Jay-Z speaks on his song 'Come and Get Me', from Vol. 3, Life and Times of S. Carter:

• "People see you and they already have their perception of how you are, so they come at you that way. However they imagine you to be, they come at you that way. And they go, 'oh, he's acting funny' or 'he's changed' if you're not the way they perceive you to be."

The Re-Rank Is Tomorrow

Bro this the most unbiased unemotional accurate ranking and scoring of Jay-Z albums I’ve ever seen

Only change id make is sliding 444 to a 9/10 because moonlight is still meh

Welcome to the Re-Rank!

• Man. So far, I've really enjoyed this process of listening to these classic albums and just spending time with the music. For real! This is the first time I've really done a deep dive project like this, and I've really enjoyed myself. I've really been able to exercise my rediscovered love for writing, I love to entertain and glorify people, I love making graphics and I'm building something that I can use in the future. This has been a great way to express myself and I feel like I'm living life for the first time.

• I promised way back in January that I'd re-visit the albums we've done after I've given a few more listens and do a final ranking where I might've overlooked some things. Well, we're finally here and I'm happy to present to y'all the true end of Part 1 of this review series... this'll be the last time we focus on Jay-Z's albums from 1996-2000. Granted, we might re-rank these again or something, but for the most part, after this, we'll be moving onto the next. I know y'all have been waiting, and I'm glad to deliver it. Let's get into it. A sense of finality.

• This was a whirlwind! There are three main points in time in which I personally ranked my Top 8 favorite songs from the first 5 albums. Before Part 1 ended, my Top 3 looked like Coming of Age (Da Sequel), Feelin' It, and Who You Wit 2. By the time I officially ended Part 1, my new favorite was Bring It On from Reasonable Doubt, and it stayed that way all the way until now.

• Bring It On is a wonderful song. To be honest, when I first listened to Reasonable Doubt, I didn't even download this track. So I didn't really even discover it until right before the end of Part 1, when I originally was looking to post this Re-Rank.

• I know it's been said that Reservoir Dogs from Vol. 2 is one of hip-hop's best posse tracks, but I can't help but think Bring It On edges it out. I love the violin on the beat, and it's just so calm. I really, really feel like this song totally encapsulates the feeling of Reasonable Doubt as a whole. The vibe, tone, and feel, is like a perfect theme for everything the album has to offer. Feelin' It is a really good track too, but this song to me is the masterpiece.

• One thing I really liked about old Jay-Z albums is that I think he did a really good job with his skits. As I listen to Jay's albums, Kanye's albums in his early history really start to reveal how involved Roc-a-fella was in rolling him out. There are a ton of similarities between Ye and Jay's initial releases, and we'll get to that more later. But one thing Jay has over Ye is that I think his skits are really much more timeless and seamless within the scope of his work, as compared to what we saw on The College Dropout and Late Registration.

After that, you just have some of my favorite moments on the album. Big Jaz is nice, and I love his shoutout to Roc-a-fella at the end of his verse. As for Jay? He had the best verse, but Sauce Money cleans it up really really well at the end. Let's look at a few Jay lines:

• "Mannerisms of a young Bobby DeNiro/Spent Spanish wisdoms in a whip with dinero/Crime organized like the Pharoahe/I cream, I diamond glam/High post like Ha-keem"
• "Can I Live did dough, with my nigs, dividends flow/Like the Mississippi Riv', lookin' jig"
• "Had to turn away when Tony killed Manolo--that's real!"
• "Thug thought he was OG Bobby Johnson/I played him like Benny Blanco/Mono y mono, you ain't ready"
• "I am 2.2 pounds, you barely 125 grams/I wouldn't expect you to understand this money"
• "Due to knowledge, due to few dollars, I'm due to demolish/Crews Brooklyn through Hollis, to a hood near you... what the f***?"

And then Sauce Money:

• "Money is power!"
• "Convoys of Benzes like we fouling in the U.N./So what the f*** you doing?/Whatever nigga, Fahvergnügen"
• "Fuck with me, witness mañana"
• "Never put the pure brown sugar before the dirty, green, cream!"

Bring It On is the song that always had a sense of finality for me.

Not only was it the last song I grasped onto before closing out these albums, but it was the one that really embraced for me putting everything behind. When I listen to this song, that's when I think of her the most, and I think of her in the way of acceptance and finality. It feels like for me there's a big part of my life, even beyond her, that is finally put to rest. The violin in this song sure sounds like there's a casket involved somewhere, and when I get lost in my thoughts, I put this song on and it brings me clarity.

