Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse (Explicit Version) CD

MUSIC

RAP / HIP-HOP

Song Listing

Disc 1

Song Title

1. Dream, A - (featuring Faith Evans/The Notorious B.I.G.) ~ Jay-Z

2. Hovi Baby ~ Jay-Z

3. Watcher 2, The - (featuring Dr. Dre/Rakim/Truth Hurts) ~ Jay-Z

4. '03 Bonnie & Clyde - (featuring Beyonce Knowles) ~ Jay-Z

5. Excuse Me Miss ~ Jay-Z

6. What They Gonna Do - (featuring Sean Paul) ~ Jay-Z

7. All Around The World - (featuring LaToiya Williams) ~ Jay-Z

8. Poppin' Tags - (featuring Big Boi/Killer Mike/Twista) ~ Jay-Z

9. F**k All Nite ~ Jay-Z

10. Bounce, The ~ Jay-Z

11. I Did It My Way ~ Jay-Z

Disc 2

Song Title

1. Diamond Is Forever ~ Jay-Z

2. Guns & Roses - (featuring Lenny Kravitz) ~ Jay-Z

3. U Don't Know - (remix, featuring M.O.P.) ~ Jay-Z

4. Meet The Parents ~ Jay-Z

5. Some How Some Way - (featuring Beanie Sigel/Scarface) ~ Jay-Z

6. Some People Hate ~ Jay-Z

7. Blueprint 2 ~ Jay-Z

8. N***a Please - (featuring Young Chris) ~ Jay-Z

9. 2 Many Hoes ~ Jay-Z

10. As One - (featuring Memphis Bleek/Freeway/Young Guns/Peedie Crakk/Sparks/Rell) ~ Jay-Z

11. Ballad For The Fallen Soldier, A ~ Jay-Z

12. Show You How - (bonus track) ~ Jay-Z

13. Bitches & Sisters - (bonus track) ~ Jay-Z

14. What They Gonna Do Part II - (bonus track) ~ Jay-Z

Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
	Personnel: Jay-Z, Notorius B.I.G., Dr. Dre, Scarface, Twista, Big Boi, Killer Mike, M.O.P., Beanie Sigel, Young Chris, Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Rell (rap vocals); Lenny Kravitz, Faith Evans, Raje Shwari, LaToiya Williams, Beyonce Knowles (vocals); Just Blaze (various instruments, vinyl scratches); Eric "E-Bass" Johnson (various instruments); Scott Storch (Fender Rhodes piano); Mike Elizondo, Camara Kambon (keyboards); Debra Killings (bass); Mark Dorsey, Michelle Rosario, Sleepy Brown, LaToiya Williams, Truth Hurts, Christy Love, Hovi Baby (background vocals).
	Producers include: Kanye West, Blaze, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Timbaland.
	THE BLUEPRINT 2 was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "Excuse Me Miss" was nominated for Best Rap Song.
	Personnel includes: Jay-Z, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G., Dr Dre, Rakim, Truth Hurts, Beyonce' Knowles, Sean Paul, Latoiya Williams, Big Boi, Killer Mike, Twista, Lenny Kravitz, M.O.P., Beanie Sigel, Scareface, Young Chris, Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Guns, Peedi Crakk, Sparks & Rell.
	Producers include: Kanye West, Just Blaze, Dr Dre, Timbaland, No I.D.
	THE BLUEPRINT 2 was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "Excuse Me Miss" was nominated for Best Rap Song.
	Personnel: Debra Killings (vocals, bass guitar); Christy Love, Michelle Rosario, Christian Love, LaToiya Williams, Marc Dorsey, Raje Shwari, Sleepy Brown (vocals); Eric Johnson , Mike Elizondo (guitar, keyboards); Scott Storch (Fender Rhodes piano); Camara Kambon (keyboards); Just Blaze (scratches); Terri, Truth Hurts (background vocals).
	Audio Mixers: John Frye; Jason Goldstein; Doug Wilson; Dr. Dre; Jimmy Douglas; Lenny Kravitz; Patrick Viala; Richard Travali.
	Recording information: Baseline Studios, New York, NY; Encore Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Encore Studios, LA, CA; Manhattan Center, New York, NY; Master Sound Studio, CA; Record One Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Record One, LA, CA; Sony Music Studios, New York, NY; The Boiler Room, New York, NY.
	Photographers: Albert Watson ; Rebecca Meek; Jonathan Mannion.
	It's hard not to somewhat admire the guts of a rapper who would lead off his album by not merely sampling a hearty slice of the hallowed Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" while Faith sings in the background, but by claiming Biggie's tacit approval on "A Dream." This is before he compares himself to Jesus at least three times. It's exactly this sort of unyielding confidence ever teetering on the verge of megalomaniacal arrogance that propelled Jay-Z to the pinnacle of the rap world.
	As 2002 wound to a close, the prolific Sean Carter dropped the sequel to the critically lauded, platinum-selling THE BLUEPRINT; two CDs, no skits, no filler, nothing but urgent poetics over tight tracks. Jay-Z may never possess the elevated prose of his arch-rival Nas, but he knows the power in brevity, in a terse, well-turned phrase. While he's always been an eccentric sampler, on THE BLUEPRINT VOL. 2 he pares away any hint of gimmickry or excess. On "Guns And Roses," he effortlessly reconfigures a Cake instrumental as picture-perfect backdrop to a stark parable about life's duality as Lenny Kravitz wails along. Overall, THE BLUEPRINT VOL. 2 continues and builds upon the legacy of the Queens megastar MC.
Engineer: David Maurice; Jimmy Douglas; Mike Ging; Andrew Coleman; Rick Travali; Superfly; Shane Woodley
Musical Guests
	Faith Evans
	The Notorious B.I.G.
	Dr. Dre
	Rakim
	Truth Hurts
	Beyonce Knowles
	Scarface
	Sean Paul
	Twista
	Big Boi
	Lenny Kravitz
	Latoiya Williams
	Killer Mike
	M.O.P.
	Beanie Sigel
	Young Chris
	Freeway
	Memphis Bleek
	Peedie Crakk
	Rell
	Sparks
	You

