The Blueprint

Rare card · No. 36827

The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature. At the time of the album's recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip-hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss. The album is also notable for both its producers Kanye West and Just Blaze's breakouts as major producers. West produced...

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