This song was meaningful enough for me that I didn't want to keep posting about--I had a lot to say about Feelin' It and Coming of Age (Da Sequel), as well, obviously, but in the end, Bring It On is the song that really does it for me, and allows me to look forward knowing that I don't have anything holding me back.

I'm sure this is a song that's underrated in a lot of circles, but I would implore anyone who listens to classic Jay-Z to make sure they visit this song a few times, because it can compete with every album all the way up to The Dynasty, at least. Big ups to Jay for this one... this is definitively the song for The Re-Rank.

Lastly, some underrated songs that I discovered or came to appreciate during my re-listens:

• Friend Or Foe (Reasonable Doubt)
• Come And Get Me (Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter)
• Snoopy Track (Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter)

Re-Rank: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997)

I owe this album an apology.

Originally giving this album a rank 7 out of a possible ten, this album is responsible for the Re-Rank as a whole.

It didn't click with me at first. I thought it was a big contrast between his former album and this one, and maybe where I felt there were differences, I didn't quite come to appreciate them. But man, as I heard more of Jay's music, the more I came to love this album.

Once I pressed onto Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life and beyond, I just kept coming back to this album. A Million And One Questions / Rhyme No More is certainly one of my favorite Jay-Z songs at this point, and definitely his best intro we've seen so far. Jay is so authoritative with his voice and delivery in his early albums... who can ignore that?

This album is just so smooth. It just is. It's a very introspective album, a stark contrast to the initial Reasonable Doubt which really sounds like it was planned out in every way before its glorious release. In that album, Jay plays more of a character--or at least that's what the portrayal seems to be--and here, you probably hear more about Shawn Carter for the first time.

Some songs I picked up upon my subsequent listens are Where I'm From, Rap Game / Crack Game, and I finally gained a real appreciation for (Always Be My) Sunshine, which was a highly touted track back then.

Underrated Songs:

• Where I'm From

• Rap Game / Crack Game

IN MY LIFETIME, VOL. 1.... RE-RANK SCORE... 9.0

• Original Score: 7/10

Re-Rank: Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)

• I've been listening to The Blueprint and the way that album begins is incredible. Dealing with his beef with Nas at that time, Jay really loads into the album in a way that he hasn't before.

• ...until I realized that he has come into an album with that sort of aggression before. On Blueprint, Jay seems totally perturbed by whatever is bothering him, but a lot of that energy is reflected here in Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter.

I noticed this when I was listening to songs like Hova Song (Intro), where Jay says:

• "Mike Jordan of rap--outside J workin'/Now watch how quickly I drop 50"

And the again, on It's Hot (Some Like It Hot):

• "Go against Jigga? Yo ass in dense/I'm about a dollar, what the f*** is fifty cents?"

Apparently, these lines stemmed from one of 50 Cent's rap songs where he named Jigga as one of his targets to rob.

Regardless, the energy was there. It felt familiar, so it made me revisit Vol. 3. This album is actually very introspective too, and reminds me a lot of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 in that we hear more from Shawn Carter rather than Jay-Z.

His first album seems like it was scripted--which isn't a knock against it. His second album seemed more personal, and his third album is straight going at the rap kings.

But here in Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter, Jigga is really starting to become less of the mob boss and more of the mob boss of rap. Here is when we start to see the transition from real street rapper to a pop star. At first, the transition was jarring, but after hearing how his experience culminated in The Blueprint, I had to give this album some love because I see where it was going.

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia to me are two parts of the same coin. Their relationship really reminds me of the video game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, which was a long game divided into two parts.

I feel the same thing here. Both albums really keep the same level of hype, and I feel like they play off of each other. Both of these albums are Jigga's first attempts at exploring the pop star life. It isn't all there at first--while some tracks are experimental and some are better than others, I'm not feeling like these albums latch onto a specific feel the way his previous three works did. But, together they may form a decent transitional feeling double album of sorts.

While I'm still not overly impressed with Vol. 3, I will give it some extra points for the concept and what was being attempted. It was a stark contrast to his previous effort in Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life but it was representative of where Shawn was in his life at the time and where he was going. There are a few tracks to bounce to, and a few tracks that preview what we'll hear in his 2001 release, but overall, I'll give it...

