CRITIQUE

Art Imitatin' Life?
Last year Jay-Z released his American Gangster LP. Hip-hop head Khutso Malele picks some few bones with the Jiggaman's flow.

The word ‘GANGSTER’ has been popularized by American street culture. It is now being used by young people to signify the cool. As for Jay-z, he need not title his album in a controversial manner to amass record sales.

But at the pinnacle of his career he has aptly titled his album. Hip-hop has transformed greatly since the days of 2pac and biggie, but a few have stayed consistent to their way of rapping and Jay-Z remains one of the few.

The album has a different feel to other previous albums in terms of production but the flow remains the original Jay-Z flow. Most tracks have that old school jazz/blues tone.

It could be that it was made to have the old school feel to coincide with the era in which the movie AMERICAN GANGSTER is based on.

Some tracks have snippets taken from the movie itself. The intro has to be one of the best intros in hip-hop history, in which the title/word gangster is being defined. On the track American dreaming, Jay-Z taps into the dreams that lead to black men end up as drug dealers, and the track is executed well with a seventies R’n B tone. The first single Blue Magic is given an edge by Pharrell Williams on the chorus, with Jay-Z’s flow on a slow mood. Tracks which are disappointing have to be Hello Brooklyn and Success. Success features Nas, and one could be forgiven to have expected something better from a collaboration of these 2 great rappers. Basically both rappers tell us what they have bought with their money.

Other tracks to look out for have to be Fallin' and Pray and Ignorant shit. Overall the album has great production to it and Jay-z executes his rhymes impeccably on the beats. Jay-Z tells the story of a gangster quite well on this album. From beginning to end the gangster story is consistent. One would have to wonder if the album would have been this good if Jay-Z had not asked for the title American Gangster.