Compilation Appearances

	Life After Death (Explicit Version)
	Hardcore (Explicit Version)
	R. (Explicit Version)
	Streets Is Watching
	Last Of A Dying Breed (Explicit Version)
	Mariah Carey's Greatest Hits
	8 Mile (Clean Version)
	Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss (Explicit Version)
	Dangerously In Love (Bonus Tracks)
	Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (Explicit Version)
	R. In R&b Collection Vol. 1
	Source Presents: hip Hop Hits Vol. 7
	College Dropout (Explicit Version)
	Baptism
	In My Mind (Explicit Version)
	The Breakthrough
	Duets: The Final Chapter (Explicit Version)
	Food & Liquor(Explicit Version)
	Port Of Miami (Explicit Version)
	B'day
	B'day
	Trilla
	Ultimate Grammy Collection: Contemporary R&B
	Here I Stand
	Good Girl Gone Bad:Reloaded
	Paper Trail (Explicit Version)
	Paper Trail
	Way I See It
	The Best Of NOW That's What I Call Music - 10th Anniversary Edition
	Road To Revolution:live At Milton Key(Explicit Version)
	Loso's Way
	Teflon Don
	Teflon Don(Explicit Version)
	Hip Hop Is Dead (Explicit Version)
	From Nothin To Somethin(Explicit Version)
	Because Of You
	Tha Carter Iii(Explicit Version)
	Tha Carter Iii(Explicit Version)
	Tha Carter Iii(Explicit Version)
	Raymond Vs Raymond
	Tm 103(Explicit Version)
	Tm 103
	Tbd
	My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Explicit Version)
	Paper Trail [PA]
	Ultimate Collection
	Greatest Story Never Told(Explicit Version)
	Black And White America
	Cole World:sideline Story
	Tm 103 Hustlerz Ambition(Explicit Version)
	Cole World:sideline Story
	Talk That Talk [Deluxe] (Explicit Version)
	Talk That Talk (Explicit Version)
	Talk That Talk [Deluxe] [edited]
	Talk That Talk [Deluxe] [edited]
	God Forgives, I Don't [edited]
	God Forgives, I Don't [Explicit]
	God Forgives I Don't
	Essential Mariah Carey
	Good Music Cruel Summer(Explicit Version)
	Now 46

Associated Artists and Works

	Bleek, Memphis
	Bloodfire
	Cent, 50
	Dre, Dr.
	Jeezy, Young
	Streets Is Watching [PA] ~ Original Soundtrack
	Tapemasters, Inc.

Technical Info

	Release Date : 11/12/2002
	Original Release Date : 2002
	Catalog ID : 0633812
	Label : Def Jam (USA)
	Number of Discs : 2
	Studio/Live : Studio
	Mono/Stereo : Stereo
	SPAR Code : n/a
	UPC : 00044006338125

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (12/12/02, p.92)
- "...Something of a hip-hop WHITE ALBUM: two discs worth of party anthems and serious songwriting..."

Spin (1/03, p.71)
- Ranked #13 on Spin's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year" - "...This may be hip-hop's first consistently great double album--funny, sonically dense, blessedly free of wacky skits..."

Q (01/03, p.120)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...He's aflame, energy sparking from every laser-sharp line, every supercharged beat, every lunging string sweep..."

BloomReach Content

Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse (Explicit Version) (2002)

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