VOL. 3... LIFE AND TIMES OF S. CARTER... RE-RANK SCORE, 8/10

• Original Score, 7.5/10

the op has been updated, perfected, and immortalized.

now I can rest for a bit

You reminded me of Violet now it feels more Azalea

Prove It, 21 Savage

See if you can work out today, fellas. Get up, shower, plan with purpose. Design your steps in a way that preserves your momentum. If frustration calls for a new outlet, embrace it, and make it an advantage. Be consistent and have a level view of the playing field. Be confident in yourself and have belief that your will can create a perfect path for you. Be ingenious in your thoughts and treat yourself as if you were your own child.

Good morning!

Song Spotlight: Song Cry (2001)

This is the first song I ever heard where the rapper made the song cry.

I love this song, man. This is a dope track. The sample is hard, and the voice is amazing! It's angelic and it comes in powerfully and glorious. Just like the rest of this album, this song is one for the ages.

This is one of Jay's most introspective tracks for sure. At first, you're not sure who the woman is singing on this track, but this is a new sound and you're into it!

The first verse comes and goes quickly, but that's when Jay-Z gets to the nitty gritty in the chorus:

I can't see 'em coming down my eyes/So I gotta make the Song Cry

lol, this is thug love music for sure, haha. Nah, but for real--the chorus is hard. It's straight and to the point. And it poses quite a challenge... I can the understand the tears can't come down his eyes, but how do you make the song cry? Sheesh! That's some real s***.

If you look at the chorus and look at the lyrics, then I would say that this is the first song I ever heard where the rapper made the song cry.

Let's look at the lyrics. Firstly, in order to make the song cry, I believe you have to be rapping about something so real that the song cries! Is that something Jay is able to do? These lyrics are definitely relatable:

Verse 1:

• "I can understand why you want a divorce now/Though I can't let you know it, pride won't let me show it/Pretend to be heroic, that's just one to grow with/But deep inside, a nigga so sick"

I can relate to that verse. You know how they say people check out of the relationship before it actually ends? I've experienced that. To look at the person opposite of you and know the ship is sinking. To understand not only do you have grievances, but the person you're with... she doesn't truly want to be near you either. So you either have two choices; you let the ship sink, or you try to do what you can to right the way. Either way, if there's no success at the end, it will come with pain and regret.

Sometimes ignoring the problem and trying to be the hero... people will tell you that's what they want, but in reality, it's not. Making that choice can make the situation worse, and that's something that Jay-Z alludes to in the first verse.

OK, pretty real, but I'm not crying yet, nor is the song. We get our act together when we hear the chorus again, and then we hear more from Jay on verse 2:

Verse 2:

• "I used to cut up they buddies, now they sayin' they love me/Used to tell their friends I was ugly and wouldn't touch me/Then I showed up in that dubbed out buggy/And then they got fussy and they don't remember that/And I don't remember you"

The second verse, Jay reminisces about a relationship he had from when he was poor. He and the girl did a lot for each other, but as Jay began to grow, things shifted. He directs the verse a bit to speak on how the women in his life would tell him he was ugly and that they wouldn't touch him. They probably promised that if he had a million dollars, they would show him some love and affection. Of course, if he brings it up, they'll say they don't remember dissing him so vehemently... well, the tide has shifted and Jay barely remembers the woman with the venomous tongue.

I really love how the verse ends here... I don't remember you and complete silence. It really fills the effect here, and it makes you want that person he's speaking to to really feel it.

Another relatable verse. No doubt there are men who know the feeling of being with a woman who mocks them when they don't have much. I'm glad to the brothers who have escaped that sort of hell. I wish those women knew how it reflects on them when they decide to be that sort of person towards the one they are spending time with.

Verse 3:

• "You were given away without gettin' at me/That's your fault, how many times you've forgiven me?/How was I to know that you was plain sick of me?/I know the way a nigga livin' was wack/But you don't get a nigga back like that!"

• "Shit, I'm a man with pride, you don't do s*** like that/You don't just pick up and leave and leave me sick like that/You don't throw away what we had just like that/I was just f***in' them girls, I was gon' get right back/"

• "They say you can't turn a bad girl good/But once a good girl's gone bad, she's gone forever/

• "Mourn forever/Shit, I gotta live with the fact I did you wrong forever"
  

And then the pain of your person being given to someone else!

