American Gangster the Album

It has been a week and a half plus since Jay’s “American Gangster” album came out. I’m sure you were looking for a rushed review from Barney (I’ve been told that “Barney?...The world needs his unbiased opinion.” While you’re mulling that over, allow me to bask in some sense of accomplishment before I stupefy you over these next one thousand words), but I’m glad I didn’t. First off, I couldn’t find the right way to present this. Secondly, I’m really glad I watched some stuff on his American Gangster concert on VH1 (the first time the words “gangster” and “VH1” have been combined). Seeing Hov talk about it in his own words gave me a better idea of how I wanted to write this (Being that it’s not every day that a good hip hop album comes out. If one does, I need to write about this carefully.). So on that note, I decided that a little 20 Questions would be the best way to approach Jay-Z’s “American Gangster”.

How would you describe this album?
As Hov said in all the press releases, this is a concept album, inspired by the movie “American Gangster” (See my earlier review. My skills with the English language are too poor to describe how I really feel.). And it’s just that. Jay writes from the mind frame of a big time hustler. Not the on the block guy, the millionaire with the mansion, the yachts…inspired by Frank Lucas.

So does this album achieve that “concept”?
In three words: “Hell fucking yes.” Jay basically takes us into the mind of a gangster, capo status and above. I didn’t realize this until I saw him talking about it, but it is in three parts: the rise, the enjoyment and the fall. You basically get the entire playbook on a guy moving weight.

Is “Pain in the Ass” on this album?
If you’re a Jay-Z fan, you know Pain in the Ass. He’s the guy who does his intros up until Roc La Familia. And he magically appeared on Kingdom Come. Unfortunately, he’s not on this album. Unless they hired him to do that gawd awful Russell Crowe impersonation on the intro. Matter of fact, let’s not rule that out.

How does this album relate to the movie?
To be honest, I couldn’t separate the two. I feel that this album is a perfect companion to the movie. It’s like the soundtrack that could have been. It captures the feelings and emotions of the movie and makes me appreciate the movie that much more (very hard to do. After listening to this album, I will definitely see them movie again. That’s how much these two go together.). As long as they don’t take “Ain’t No Love” out of the trailer. That song is a fucking classic.

What’s the vibe for this album?
Definitely the 70s, fits right in line with the movie. As a guy who loves soul samples on tracks (thank you Kanye), this is my shit. So if I’m biased, you know why.

Which song doesn’t fit this vibe?
“Ignorant Shit.” Despite the fact that it samples the Isley Brothers, it doesn’t fit in with the whole concept of the album. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song. It’s one of my favorite Jay tracks of all time. I just have a bit of a problem with putting a song that came out 3 years ago on an album, adding Beans and a new verse, and it disrupting the whole album. Still a great fucking song.

Who guest appears on this album?
Just Lil’ Wayne and Beanie Siegel, so you know you’re in good hands. And Beans only gets like 8 bars on Ignorant Shit. Beyonce and Kanye are in the background on a few songs.

Who should be the angriest about this album?
Memphis Bleek. Since Roc La Familia, he’s appeared on as many Hov tracks as Lenny Kravitz and some guy from Coldplay. Coldplay even got mic checked by Kanye, so I think he’s technically ahead. Memph even had to release a single by Hov on his own album. Good thing he’s in Shawn Carter’s will.
The bad thing is I like Memph man. I think he’s gotten a raw deal in that everyone compares him to Jay. I wouldn’t have minded a “Coming of Age Pt. III” on this. In fact, he could have been the TI character from the movie.

What song am I glad came out in 2007 as opposed to 2004?
Definitely “Roc Boys.” This would have cost me $500-$1000 if it came out 3 years earlier. I was already spending too much money on free booze for people to visit my room senior year of college. If “Roc Boys” came out in 2004, me and Floyd Banks would have called ourselves “Dope Boys of the Year” and provided a lot more drinks on the house. (Note: For those of you unfamiliar, Me and Floyd Banks lived in a room called “Rock Bottom” which got turned into “The Roc” in about 3.4 seconds (as long as it took me to put the Roc La Familia album cover on the door with the diamond in the air)). There would have been a lot more freshman girls getting drunk under the poster that said, “Freshman girls, get ‘em while they’re still skinny.” (Oh irony, I missed you. Freshman girls getting drunk under a poster that tells them they’ll be discarded as soon as they become sophomores. On a related note, I really miss college.)

Wait a second. Aren’t you paying close to $700 a month in child support and health care for one of those freshman girls that you impregnated?
Touché Mr. Questionnaire. I am. I guess $500-$1000 in alcohol seems rather pedestrian in hindsight.
This is your eventual lawyer talking. Do you want to amend that statement?
Yes I do. All joking aside, I’d pay $7000 a month if I had to. My daughter is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Are you ever going to get back to talking about this album or is it just going to morph into another depressing monologue like most Barney episodes become?
Alright Mr. Questionnaire, I’ve had about enough of your shit. Let’s get back to reviewing the album.

