H.O.V.A. breathes life into hip-hop

No catchy dances or Lil' Wayne-isms are going to come out of this album. You're not going to find 16 bars calling out Jim Jones or The Game (like he did to Nas and Mobb Deep on other Blueprints). You won't find the big names he rounded up for "The Blueprint 2" -- and you definitely won't find R. Kelly.

What you will find is the Jay-Z ego present on every album since "Reasonable Doubt." At the same time, you'll find a more diplomatic Jay-Z -- a Jay-Z that at 40 years old is losing interest in the tit-for-tat of hip-hop.

"People keep talkin' bout Hov take it back/ I'm doin' better than before/ Why would I do that/ Ain't nothing cool bout carryin' a strap/ 'Bout worryin' your moms and buryin' your best cat," he says in the opening track, "What We Talking About."

Instead, he seems more concerned with the progression of the genre than calling out the destroyers of it. There's no doubt, "The Blueprint 3" is grown-man music.

Tapping the talent of some of his favorite producers, Jay lays out the blueprint. Kanye West produced several tracks as expected. Timbaland's tracks on the album ("Off That," "Venus vs. Mars") even show different sound than earlier work with Jay-Z. Swizz Beats redeemed himself with "On To The Next One."

The future of music is coming and The Neptunes seem to be stuck using the same synthesizer sounds they were using in 1999. The album could do without their track "So Ambitious."

"I'm so tomorrow they order mines on yesterday/ Which means you on-time than late" -- the other Mr. Carter is probably still somewhere trying to decipher what that even means.

Track by track, Jay-Z has not only stepped up his word play, but his subject matter has changed from moving drugs, diss-tracks and lots of talk about Jay-Z to just lots of talk about Jay-Z. But as other critics have pointed out, Jay-Z talking about Jay-Z is part of his appeal.

Not a believer? Ask Jim Jones: www.vimeo.com/2105873.

The theme of "Blueprint 3" is a vision of hip-hop to come. There isn't a song on the album that doesn't say so -- and even the future couldn't wait for the album. It was leaked Aug. 31, 12 days before the release date, and it's solid from start to finish. Because of his tamer lyrics and musical sound, the album has the potential to be a hit to non hip-hop fans as well and it sold 465,000 copies in its first week.

Looking back, "The Blueprint 2" was an album for him to experiment with different types of music and artists with no distinguishable direction. He got to experiment with heavy horn sections and instruments on "American Gangster." After letting it all marinate for a couple years and releasing a few faux Blueprint tracks ("Jockin' Jay-Z," "Ain't I," "Swagger Like Us"), out came "The Blueprint 3."

This album gets four and three-quarter stars -- minus a quarter star for having a song called "Death of Auto-tune" then using auto-tune three songs later on "On To The Next One."

For anyone who's had enough coke rap, Lil' Wayne on auto-tune and Soulja Boy's sudden quest for credibility, hopefully "The Blueprint 3" marks the beginning of the end of the drought. For real this time.

Best song: "Empire State of Mind" feat. Alicia Keys/ "Off That" feat. Drake

Worst Songs: "Reminder" (Most annoying chorus of 2009)/ "Thank You" (Why is Jay rapping like Eminem on a beat that sounds like it was made by … Eminem)

If you liked "The Blueprint 3," check out: John Forte's "StyleFree the EP."

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.