rihanna
MGMT and Rihanna are among the artists appearing on Jay-Z's new album, the rapper has revealed. The indie band and R&B star will join the likes of Kud Cudi, Drake and Mr Hudson on The Blueprint 3, due 11 September.
The Blueprint 3 is a diverse and "mature" album, Jay-Z said, reflecting the time that has passed since the first Blueprint album in 2001. "If you're a 30-year-old rapper still trying to make music like you're 15, then you're making it narrow," he told Reuters. "At my age, I can't relate to a 15-year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group."
To achieve his "mature and relevant" sound, Jay-Z turned to producers No ID, Timbaland and Kanye West. "Kanye is really the father to the next generation," he said. "He's from the school of Q-Tip, and now Drake and Kid Cudi are from the school of 'Ye. And, when you look at Kanye, you have to look at Lil Wayne. I think they're like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James."
Despite this compliment, Lil Wayne is one of the hip-hop superstars who does not appear on the album. Nor does Jay-Z's wife, R&B star Beyoncé, though the rapper still hasn't ruled out the possibility.
Jay-Z went on to explain Death of Auto-Tune, the manifesto track from The Blueprint 3, saying that it was West who had the anti-pitch-correction idea. "When he heard [DOA's] beat he said, 'Man, this is just so hard! This has to be against everything. No Auto-Tune. None of that type of stuff!'"
It's not that Auto-Tune sounds bad, Jay-Z underlined – just that it has been overused. "In hip-hop our job is, once a trend becomes a gimmick, to get rid of it," he said. "We've done that since the beginning of time. This isn't some new thing. When people were wearing black medallions Ice Cube came along and said, 'Get it outta here!'. When Hammer was selling 50,000 records, Q-Tip came and said, 'Get it outta here!'. Then Biggie Smalls came and said, 'Your life is played out like Kwame in the fucking polka dots. Get the polka dots outta here!' It's just a part of hip-hop."
But it appears that Jay-Z has no intention to "get outta here", three years after his "retirement". "One day you'll wake up and say, 'Man, it's been five years since this guy has put out an album,'" he joked. "Then you'll realise that I'm gone."
The Blueprint 3's first official single, Run This Town, will reportedly be released on Friday. It features cameos by Kanye West and Rihanna.
The Blueprint 3 is a diverse and "mature" album, Jay-Z said, reflecting the time that has passed since the first Blueprint album in 2001. "If you're a 30-year-old rapper still trying to make music like you're 15, then you're making it narrow," he told Reuters. "At my age, I can't relate to a 15-year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group."
To achieve his "mature and relevant" sound, Jay-Z turned to producers No ID, Timbaland and Kanye West. "Kanye is really the father to the next generation," he said. "He's from the school of Q-Tip, and now Drake and Kid Cudi are from the school of 'Ye. And, when you look at Kanye, you have to look at Lil Wayne. I think they're like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James."
Despite this compliment, Lil Wayne is one of the hip-hop superstars who does not appear on the album. Nor does Jay-Z's wife, R&B star Beyoncé, though the rapper still hasn't ruled out the possibility.
Jay-Z went on to explain Death of Auto-Tune, the manifesto track from The Blueprint 3, saying that it was West who had the anti-pitch-correction idea. "When he heard [DOA's] beat he said, 'Man, this is just so hard! This has to be against everything. No Auto-Tune. None of that type of stuff!'"
It's not that Auto-Tune sounds bad, Jay-Z underlined – just that it has been overused. "In hip-hop our job is, once a trend becomes a gimmick, to get rid of it," he said. "We've done that since the beginning of time. This isn't some new thing. When people were wearing black medallions Ice Cube came along and said, 'Get it outta here!'. When Hammer was selling 50,000 records, Q-Tip came and said, 'Get it outta here!'. Then Biggie Smalls came and said, 'Your life is played out like Kwame in the fucking polka dots. Get the polka dots outta here!' It's just a part of hip-hop."
But it appears that Jay-Z has no intention to "get outta here", three years after his "retirement". "One day you'll wake up and say, 'Man, it's been five years since this guy has put out an album,'" he joked. "Then you'll realise that I'm gone."
The Blueprint 3's first official single, Run This Town, will reportedly be released on Friday. It features cameos by Kanye West and Rihanna.
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