ALBUM REVIEW - BLUEPRINT 3 - JAY-Z

I waited exactly one month from the release date to review this album. I wanted it to sink in my mind so I could give an objective review. Also, I figured I'd write the review in the same way that I listen to the album. So no track-by-track review here. I'm just gonna give my thoughts on what I've heard. Here we go:

I remember when "Run This Town" first dropped and everyone was saying that Kanye murdered Jay. That may have been true, but the more I play that song the more I appreciate the Jay verses............When did Jay develop a slight English accent a la Tina Turner? (see "Thank You")..........Every time I hear "Haters" now I think of http://thechopup.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-sorry-taylor.html ..........I thought Timbaland was going to ruin this album, but he actually does his thing............I still wanted to hear Premo on here though............On "Run This Town" did he just say 'I'm in Maison, uh, Martin Margiela?' That isn't going to help calm the rumors that Jay is part of the Illuminati and/or the New World Order..........I hate the first verse on "Young Forever"............."A Star is Born" is crazy because he gives props to a lot of emcees, but I can't tell if he's sneak dissing.........J. Cole rips his verse btw...........I think that "Empire State of Mind" may be my favorite song of the year!!.............The last verse on "Thank You" is bananas............I'm glad Memphis Bleek doesn't pop up on this album.........I'm salty Drake pops up only for a hook.............."As Real As It Gets" has been confirmed as a Jeezy song that Jay took for this album. Makes sense because from the get go it sounded like Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z...........I like every song on this album............I can put "So Ambitious" on repeat for a late night highway drive from Cincinnati to Atlanta and be content..........Kanye really just said 'pyoom, pyoom, pyoom' on "Haters", huh? WOW...............Jeezy actually does 'say some thangs'.............It's crazy how Jay silences Jim Jones, Game, Dame Dash, Jaz-O, Dehaven, wack rappers, and bloggers without having to go hard on them.........I'm loving the futuristic feel of "Off That"...........The wordplay on "Venus vs. Mars" is sick!...............I'm not a huge fan of the second verse off "Reminder"...............I am a huge fan of the last verse off "On To The Next One". He ripped that one............I've found myself saying "ugh" in regular conversation courtesy of "Death of Auto-Tune".........Every time I hear "Run This Town" now I think of http://thechopup.blogspot.com/2009/09/affions-at-it-again.html ................This is a really, really good album.

I was going to give Blueprint 3 an 8.5 initially. But, then I factored in the impact it seems to have on the fans. People are quoting lines on Facebook, on text messages I receive, and the concert at NKU seems to be a pretty big deal. I give it a 9/10. I can't give it a higher rating than that because then you're getting into Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint territory. Props to Jay on this one.