Jay raps through the five stages of grief in this third verse (full verse not written)--denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

One thing Jay really does well is emphasize a point by not finishing a rhyme scheme. Case in point:

"The you can't turn a bad girl good/But once a good girl's gone bad, she's gone forever"

...basically, that telling was so real, we weren't even talking about rhymes anymore!.

Jay does the same thing with the rhyme scheme on another one of my favorite lines of his, from Coming of Age (Da Sequel).

"Look at that fake smile he just gave me, it's breaking my heart/Should I school him or pull the tools out and just break him apart?/I felt the hatred, it was hard, before this faking s*** start?/I should take him in back of the building and blaze him"

As the song cries in the background with that amazing sample from Bobby Glenn (the sample was by producer Just Blaze), Jay lets us know about the realness. His anger that's been produced from a person testing his pride, the conclusion he came to about his woman, and the reality that the part he played in their separation is very much real.

Definitely one of my favorite songs off The Blueprint. It was a song that was mentioned by the thread a few times when I first posted this music review, and by the time I got to it, I wasn't disappointed. Jay shares with us some very real and relatable feelings here, and the sample is one that really enhances to the song to the point where you can do nothing just sit, listen, and enjoy.

I went back to hear the original sample, too--"Sounds Like A Love Song" by Bobby Glenn, and the part that was sampled for Song Cry sounds angelic and beautiful still in its original state. Definitely a track I would recommend for anyone to go back and play a few times, even if you've heard it before.

Song Cry is a great song. This isn't the song I wanted to focus first for The Blueprint, but I was listening lately and it was just too powerful not to speak on.

I wonder how I would have felt if I listened to this song earlier!

Similar songs:

• This Can't Be Life (2000)
• Lost One (2006)
• Smile (2017)

Coming Up:

Listening to Song Cry and its original sample had me in my feelings I’m ngl lmao. That sample and those verses are beautiful

Sunday Morning Jay-Z:

(2018) The rapper and music mogul discusses therapy, marriage and politics with The New York Times's executive editor.

• Editor: “And then when you’re listening to the newest album, you’re thinking, ‘he must have been in a lot of pain when life was good.”

• Shawn Carter (Jay-Z): “Absolutely. I did this song called ‘Song Cry’ and the idea of the hook—‘never see ‘em coming down my eyes, so I gotta make the song cry’—tells you right there that I was hiding. The strongest thing a man can do is cry. To expose your feelings, to be vulnerable in front of the world. That’s real strength. When you feel like you’ve gotta be this guarded person, that’s not real. That’s fake.”

Thread Bonus:

From the Jamie Foxx Show, “Show Me While You Tell Me”

When you tell me that you love me, is it really, really true?

Up Next: Heart of the City

Note:

What's most important is that when you see ___ again, you are uninhibited by past emotions.

There are a few ways to do this. Firstly, you can spend enough time away that seeing ___ would be like meeting a new person entirely.

• You can also accomplish your goals and find fulfillment, so you can forgive the past and make strategic decisions for your future.

• You can pray and ask God to help you control your emotions and your peace of mind.

• Everything takes time. Agonizing over the past will not help you. However, hiding your emotions like you did in your past will not help you, either. You need to be able to walk away if ___ cannot be a steward for your spirit--but you also need to walk away, or not approach, if you can't be a steward for her spirit.

• Ask yourself, what do you really want? Is there anything _ can provide that is helpful to you? Can you endure it if she still does not __ you? Is the risk worth it? Do you truly want to make amends, or are you meditating the past?

• You are the one who decides if this person is special. How special, why and what you want to be for them, and what you believe can be accomplished is all up to you.

• However, you cannot succeed if you hold yourself back in case things don't work out. You cannot succeed if you are not resolute at the critical moment. You cannot succeed if you haven't planned your steps.

• You can't succeed if you aren't patient with yourself, God, other human beings, and your emotions.

• This world is about you, after all.

There is no need to be anxious. Be calm and still in your own mind, and accomplish your good work. Once that is complete, things will fall into place. Stay focused, and lean on Me in your times of doubt.

Song Spotlight: Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)

First the Fat Boys break up, now every day I wake up/Somebody got a problem with Hov/What's up? Y'all niggas all fed up 'cause I got a little cheddar/And my record's movin' out the store?

