and there is this whole G.O.A.T. discussion we can get into that too…

Jay-Z: Yeah, that’s what we here for, n***a. [room laughs]

AllHipHop.com: At one point, it seemed like you have to continuously tell us that you were the G.O.A.T. A lot of us feel like you had already established that without needing to say it. At one point, you were telling us a lot.

Jay-Z: You have to say it if you want it, right? You gotta manifest your destiny. You gotta put it out there if you really want people to believe. I didn’t want anybody to guess.

AllHipHop.com: Is there a possibility of you and LL Cool J lyrically going at each other?

Jay-Z: Nah, I don’t think that’s [possible]. I’m sick of that. I don’t even want to be in that type of…its getting nasty for me. LL Cool J is great. You don’t have to market LL Cool J. If people were saying [LL’s last album Todd Smith] was fantastic, lets push it. That’s different. At some point you gotta take responsibility for your s**t too. With Kingdom Come, maybe it was too sophisticated. Maybe I f*cked up. I’m not saying, “F**k L.A. Reid [Def Jam chairman].” I mean, you made the album.

Artists, we’re like that s**t. When we [have success], its our fault – we did it. “And I told them “Bang kill n***a and they said go with kill bang n***a.” [laughter] My shit popped off and I told niggas, “[You] can’t tell me nothing.” When it don’t work, [artists are] like, “See, look what you did! You f**ked my s**t up!” I respect L. He’s a legend. I’m not doing that. What happens? What do I get? That’s what I’m like. What do I get? N***as are like, “So.” There’s no win in it for me. “So. You won.” You know what I’m saying?

Interviewer: Did it take the Jim Jones thing to make you say what you just said?

Jay-Z: No one, no one, no one believed that. Nobody nowhere believed that.

AllHipHop.com: Where does this album rank in your catalogue?

Jay-Z: Its kinda early. Its gotta perform well for me. For me, the music, the lushness…its like Blueprint-esque. But the story lines and the way it put together lyrically (mumbles “Its almost like a sacrilege for me to say this) its like between Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint – a mix of those two albums. 
 
AllHipHop.com: You’re an executive and busy man, having you started writing your rhymes as opposed to doing them from memory?

Jay-Z: No, its still the same process. For me, it feels better just to vibe with it. There’s something about the pen and paper that puts it in a box.

AllHipHop.com: Is anybody else on the album?

Jay-Z: No, that’s pretty much it. I still might switch some things around, but that’s the body. Bilal is singing on “Fallen.” Beans on “Ignorant S**t” and that’s pretty much it.

Interviewer: Prior to seeing the movie, were you familiar with Frank Lucas?

Jay-Z: No, he was so quiet. I knew his name, but I didn’t exactly know what he was about. I heard bits and pieces…about the bodies. I really didn’t know his story. The main draw was the emotion of what this represented. The movie shot great and is fantastic, but the emotion of it is what I was drawn to. And the character, his character…the way he was laid back. This guy made $250 million in the 70’s. That’s like $2 billion – cash. That’s a whole ‘nother story of why he didn’t stop. 10, 20 [million]…those are a whole lot of benchmarks 50? 100? That’s a whole ‘nother conversation.

Interviewer: You know, the thing is Frank flipped [snitched]…

Jay-Z: You know what the thing about Hollywood is, you can’t let it end good. That’s not a good message. But, what kids do anyway, regardless of the story, however they are – they pull what they want from the movie. No matter how it ends. Scarface died and he became a hero to everyone. He was in everybody’s lyrics and everybody patterned themselves after them and he died. The point was for you not to pattern yourself after him, because this is what happens. What you do is you pull out the things that relate to your life. I’m not Frank Lucas. That’s how he chose to live his life.

Interviewer: Is there a difference with not being concerned with not having a hot single, but having this piece of work?

Jay-Z: It's fun. Fun for me. I mean, and the inspiration is working out. It's really like a…it’s a good thing for me. I think you asked me last time, about cursing and shooting guns and sh*t. I said, “I ain’t never shoot nobody before” or something to that affect. So, [American Gangster] allows me to get the aggressive content out. [room erupts into laughter.]

AllHipHop.com: Will you do anything else to support the album like touring?

