Author Topic: Jay-Z Explains "Blueprint 3" Artwork (Read 1679 times)

Barry Egan · « **on:** August 05, 2009, 07:32:21 PM »

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"These things are like the forgotten pieces in hip-hop," Hov said in an interview. "It's still about music. It's not about radio, making gimmicks -- it's still about making music. Those things are piled in the corner. These are the forgotten things about music...The three stripes that everybody is asking about is made from the original [number] three. The first three they made on the wall was someone carving. If you look at [the number] three, all they did was connect lines. The whole thing about this album, how I approached it, is that I wanted to make a new classic to start that all over again -- to go back to making classic albums like the ones we grew up listening to." (MTV)

Can someone Strunk and White this shit please?

Joe Molotov · « **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2009, 07:52:32 PM »

Like, woah, man.

Himu · « **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2009, 08:07:45 PM »

IT ALL MAKES SENSE

Seriously though, I'm really excited for his new album. It's amazing how much I used to loathe Jay Z, Reasonable Doubt aside, but I'm really starting to like his recent direction.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2009, 08:13:09 PM »

Quote from: Wikipedia page for "American Gangster"

The album received universal acclaim from most music critics

E-DuB · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2009, 08:16:05 PM »

Hova? Really? Not Jay Z or Carter? I'll stream it first and see if it's worth a pickup

Don Flamenco · « **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2009, 08:42:59 PM »

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Can someone Strunk and White this shit please?

the three lines are a "3" without the line to connect all three lines. he says that a "3" was made when someone saw three lines like on the album cover and drew a line to connect them, creating something new. so this album is like him going back to the roots of hip hop and creating something new out of it.

Barry Egan · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2009, 08:57:25 PM »

I get confused when he says that the 3 was created when someone "connected the lines". As in mentally?

FatalT · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:00:23 PM »

what is this I don't even

Don Flamenco · « **Reply #8 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:11:40 PM »

Quote from: Chipopo on August 05, 2009, 08:57:25 PM

I get confused when he says that the 3 was created when someone "connected the lines". As in mentally?

I guess it is some symbolic thing that he came up with. Unless there's some story about the creation of the very first "3" that I don't know about

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #9 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:16:17 PM »

I don't think it's that hard to understand, no idea if it's historically accurate though.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #10 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:20:33 PM »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_%28number%29#Evolution_of_the_glyph

Three is often the largest number written with as many lines as the number represents. The Romans tired of writing 4 as IIII, but to this day 3 is written as three lines in Roman and Chinese numerals. This was the way the Brahmin Indians wrote it, and the Gupta made the three lines more curved. The Nagari started rotating the lines clockwise and ending each line with a slight downward stroke on the right. Eventually they made these strokes connect with the lines below, and evolved it to a character that looks very much like a modern 3 with an extra stroke at the bottom. It was the Western Ghubar Arabs who finally eliminated the extra stroke and created our modern 3. (The "extra" stroke, however, was very important to the Eastern Arabs, and they made it much larger, while rotating the strokes above to lie along a horizontal axis, and to this day Eastern Arabs write a 3 that looks like a mirrored 7 with ridges on its top line): ٣[2]

Fresh Prince · « **Reply #11 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:37:57 PM »

What was so difficult to understand about his explanation? smh

ch1nchilla · « **Reply #12 on:** August 05, 2009, 09:48:17 PM »

Quote from: recursivelyenumerable on August 05, 2009, 08:13:09 PM

Quote from: Wikipedia page for "American Gangster"
The album received universal acclaim from most music critics

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/jayz/americangangster?q=american%20gangster

POW

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #13 on:** August 05, 2009, 10:01:30 PM »

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50New Musical Express

You leave American Gangster longing for more of this don't-give-a-fuck attitude, but the feeling that presides is Jay-Z patting his wallet.
Read Full Review >

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universal acclaim from most music critics

as if "literally" as generic intensifier weren't bad enough, smh.

ch1nchilla · « **Reply #14 on:** August 05, 2009, 10:29:38 PM »

Isn't 80% 'most'? Just sayin'.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #15 on:** August 05, 2009, 10:37:42 PM »

uh, I think you're missing the point here

Joe Molotov · « **Reply #16 on:** August 05, 2009, 10:49:41 PM »

Everybody completely understands what you're saying, mostly.

Beezy · « **Reply #17 on:** August 06, 2009, 01:10:40 AM »

It better be better than his last two albums.

ch1nchilla · « **Reply #18 on:** August 06, 2009, 01:45:19 AM »

Holy shit yeah, totally missed the point.

As for the album, I have high hopes after Run This Town and DOA.

Fresh Prince · « **Reply #19 on:** August 06, 2009, 05:45:33 AM »

Quote from: mojovonio on August 06, 2009, 01:59:48 AM

Watch this come out and be more generic hip hop drivel.

Jay-Z + Autotune

So clearly a troll but whatever the song is actually good
[youtube=560,345]aMuf_ekJhOs[/youtube]

bork · « **Reply #20 on:** August 06, 2009, 05:50:21 AM »

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Before making "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", co-song producer Kanye West and Jay-Z had recorded an Auto-Tune song. However, West heard the instrumental by No I.D. and thought about making an anti-Auto-Tune song. They then removed all the songs that contained Auto-Tune from The Blueprint 3 to further their point.[3] Jay-Z himself stated that the point of the song was to "draw a line in the sand", saying that while he appreciated the use of the Auto-Tune by artists with an ear for melody like T-Pain, Kanye West, & Lil Wayne, far too many people had jumped onto the technology and were using it as a crutch.[1] One of the partial inspirations for Jay-Z to write the song was hearing Auto-Tune being used in an advertisement for Wendy's fast-food chain. It made him realize that what was once a trend has become a gimmick.[4]

Hypocrites.