Heart of the City is an amazing song. I love the way it hits when it comes in.

When I first turned my attention to The Blueprint, this is the song I played, and I'm glad I did. It really, really encapsulates the fact that we are in a new era of HOV. The production, the mastering, the inflection in his voice, the power in the sound--all of it just screams "The Blueprint" to me.

Check out this bravado:

Young f***s spittin' at me, young rappers gettin' at me/
My nigga Big predicted this s*** exactly/
"Mo' Money, Mo' Problems," gotta move carefully/
'Cause f*ggots hate when you gettin' money like athletes/
Youngins ice-grillin' me, oh, you not feelin' me?/
Fine, it cost you nothin', pay me no mind/
Look, I'm on my grind, cousin, ain't got time for frontin'/
Sensitive thugs, y'all all need hugs/
Damn, little mans, I'm just tryna do me/
If the record's two mil', I'm just tryna move three/
Get a couple chicks, get 'em to try to do E/
Hopefully they'll ménage before I reach my garage/
I don't want much, f***, I drove every car/
Some nice cooked food, some nice clean drawers/
Bird-ass niggas, I don't mean to ruffle y'all/
I know you waitin' in the wing, but I'm doin' my thing/
Where's the love?

lol, my favorite line from this first verse is:

I don't want much, f***, I drove every car/
Some nice cooked food, some nice clean drawers/
I always laugh when I hear how Jay delivers the "nice cooked food" line. That's how you know that man was serious, haha. That's real.

One thing that's significant about The Blueprint that wasn't in Jay's previous works... this is a pretty star-studded album when you look at features, production, and mastering. Songs like Heart of the City or Girls, Girls, Girls, or even Izzo (H.O.V.A.) really take you to a place where you can imagine the strings, chords, and samples ringing off the buildings of New York and flowing through the sky.

But the thing is, back in 2001, the stars such as Kanye West and No I.D., weren't star-studded--they were getting their first opportunities to really make an impact when they were producing songs for Jay-Z and Roc-a-fella.

This album is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between rapper Jay-Z and little-known producer Kanye West, from Chicago.

Thank God!!! Thank u so much, you've worked miracles in my life, I always use 2 think, why there no good rappers on GOD's side??? I know I'm not where I need 2 be, matter of fact, far from it! but... well u know when a nigga use the word but, he finna come with an excuse... I don't got no excuse, you spared my life and I still be on bullshit! AMEN! You are the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF MY LIFE THANK U! THANK MOM! I❤️U SO MUCH, u believed, I'm so proud of you and I know youre proud of me. You told me when I was little that you were my BEST FRIEND, AND I FOUND THAT OUT LATER IN LIFE

One of my homies that was one of my artists, he got signed. But it was supposed to really go through my production company, but he ended up going straight with the company. So, like I'm just straight holdin' the phone, gettin' the bad news that dude was tryin' to leave my company. And I got evicted at the same time. So I went down and tracked the beats from him, I took that money, came back, packed all my s*** up in a U-Haul, maybe about ten days before I had to actually get out so I ain't have to deal with the landlord 'cause he's a jerk. Me and my mother drove to Newark, New Jersey. I hadn't even seen my apartment. I remember I pulled up, I unpacked all my s***. You know, we went to Ikea, I bought a bed, I put the bed together myself. I loaded up all my equipment, and the first beat I made was, uh, "Heart of the City."

• Kanye West

In 2004, Kanye West released his debut album under the Roc-a-fella label: The College Dropout. However, it was in 2000 and 2001 where you first hear some of Ye and Jay's earliest collaborations.

Those who were fans of Kanye in his early years remember his song "Last Call", where he recounts his experience with Roc-a-fella and producing for Jay-Z at the time. One of his tracks, This Can't Be Life was featured on Jay-Z's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album, and here on The Blueprint, Kanye produces 4 additional tracks, including Heart of the City.

I've mentioned before about Jay-Z's relationship with his then-protégé Memphis Bleek, but that partnership is no doubt succeeded by Hov's partnership with Kanye West. Interestingly, Bleek doesn't appear on The Blueprint, though we'll hear one more track from him and Jay on The Blueprint 2.

We'll get more into it later, but we're really starting to see a transition here. Roc-a-fella at this point will soon be leveling up into its next incarnation, and it's no doubt that Ye's influence and is a big part of that. No matter how you look at it, The Blueprint in all its glory blares to its audience that we're looking at a new level now. As much as we loved what we've heard from Jay-Z up to this point, there's no turning back now. The team is getting stronger, and it's evident everywhere.