Jay-Z: I really look forward to touring, because of the music…the musicality of it all. I’m looking at a band right now. I’m looking to tour this summer. With all that instrumentation that’s in that album, forget about it. Forget about it.

Interviewer: Outside of the creative nature, do you ever get to the point where you are like, “I think I should just stop?” Like, “I’ve already gotten this far. Maybe I should just stop.”

Jay-Z: Ahhh…I’m like the boxer. You know the boxer…boxers don’t stop.

Interviewer: Even Tyson knew when to quit.

Jay-Z: No he didn’t. [Laughs]

AllHipHop.com: Lennox. You mean, Lennox Lewis.

Jay-Z: [laughs] I was in Memphis. [Editor’s note: Lennox Lewis defeated Mike Tyson in Memphis, Tenn on June 9, 2002.] Remember the show right before the Tyson fight when I ran over there? Yeah, that was it. No good.


AllHipHop.com: Can you speak on Kanye’s “Big Brother” record? I know you have commented on it before. But, it was praising you and also criticizing you as well. There was a lot said in that record. Do you have any opinion on his views?

Jay-Z:  I think it was brilliant, for one. Roc-A-Fella is tough love. His feelings are very understandable, because it’s tough love…nothing is given. There’s no free rides – none of that s**t. You gotta earn your way. You fail, you better get up so you can feel that. Those type of emotions [Kanye relayed]…for him to come out and say it, it actually brought us closer. [It was like] his true emotions. Everything on the song was true – it was true in his mind. That’s what made it great, because it was honestly how [Kanye] felt.

AllHipHop.com: Is it all true from your perspective?

Jay-Z:  No. Of course not. We know everybody sees things differently. If I told you something like, “Carleen said I could buy two tickets,” you would think he didn’t get any tickets. He got four [tickets]. He wanted six. Its true, but…its really true. He wanted two more tickets, but if you heard that you’d be like, “Damn, them n***as ain’t give the n***a no tickets.” [room laughs] Come on!

And [with] Coldplay – I introduced him! I gave him the number. I made the song happen. I did that. Like, [mimicking a phone call] “Coldplay, here’s Kanye. Here. [passing phone to imaginary Kanye]” Its great though, because its his truth. That’s what’s brilliant about him. It wasn’t no bulls**t – it was the way he felt.

AllHipHop.com: How did it feel when you did the VH1 special on Reasonable Doubt? All the people were there, even Jaz-O [Jay’s estranged mentor].

Jay-Z: I wasn’t there when they was interviewing everybody – just the people that I sat with. It felt great. I knew it was gonna be a great piece. Barry Michael Cooper (writer/film maker) really put his intelligent Black man on it though. It was great.

AllHipHop.com: Was [“Blue Magic”] paying homage to Rakim, it's kind of obvious, but…

Jay-Z: Yeah, yeah. It's like, lets strip everything down, put four little sounds, and some echoes, and just start the whole s**t over.

Interviewer: Where is that song in the album list?

Jay-Z: Its third, but I might make it a bonus, because it f**ks with me where it's at. I can’t really find a place for it. I’m going to create the saying "double bonus".

AllHipHop.com: The “I Get Money” remix is on there too, right?

Jay-Z: That was on there to make 12 records, but I don’t know if I’m gonna do that. I haven’t figured that one out yet. Triple Bar mitzvah.

Interviewer: What about on the executive side? How long do you plan to do that?

Jay-Z: I don’t know, I really don't. At this point, I want to do it to make history. I can’t look in everyone’s eyes – in the boardroom and look into everybody’s eyes and [if] everybody not committed to making history, I just don’t know. That's a big commitment. You commit to years, the next chapter, the next three years, I gotta really think about that. Look around and see if everybody's committed to being great, to chasing Berry Gordy, Motown and something like that.

[Meho]

Preview:

By Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur

THE PRELUDE: THE AMERICAN GANGSTER STORY


It would seem like Jay-Z is about to do what he once rapped about on the intro track, “The Prelude, ” of Kingdom Come, his 2006 “comeback” album.


The game's f**ked up

N***a's beats is banging, n***a your hooks did it

Your lyrics didn't and your gangster look did it

So I would write it if y'all could get it

Being intricate'll get you wood, critic

On the Internet, they like, “you should spit it”

I'm like you should buy it, n***a that's good business


The mogul and Hip-Hop veteran seems genuinely concerned about the state of Hip-Hop, even though he’s got a rep as a staunch, cold business man.


