I imagine by now that many readers of this blog who live stateside will already have seen Ridley Scott's new gangland thriller American Gangster. By all accounts the real-life tale of the 70s Harlem drug baron Frank Lucas and the cop who nails him (whilst at the same time cleaning up New York's corrupt police department) starring Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe is a monster. A Goodfella's type epic for the hip-hop generation, the movie opened in the US last weekend to big receipts and favourable reviews, while viewers on the European side are still awaiting the forthcoming release. So anticipation is big to say the least. And then I get the text from my boy Beeznutz asking if I have heard the new Jay-Z album, of which I knew absolutely nothing, only to discover it is a concept album based on the movie itself, prompted it seems by a preview screening of the film earlier in the year. Potential for hugeness is slightly scary.
The fact that Jay-Z can bust out an album at such short notice is itself relatively astonishing, especially with reports of it being up there with Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and the Black album in terms of quality. Perhaps a rebuttal to the lukewarm response to last year's Kingdom Come, which the Jigga-man claims was too sophisticated for some, clearly the street-tales subject matter of the back-story to a gangland drugs lord suits rap's own kingpin to a tee. A marriage made in heaven perhaps, but for now we'll have to wait and see where this ends up ranking in Jay's catalogue. It is interesting also that it is going directly up against Nas's new long-player, the sure-to-provoke-much-comment "Ni**er". Like he said last year, he already gave the summer some, it's the winter's turn!
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