I told you '96 that I came to take this s*** and I did/Handle my biz, I scramble like Randall with his/Cunningham, but the only thing runnin' is numbers, fam/Jigga held you down six summers, damn, where's the love?

Ain't no love! In the heart of the city!!

And then the Fugees gon' break up, now every day I wake up/
Somebody got somethin' to say/
What's all the f***in' fussin' for?/
Because I'm grubbin' more?/
And I pack heat like I'm the oven door?/

This is a song I feel like I can relate to because I just love the boastfulness. Throughout The Blueprint, you get an air of Jay-Z receiving all sorts of attention--negative attention from the press, some back and forths with women, other rappers trying to get at him... it's exhausting for him, but he uses it as fuel to spit fire.

Males shouldn't be jealous, that's a female trait/
What, you mad 'cause you push dimes and he sell weight?/
Y'all don't know my expenses, I gotta buy bigger plates/
Haha, and more baggies, why you all aggy?/
Nigga, respect the game, that should be it/
What you eat don't make me s***/
Where's the love?/

I play this song when it's time to get into gear. If I'm going out on the town or I have to get my mind right, this is one of the ones that I go to.

Heart of the City is definitely a song that jumps up and surpasses many of the songs I previously mentioned as my favorite. This song and this album really feels like the fruit of one's labor. This here is the beginning of something truly great and unique. This is a cool sound--it's victorious, it's boastful, it's even calming. I've said before also that this song is similar to one of my favorites, Feelin' It, and I still think that this song plays a similar role on this album as that one did on Reasonable Doubt.

Similar Songs:

• This Can't Be Life (2000)
• Never Change (2001)
• Otis (2011)

Coming Up:

Concentrate on what's important, and then commit to it all the way.

Fan Love Interlude: All I Need

I celebrate today
I am renewed with no doubt
Wine and rain, tears falling

Unknown and change near
Confident but sorrowful heart
Thoughts of now and then

All I Need, with me
Take heart, relax with poetry
My goals fulfilled certainly

Want to be alone
Allow this moment to breathe
Alone is not for me

I believe your words
So believe me when I pray
We'll find solace someday

This is new for me
But I'm learning about myself
Me and one other, alone

Sometimes it's soft as a misting rain/
That gently touches our souls/
It cools the fire that burns in us/
And we simply lose control/

So just rain down, Lord, Lord, please/
Let your love fall like rain/
Just rain, Lord, please/
Just rain down, Lord, Lord, please/
Let your love just shower us/
Just rain, Lord, please

See Also:

Entertainment Now!! The Jamie Foxx Show Review by Tito94

It's like I say when Eminem was on Jay-Z's song--he f***ed cuz up on that record. You know what record I'm talking about. He f***ed him off on that record, completely. Like, DAMN! But you've gotta do that--you're on Jay-Z's album! You can't--Jay-Z is known for killin' niggas. But to have Eminem, the white boy, kill him on his s***? That was nerve wracking. I was like whew, I don't want Eminem on my album... I'm cool."

• Snoop Dogg

Renegade is a famous song. It is one of Jay-Z's most known tracks, especially up to this point and a few years after. There's a couple of reasons for this... firstly, it features Eminem, one of hip-hop's all-timers, and his verse on here is no joke.

Second, it's famous because most everyone who hears this track is in agreeance--Eminem killed Jay on this track.

Third, in the famous Jay-Z versus Nas beef, Nas mentions to Jay that "Eminem murdered you on your own s***", a clear reference to this Renegade track.

At this point in Jay-Z's career, he's known as one of hip-hop's top best rappers, known for hopping on other people's songs and completely taking it over, but in this titanic battle between Jay and Eminem, hip-hop has always had the debate of who had the better verse.

Personally, if you ask me, I think Eminem clearly takes the cake on this track. I'll say firstly that Eminem is among my top favorite rappers of all-time, along with Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. I first heard Renegade back in high school when I first started perusing Eminem's discography after getting into his Relapse album. Back then, I really only knew Jay-Z as the guy who was on a couple Kanye West songs, but even then, for me, Eminem's verse was the main draw of the song.

