Jay-Z retires from 'Hard Knock Life'

By Jeff Renfro

"The Black Album" is the latest in a string of commercially successful albums from New York's Jay-Z. He has promised that the album will be his last, leaving him more time to concentrate on his various business dealings. Jay-Z uses his retirement as an excuse to pull out all the stops and create one of the most ambitiously produced rap albums in recent memory.

Jay-Z has previously released several platinum selling albums, including "The Blueprint" and "Hard Knock Life." He has released several hit singles ("Hard Knock Life" and "Izzo" to name a couple) and has collaborated with countless other artists. The popularity of "The Black Album" is the crowning achievement to a year in which Jay-Z appeared on number one singles with Pharrell Williams and Beyonce.

The album does not break any new ground or innovate in any way; it sticks to the blueprint for popular rap that has been prevalent for the last decade. The lyrics create an image of a successful man, who came from nothing, worked hard, and has now earned enough money to live the good life.

Of course, the good life involves plenty of drinking, partying, and sex.

The aspect that separates "The Black Album" from the other albums of the genre is the number of top-level producers that Jay-Z employs; it is truly an all-star lineup. Jay-Z's status as an eminent rapper and the promise of his retirement have drawn Kanye West, Timbaland, The Neptunes, and Rick Rubin to the project. It seems that these producers were saving their best tracks for an album as special as this.

Each of the album's 14 tracks are worthy of hit single status in themselves yet they're all on one album. Highlights include the Rick Rubin-produced "99 Problems" with a beat featuring distorted guitars that seems completely out of place on a rap album but sounds great, and the Timbaland-produced "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" which showcases Timbaland's signature, syncopated beats.

The only disappointment comes on the Eminem-produced "Moment of Clarity." The track sounds like a reject from the "8 Mile" soundtrack."

Jay-Z's lyrics are limited by their adherence to current rap themes, but he does all that can be done within that framework. He may not be creative, but technically, Jay-Z is far superior to his peers.

It is doubtful that Jay-Z will remain retired because of his stranglehold on the rap world. He has the rap formula down so well that he is capable of producing the rap album of the year at any time. "The Black Album" takes every aspect of modern rap, and just does it better than everyone else.

Grade: B

Contact Jeff Renfro at (408) 554-4546 or jrenfro@scu.edu.