“When a guy says – and this is definitely no disrespect, because everybody has their place – but when a guy says, “I can make a mil saying nothing on a track,” you know you have reached a bad place,” he says referring to Mims’ recent hit “This Is Why I’m Hot.” His brow furrows. “Not only did you think about it, you said it. So, [Hip-Hop] is way past salvaging. So, I’m just gonna do what I do. I’m just gonna go over ‘there’ – way over there. This is why this is what it is. I’m going so far over there.”


“The Prelude” ends with Jay exclaiming, “The real is back!”


So, with American Gangster, is Jay-Z’s 2006 lyrical prophecy coming true a year after its scheduled appearance?


ACT 1: THE CELEBRATION


It’s a celebration!


On a Friday night, Jay-Z is in his full glory at the recording labyrinth known as Roc Da Mic studios in mid-town New York City. The evening is in full swing and the Patron is flowing into tall, lanky shot glasses. The options in the room are quite limited, but most attendees are either 1) dancing 2) nodding their heads or 3) reciting Jay’s rhymes. Some occasionally look up at the “American Gangster” movie that has been playing continuously during the session.


At 6 pm, one Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter explained — to a small group of journalists — the intricacies and the artistry of his forthcoming 10th album, American Gangster, which drops November 6.


The “American Gangster” movie (in theaters on Nov. 3) provided the perfect segue for Jay to venture back into those dark places he once resided as a former drug dealer. He then bonded his vision with the movie that features Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, T.I., Common and Cuba Gooding Jr.


“Who you become as [a] person, you have layers on it. With a basketball player, you didn’t want to go to practice so you not a basketball player, you a dope dealer, then you become a rapper – you put layers on stuff,” he explains, responding to a query from AllHipHop.com’s scribe. Jay-z has displayed a number of layers, evolving from street dealer to artist to executive. “I never thought I would be able to get back in that zone. I’m just not that type of person [anymore]. I grow. The movie allowed [me] to re-live those kinds of emotions – naturally.”


Right now, about 10 pm, Jay-Z performs “I Know” with the vigor and passion of a young lion, explaining the Pharrell-produced song’s double and triple meanings. The lush tune is about a woman at war with heroin, but to the untrained ear, it plays like a man serenading a hesitant female. At times, he’ll stop a song like “I Know” and explain the verse if he doesn’t think people get it. “That record comes from a twisted mind," he jokes. There are other moments when he explains even if attendees do comprehend.


The music is fresh and Jay is…exultant. His people are joyful. When Beyoncé strolls in, well into the session, the former Destiny’s Child member and Hov hold hands for a few moments before she starts partying to the sounds bumping out of the studio woofers. Jay’s long time friend Ty-Ty and engineer Young Guru are spitting each and every new song word-for-word, proof they’ve ingested this album several times. Eventually, producer Just Blaze strolls in to offer his co-sign. Matthew Knowles, Beyoncé’s tycoon father, even stops by, receiving an ovation like Norm from “Cheers.” No one in the room can really resist the energy being generated, so they simply submit to it.


Seriously…it’s a celebration.


American Gangster isn’t about Shawn Carter becoming Superman to save Hip-Hop in 2006’s Kingdom Come. It’s not about paining fans with a dramatic exodus as with the Black Album (2003). Over the last year, there have been those that have quietly questioned whether or not Jay is still the god MC he professes himself to be. They pondered why he doesn’t just bow the hell out. He’s traveled from the Marcy projects in Brooklyn, achieved so much and now seemingly enjoys a view from a distant mountaintop.


ACT 2: THE EXPLANATION


Jay-Z has had his peaks and valleys, but his tenure has extended over a decade of resolute consistency – from his nine previous albums to countless guest appearances to mixtapes. Why keep on fighting the good fight? That answer lies in part within the opinions of those aforementioned detractors, he says during the discussion period earlier in the evening.


