Jay-Z is viewed as one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic. He’s released classics like Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album. Jay-Z is also one of the best businessmen the rap game has ever seen. In 2009, Jigga released his eleventh studio album, and it was the third installment of the Blueprint series. Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 turns 15 years old today. The Blueprint 3 was the follow-up to his American Gangster project. The Blueprint 3 sold over two million copies and further cemented himself as that dude. Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, J. Cole and Alicia Keys all made appearances on the album. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) was the first single to be released from the album. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) went after auto-tone, which was popular during this era.
The gold selling single received a lot of praise, and several artists made their own remixes from it. MTV ranked it the best song of 2009 and Time Magazine put it at #8. The second single featured Kanye West and Rihanna and it was called Run This Town. Run This Town won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. This was one of Jay’s biggest singles after going 6x platinum. Run This Town also won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Music Collaboration. The third single became his most successful single and it featured Alicia Keys. Empire State of Mind was the single and it was all about New York. Empire State of Mind went Diamond, which means it sold over 10 million copies. The track has been listed on several lists as being one of the best songs.
Empire State of Mind was nominated for a lot of awards, and it was played in damn near every arena. By the end of 2009 until the summer of 2010, Jay-Z dropped another three singles. They didn’t reach the status as the previous singles. The Blueprint 3 was nominated for the Best Rap Album. Four of his singles won a combined six Grammys at the 52nd and 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Blueprint 3 album is a solid album from Jay-Z and it had big singles also. Below are my top 5 tracks along with the track listing and stream link for the Blueprint 3.
Top 5 Tracks: Empire State of Mind, Real as It Gets, Already Home, Run This Town and Young Forever
The Blueprint 3 Track Listing
- What We Talkin’ About ft. Luke Steele
- Thank You
- O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
- Run This Town ft. Rihanna & Kanye West
- Empire State of Mind ft. Alicia Keys
- Real As It Gets ft. Jeezy
- On to the Next One ft. Swizz Beatz
- Off That ft. Drake
- A Star is Born ft. J. Cole
- Venus vs. Mars
- Already Home ft. Kid Cudi
- Hate ft. Kanye West
- Reminder
- So Ambitious ft. Pharrell
- Young Forever ft. Mr. Hudson
Where are all my Jay-Z fans? What do you think about the Blueprint 3 album? What’s your favorite track off the Blueprint 3 album? Leave some feedback about anything related to Jay-Z or the Blueprint 3.
