
Even in falling short of Jay's classics, Reasonable Doubt and 2001's The Blueprint, it manages to eclipse 1999's brilliant Vol.

What's stunning is that it delivers rap's greatest career-ender since Outkast's Stankonia. The prospect of hip-hop's finest producers laying down tracks for the final LP from the rap world's brightest talent has made The Black Album one of the most anticipated rap records of the decade. Certain lyrics hint that this isn't the last record he'll cut, but if that's true, will his game still be as tight when he gets around to the comeback? It's anyone's guess, and that mystery is part of what makes this album such an intriguing listen. "Jay has cut an album every year for the past seven years that he'd want a break of some sort now is understandable. Carter as his third-best album - which in itself makes it one of the year's best." - Pitchfork, 2003ĭescription TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal It is ranked number 349 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2005, The Black Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout at the 47th Grammy Awards.

The Black Album was promoted with a retirement tour by Jay-Z and three singles that also achieved Billboard chart success, including the top-ten hits "Change Clothes" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". In its first week the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and subsequently became Jay-Z's top selling record of the 2000s decade. When The Black Album was released, it received widespread acclaim from critics. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, The Neptunes, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2006. The Black Album is the eighth studio album by Jay-Z, released on November 14, 2003, by Roc-A-Fella Records. Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 349/500! TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal Typical order times are located within the product description. It is not guaranteed.Ī Special Order item is an item that we do not stock but can order from the manufacturer. When an item is Out Of Stock and we have an estimated date when our stock should arrive, we list that date on our website in the part's description. We do not have a specific date when it will be coming.Īwaiting repress titles are in the process of being repressed by the label. The Preorder can be released anywhere between weeks, months or years from its initial announcement.Īn Out Of Stock item is an item that we normally have available to ship but we are temporarily out of. To release "TBA." This means that release date is yet "To Be Announced". If a projected release date is known, we will include this in the description in red. Typically the label will set a projected release date (that is subject to change).

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