What’s the worst song on the album?
“I Know” easily. It took me a week to figure out that this was a metaphor for heroin. Plus it sounds like something that got taken out of Blueprint 2.

What’s your favorite track on the album?
I’d have to go with “Success”. This one speaks to me because I too am semi-successful (no I’m not), but wish I weren’t. “Truth be told, I had more fun when I was piss poor,” not a truer sentence has been uttered. I’m not quite at the point where I have cars that I don’t bring out (I drive a Chevy fuckin’ Lumina for fuck’s sake), but I do feel the whole “I’m where I thought I wanted to be, but now that I’m here, I don’t want to be here” vibe. Believe me, I think this every day at work when I’m given an assignment because people know I’m competent and know it will get done.

What is it about Eminem that screws up classic Hov albums?
With The Blueprint, one could argue that Em got Jay on his own track (Nas did. I’ll argue that it was a track that Em was going to do with someone else (Royce Da 5’9” I believe) that he gave to Jigga. Plus that track was suited for Em’s forte, playing the outcast. Jay…not so much his forte.
On this album, Jay takes Em’s line from “I’m Back” about success. I have no answer for this one.

Is there a # 1 single on this album?
Absolutely not. There is no song on this album that has a catchy chorus or a dance that can be done on command. Since it has none of these, the general public will not embrace a single. America is dumb sometimes and I often wonder why the terrorists haven’t won yet. A catchy hook to “Allah is Great” would have 90% of America dancing in the fucking street.

Ok Barney, enough with you Neo-Con rant. I’ll let that slide and give you a question that’s right up your alley. What basketball team does this album remind you of?
I’d have to go with the 2003-2005 Pistons in that the sum is greater than its parts. Individually you have a half crazy power forward with a propensity to shoot threes, a undersized center with no offensive game whatsoever, a shooting guard who weighs about a buck fity, a point guard on his third or fourth team, and a small forward who even skinnier than your shooting guard. None of these guys are going to the Hall (Unless I start a Barney Hall of Fame, in which case Sheed is a first ballot case), yet they won a championship. Why? Because the sum is greater than the parts.
Jay had the right idea when banning iTunes from selling singles. Any song on its own is good but not great. Put them together and it makes a lot more sense, and sounds a whole hell of a lot better.

How has this album enhanced “American Gangster” the movie?
Remember that scene where TI tells Denzel that he doesn’t want to try out for the Yankees, he wants to sell dope. If it wasn’t for Jay, we wouldn’t have known that Denzel goes to his room and cries after hearing that. It got taken out of the move. It makes sense now, because that scene in the movie seemed to be lacking a conclusion. “Wait, Frank just lets his nephew turn down a contract with the Yankees? Why?”

How would you rate this album overall?
Great to border line classic. It’ll take another year or so to figure out if it’s a classic. If I’m still bumping it at that time it is.
The toughest thing about this album is like I said in the previous question. Songs on their own are good to great. Together it’s a different story. For the entire album (except for Ignorant Shit) you feel like you’re talking to a drug dealer. The highs, the lows and everything in between. There’s really nothing that I can compare it to. The closest I can do is “Ready to Die” in that for the entire album you’re mesmerized by this one person’s point of view, and both are interrupted by the same Isley Brother’s sample of “In the Sheets.” I’m not saying that its Ready to Die good, but its one of the few albums that gets you absolutely in tune with one person (in this case semi-fictional), and you reach an understanding on their point of view.

Where does this rank of Jay’s album list?
Let’s be honest. Hov isn’t competing against other rappers at this point. This album won’t be compared to anyone else, only his own. The question always becomes is this better than “Reasonable Doubt”, “The Blueprint”, and Vol. 2 (over rated in my opinion, but that’s another Barney Show episode). At this point, I’d rate it 3rd behind Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint, with The Black Album right on its heals. The only reason Blueprint gets the nod is that it has 2 songs that are absolute classics to this day (U Don’t Know, and Ain’t No Love). I don’t think there are 2 songs that six years from now I’ll be saying, “Yeah, ‘Success’ is that shit. Even today.”
The Black Album might even pass it. Like I said earlier, I’ll need at least a year to determine how great this album is. This whole ‘sum of its parts’ thing may be different at that time.

Alright, if this was a class in Describing Things in the English Language I think I would have passed with like a 68. I need to stop writing about great things and focus on drinking stories, which I’m good at. And on that note, go buy “American Gangster” if you haven’t already.