“That’s the beauty of it. That’s the beauty of the challenge. You want to test it. It’s music. What happens? Right? At the end of the day, it’s music. It’s subjective and it’s music. You didn’t like Kingdom Come? Ok…I’m still breathing,” he explains as the small crowd begins to swell into laughter. “If you die, or get brain [damage]… Let me take that back. You get brain damage if you go too far in boxing. If you go too far in rap, you just say, “Yo…I like Reasonable Doubt.” More laughter.


Jay-Z is snail-slow to compare Gangster to his classics, despite his exuberance. Still, he’s confident enough to mention it in the same breath as the two albums widely considered his finest works.


“For me, the music, the lushness…it’s like Blueprint-esque,” he says, choosing his words cautiously and deliberately. “But the story lines and the way it’s put together lyrically (mumbles ‘Its almost like a sacrilege for me to say this’) it’s like between Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint – a mix of those two albums.”


He started recording this opus sometime in September and only began to truly focus on American Gangster two weeks ago, he claims.


When journeying though the album, Jay-Z rarely homes in on one song, but describes them in groups. It’s as if he doesn’t want one to outshine the others.


He begins to explain a song that correlates with a scene in the movie.


“In ‘Success,’ there is the scene [in the movie] where he shoots the guy in front of the [restaurant]…”


Suddenly, he starts spitting lines from the song.


“I’m way too important to be talking about extorting /Ask me for a portion is like askin’ for a coffin.”


Then he resumes the answer as if it weren’t just sliced in two by a rap bar.


“…where the guy tries to extort him in front of the diner,” he says moving to the next few songs. “ ‘Pray’ is the corruption with the cops. ‘Fallen’ is, his fall from grace. [The album] is all of the pieces and bits of emotions I pulled from the movie.”


But this American Gangster isn’t a soundtrack, even though it probably could have been if the movie producers had heard it earlier. This is inspired work at its finest. And Jay maintains that fans should consider the story he weaves as a “cautionary tale.”


“The last song is a song called ‘Fallen’ and that’s everything just falling apart,” he says, eventually reverting back to his brash brand of bravado. “[The album’s conclusion is] not really true and s**t, ‘cause I’m a bad ma’ f**ker. I really made it and s**t. I’m better than Al Capone – he ain’t make it. Michael Corleone [from “The Godfather”], Scarface – I’m iller than all them n***as.”


The room remains silent.


“Y’all gotta give it to me,” he coos…charming them into laughter. “That’s some very true s**t.”


ACT 3: THE CONSTELLATIONS


Jay-Z says he never intended to record an album this year, but due to some seemingly divine design, the stars aligned perfectly for the Def Jam president.


First, he got a call from Universal's soundtrack executive Kathy Nelson, who felt that he should see “American Gangster,” a movie that weaves the bloody tale of Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas. “She thought it was something that I need to see. She had some type of intuition and she just reached out,” he expounds. “That started everything in motion.”


Word traveled fast.


Incidentally, AllHipHop’s own rumor guru illseed was the first to publicly reveal that Jay-Z was recording a new album in the AHH Rumor section after receiving a tip on September 16.


Chronologically, Sean “Diddy” Combs, the head mogul of Bad Boy Entertainment, was the second star to fall into alignment for Jay-Z. Now, things musically began to take shape in Daddy’s House, Diddy’s recording facility.


Jay-Z explains, “When I saw the movie, I was thinking, ‘Maybe I should do it, maybe I should do it.’ Puff had called me and he’s always like, ‘Let me do an album, like executive produce the album.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m an executive my damn self. Stop talking to me like that.’” The room giggles again.


“I believe in Karma and all that ‘everything happens for a reason [stuff],’” he continues. “So, he called me like, ‘You gotta come to the studio. I never call you to come to the studio. You gotta come to the studio.’”


After finally meeting with Diddy, Jay-Z said he was also introduced to a cornucopia of beats that his Uptown counterpart and his former production team The Hit Men had crafted years ago. Oddly, Diddy didn’t even know that Jay-Z was contemplating an album, nor did he realize that he was about to lay the foundation for American Gangster’s rich 70’s soundscape.


“I go to the studio and he’s playing all these tracks. And it hit, the [70’s] time period. But, he didn’t know about it [the album]. I’m like, ‘What are you doing with all these tracks?’ He’s like, ‘I just don’t have anybody to give them to.’ I was like, ‘Let me get those and it really set the [tone for the album],’” Jay admits.


