“The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.” Rensis Likert
By now I am sure most or all have digested Jay-Z’s newest addition to his Blueprint catalogue, which has been tarnished beyond a shadow of doubt (though some might contend he already dug a hole with Pt. II). Clearly the man is undergoing a severe mid life crisis as he attempts to reinvent himself with lackadaisical lyrics (fiddy already failed with that shon) and a less than favorable alternative sound. Correct me if I am wrong, but when Jigga released D.O.A. he proclaimed some sort of resurgence of the real and he was supposed to spearhead this purported return to the basics; but Blueprint III fails miserably in this regard. One does not have to look any further than the less than inspirational and appalling Kanye West produced Reminder, whose hook- or entire track for that matter- contains the very elements and aesthetics that Jay (with an S on his chest), swore he would rid the rap-world of.* Your boys jeans too tight/ your colors too bright/ your voice too light. Word Jigga? Yet your entire album features artists who more or less fall under this realm- Drake, Kid Cudi, and J. Cole; riddle me this Jigga. Frankly, I am sick and tired of people falling for Jay-Z’s mantra of making grown up music. I mean how can it be grown up music when young cats i.e. Lupe Fiasco came in the game with grown man intellect embedded within lyrical wizardry (What We Talkin’ About finds Jigga unsuccessfully channeling his inner Lupe). Nonetheless, this is not meant to be a review of this album but rather I wanted to highlight my favorite, or rather the only song (Already Home) that gets the repeat/ rewind treatment. Perhaps it is because this track has a strong relation to a very personable state-property assisted track on Sigel’s Broad Street Bully. Even though the concept of the Yeezy produced-track screams Cudi (who appears on the hook) all the way, Jay-z is seemingly at home addressing and coming to terms with his camel-like appearance [applause] ( Now these niggas is mad Oh they call me a camel / But I mastered the drought, what the fuck I am an animal) amongst other notable issues. If you ask me the only drought he mastered was capitalizing for himself at the expense of the Mecca of hip-hop (of course this is inclusive of the entire Def Jam roster) but that is another topic on its own; my gripe is how he appears to address State Property…I open the door for them, what else can I do?/These niggas want me to walk for them/ Somebody talk to them/ Before I go off on them… I done cooked up the roc already/So why the fuck can’t ya’ll get hot already. Adversely, the Peter Tosh sampled Run To The Roc, finds Spark spitting, I aint received a check, since my boy Mac was sentenced/Y’all all set us back, wit your personal business/Now we back in the trenches in this hurtin' position, Imagine me in the kitchen somewhere workin the dishes? /You got ya wish whoever planned my demise, Tough luv big homie you aint stand by my side how can I run to the roc. Similarly Young Chris spits, Whoever came at Big Homie had a problem with us/See we was all we knew, in Roc-A-Fella we trust/Now this bullshit split-up, fucked the whole shit up…Seeing Neef out on the streets, how you ain’t mad at that? /Let alone niggas plan my demise/Tough Luv, Big Homie you ain’t stand by my side/How can I run to the roc. Apparent in these lines are the fact that members of State Prop were victims of circumstance. It is not really about what Jay-Z did, it is about what he didn’t do with the artists that were under his wings; sadly the only person Jay-Z seems to care for is the man in his mirror.
TURN OFF THE RADIO!
Beanie Sigel feat. Omilio Sparks & Young Chris - Run To The Roc
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