I've likened Jay-Z to Eminem a few times already so far in this project, so when they finally clash it's no surprise. Even here on The Blueprint, there are moments where the two remind me of each other. Both characters are hip-hop legends and historians, so to me there's no doubt that in parts of their careers, they were influenced by each other and made music based off of that influence.

I really like how Eminem, who's usually crazy and all over the place in his raps, is really buttoned up on here and you can tell that he respects Jay and the stature of The Bleuprint. Jay as a rapper is the personification of class--or, at least on the way to that by this point in his career--so to see Eminem respect that is really good to see. Though, don't get me wrong--Em respects hip-hop and knows how to conduct himself when it's own track and when he's on another legend's track.

We'll dive into Renegade and the differences between the two rappers' verses, but to quickly sum it up, I'll say that one thing that really made Eminem's verse was the mastering and the topic of conversation. But let's get to it:

• Let's examine Jay's first verse, and break it down:

Motherfuckers say that I'm foolish, I only talk about jewels (Bling-bling)/
Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?/
See, I'm influenced by the ghetto you ruined/
The same dude you gave nothin', I made somethin' doin'/
What I do through and through and/
I give you the news with a twist, it's just his ghetto point of view/
The renegade, you been afraid I penetrate pop culture/
Bring 'em a lot closer to the block where they pop toasters/
And they live with they moms, got dropped roadsters/
From botched robberies, niggas crouched over/
Mami's knocked up 'cause she wasn't watched over/
Knocked down by some clown/
When child support knocked, "No, he's not around"/
Now, how that sound to ya? Jot it down/
I bring you through the ghetto without ridin' 'round/
Hidin' down, duckin' strays from frustrated youths stuck in they ways/
Just read a magazine that f***ed up my day/
How you rate music that thugs with nothin' relate to it?/
I help them see they way through it, not you/
Can't step in my pants, can't walk in my shoes/
Bet everything you worth, you'll lose your tie and your shirt/

• In this verse, Jay keeps it real simple. The message of this verse? Jay is speaking to white America in this song, letting them know that it's their influence that created the ghetto and culture that Jay is familiar with. And what's the problem? He's simply spitting back the psychology that was forced upon him, and bring the audience to a world that they are blissfully unaware of.

• Jay considers his music to be a gift to his audience, because he gets to bring to them the reality of what he experienced without them having to experience it themselves. What's better than that?

• In this song Renegade, both Jay and Eminem address their issues with white America and their general hip-hop audience. At this point, both are superstars, so their voices reach much further than the neighborhoods they come from.

• In the next verse, Eminem drops the first of his much-anticipated verses:

Since I'm in a position to talk to these kids and they listen/
I ain't no politician, but I'll kick it with 'em a minute/
'Cause see, they call me a menace and if the shoe fits, I'll wear it/
But if it don't, then y'all'll swallow the truth, grin and bear it/
Now who's the king of these rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics?/
Who could inherit the title, put the youth in hysterics/
Usin' his music to steer it, sharin' his views and his merits?/
But there's a huge interference, they're sayin' you shouldn't hear it/
Maybe it's hatred I spew, maybe it's food for the spirit/
Maybe it's beautiful music I made for you to just cherish/
But I'm debated, disputed, hated and viewed in America/
As a motherfuckin' d*** addict, like you didn't experiment?/
Now, now, that's when you start to stare at who's in the mirror/
And see yourself as a kid again, and you get embarrassed/
And I got nothin' to do but make you look stupid as parents/
You f***in' do-gooders, too bad you couldn't do good at marriage (Haha)/
And do you have any clue what I had to do to get here?/
I don't think you do, so stay tuned and keep your ears glued to the stereo/
'Cause here we go, he's Jigga-Jur-Jigga-Jih-Jigga/
And I'm the sinister Mr. Kiss-My-Ass is just a/

• Eminem is having a lot of fun with this verse. Firstly, while he and Jay-Z both attempt similar rhyme pattens, Eminem's approach to it is a lot more emphatic. I'll say again that comparatively to Jay's verse, it seems as if Eminem has way better mastering for his verse, but I also feel like Jay rolls out the red carpet for Eminem on this highly-anticipated track, and takes a step back by letting Em's voice be the emphasis on this track, if nothing else.