Diddy and friends would go on to produce “Roc Boys,” “Pray,” “No Hook,” among other joints. With a solid groundwork, both sonically and thematically, Jay quickly pulled in others.


“[Diddy’s tracks] pretty much set the foundation and [other producers] had to produce into the sound that was already there,” he said. “Like JD [Jermaine Dupri] did ‘Fallen’ and that’s not a typical JD record, but it fits right into the album. And he did ‘When The Money Go’ as well.


Atlanta’s DJ Toomp ("Say Hello to the Bad Guy"), Kanye’s mentor No ID ("Success"), The Neptune’s Pharrell Williams (“Blue Magic” & “Hello”) and former Roc-a-Fella in-house maestro Just Blaze ("Ignorant S--t") all provide backdrops to American Gangster. Nas, singer Bilal and Beanie Sigel all round out an album that could go down as one of Hov’s best.


THE CONCLUSION (AKA The Beginning.)


Jay-Z never really left, but he’s back.


American Gangster is an album, not an event per se. Many of Jay-Z’s previous works seemed bogged down with the pageantry of the pre-fight anticipation, from the retirement to the return. It’s an album that should morph into an event, where fans of the Brooklyn native will commemorate and doubters will likely be silenced.


The album wasn’t even finished at press time, which is also a testament of how poignant this impromptu gala is. Even when the New York Yankees lose to the Cleveland Indians, nobody seems to care too much.


Jay’s path to victory will involve a number of post-release events, which will organically support the album and extend the creativity.


“What I really plan to do is shoot [American Gangster, the album] as a movie. Like a better ‘Streets is Watching.’” he says, piquing the interest of the writers. “Doing it like a musical. Real stories and get somebody in there that’s [going do to]…real writing. Someone to shoot it like ‘Godfather.’ I know that’s a little ungracious, but that’s how you gotta place it to get somewhere near.”


And, when asked if he planned to act in this movie, he responds briskly, “Yeah, yeah. I mean, who else gonna do that s**t?”


And then there is the obligatory tour, which always creates fervor with fans.


“I really look forward to touring, because of the music…the musicality of it all. I’m looking at a band right now. I’m looking to tour this summer. With all that instrumentation that’s in that album, forget about it. Forget about it,” he says trailing off.


By the end of the night, well after 11 pm, after repeated listens to American Gangster, attendees have immersed themselves into the lyrics, hidden codes, the samples and even picked their favorite records.


After a mention from a writer, Jay fesses up that he might leak “Roc Boys,” one of the album’s standouts, but he’s got his artistic reservations.


“You gotta put records out there to let people know [there is an album coming out], but I really want [American Gangster] to stay as one piece of work. I don’t want just one single out there,” he says, dismissing that he’s becoming a “weirdo artist.”


“But it should be heard as a body of work.”


He’s even considering placing the 80’s-themed, Rakim-influenced “Blue Magic” – the lead single - as a bonus cut, because it weakens the CD’s cohesion. There’s even a with a song with powerful Marvin Gaye sample Jay had stashed until finally letting the room hear. He just doesn’t quite know what to do with that song.


He does know what he wants with his career. Jay-Z once courted retirement from rapping. Hell, he went to the altar, but got a divorce three years later. Even in his late 30’s, he’s looking younger than the American Gangster promo pics on iTunes. He takes time to pull his pants up like a younger Hip-Hop head.


But, Jay recognizes there is more at stake and only a grown man can tackle the nonchalant notion Mim’s expressed on “This Is Why I’m Hot.”


American Gangster is pertinent to the present landscape for several reasons. Without the overabundance of hype, with how present people adore this album, Jay-Z’s 10th will represent a true test of the marketplace. There’s no fight night hype of an opposing artist, not even his own. [“I respect (LL Cool J). He’s a legend. I’m not doing that.”] There are no histrionics here.


It will also do something Kingdom Come could not. How this CD fares, will dictate if quality - regardless of content - is really what people want in a slumping sales market.


Furthermore, those notions of retirement are over, Jay stresses.


“Ahhh…I’m like the boxer. You know the boxer…boxers don’t stop.”


Pop the cork.


###


-2007 - AllHipHop.com