• I won't go over the rhyme scheme because there are others who can do a much better job at that than me, but let's evaluate the lyrics. In this verse, Eminem also speaks to the same audience as Jay-Z. Firstly, for Em to be able to speak to the same audience is a big plus for him over Jay. Eminem's controversial career puts him in a position where he can voice gripes with white America is a unique and interesting way that other white rappers just aren't really able to do. This is Em's forte, so a song with a topic like this is already putting him in a great position.

• Em speaks on how he's the voice of the people--specifically the kids of the politicians and parents who spend their time railing against him. He's the new rock star of this generation, whether folks like it or not. He calls the audience hyprocries for wanting to bring him down for the same things he suggests they do, and reiterates his stance with a powerful chorus:

Renegade! Never been afraid to say
What's on my mind at any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade
Never been afraid to talk about anything
(Anything?), anything (Anything)

• And Jay:

Renegade, never been afraid to say
What's on my mind at any given time of day
'Cause I'm a renegade
Never been afraid to holler about anything
(Anything?), anything (Anything)

Jay's second verse:

I had to hustle, my back to the wall, ashy knuckles/
Pockets filled with a lotta lint, not a cent/
Gotta vent, lotta innocent lives lost on the project bench/
What you hollerin'? Gotta pay rent, bring dollars in/
By the bodega, iron under my coat, feelin' braver/
Durag wrappin' my waves up, pockets full of hope/
Do not step to me/
I'm awkward, I box lefty/
An orphan, my pops left me/
And often my mama wasn't home/
Could not stress to me, I wasn't grown/
'Specially on nights I brought somethin' home to quiet the stomach rumblings/
My demeanor thirty years my senior/
My childhood didn't mean much, only raisin' green up/
Raisin' my fingers to critics, raisin' my head to the sky/
Big, I did it, multi before I die/
No lie, just know I chose my own fate/
I drove by the fork in the road and went straight/

• Jay-Z speaks on his childhood here and why it was necessary for him to come up the way he did. He reinforces the idea that he didn't have much and he didn't have many backing him, either. His mindset, though, was always beyond his physical years, and he spent his young days doing nothing but making the moves to make money and survive.

• Therefore, he's unapologetic and where he's been, and where he is now! He's the captain of his own fate, the conqueror of his soul and this is the result. Anybody got a problem with that?

• Jay's verses in this song are very straightforward, so there's not a lot of commentary that's needed to get one to understand the point. I feel that Jay put the song over the battle in this way; it really seems that he opted out of battling Eminem and used this opportunity to speak his truth to his audience. Having a guy like Eminem on this song really puts the song in an atmosphere that Jay alone might not reach often, so in this scenario, beating Em on the track might not be the top priority. I think he was able to focus on a goal with this verse and really aim for what would be most profitable in the long run. I do think Jay has a respectable verse here, and I think that a song like this really does justice to the stature that both rappers are on.

• Did you know that Eminem produced this song as well? Just another W. However, let's wrap this up.

• In the end, Eminem doesn't spare anyone, including Jay, as he cleans up the song with a second haymaker of a verse:

See, I'm a poet to some, a regular modern-day Shakespeare/
Jesus Christ, the king of these Latter-day Saints here/
To shatter the picture in which of that as they paint me as/
A monger of hate, satanist, scatter-brained atheist/
But that ain't the case, see, it's a matter of taste/
We as a people decide if Shady's as bad as they say he is/
Or is he the latter, a gateway to escape?/
Media scapegoat who they can be mad at today/
See, it's as easy as cake, simple as whistlin' "Dixie"/
While I'm wavin' the pistol at sixty Christians against me/
Go to war with the Mormons, take a bath with the Catholics/
In holy water, no wonder they tried to hold me under longer/
I'm a motherfuckin' spiteful, delightful eyeful/
The new Ice Cube, motherfuckers hate to like you/
What did I do? (Huh?), I'm just a kid from the gutter/
Makin' his butter off these bloodsuckers, 'cause I'm a motherfuckin'/

• Eminem has no dog in this fight. He lets the audience know that... it's up to them to decide what Slim Shady is. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? He supposes that's up to the listener to decide. In the end, he's just here to make music. He likens himself to Ice Cube as the new poster child of rap infamy.

• In the end, Eminem might have positioned himself as the #1 rapper of 2001 after this verse. Although Jay has built a small empire, it's tracks like this that remind us how long the road to the top can be.

The Blueprint Review is Up Next. Moving on from this album soon!