The Black Album (Jay-Z album)

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The Black Album
Jay-Z - The Black Album.png
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released November 14, 2003
Recorded July 2003 � October 2003
Studio
Baseline Studios (New York, New York)
The Hit Factory (Miami, Florida)
The Mansion (Los Angeles, California)
54 Sound Studios (Detroit, Michigan)
Genre Hip hop
Length 55:32
Label
Roc-A-FellaDef Jam
Producer
Shawn Carter (also exec.)Damon Dash (exec.)Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.)3H9th
WonderAquaThe BuchanansEminemDJ QuikJust BlazeKanye WestLuis RestoThe NeptunesRick
RubinTimbaland
Jay-Z chronology
Blueprint 2.1
(2003) The Black Album
(2003) Unfinished Business
(2004)
Singles from The Black Album
"Change Clothes"
Released: November 4, 2003
"Dirt off Your Shoulder"
Released: March 2, 2004
"99 Problems"
Released: April 27, 2004
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on
November 14, 2003, by Roc-A-Fella Records. It was advertised as his final album
before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs,[1] although
Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2006. 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.

When The Black Album was released, it received widespread acclaim from critics. In
its first week, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling
463,000 copies in the United States. It became Jay-Z's top selling record of the
2000s decade, and by July 2013, it had sold 3,516,000 copies in the US. 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".

Contents
1 Release and promotion
2 Critical reception
3 Track listing
3.1 Track notes
3.2 Sample credits
4 Personnel
5 Charts
5.1 Weekly charts
5.2 Year-end charts
6 Certifications
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Release and promotion
Jay-Z had announced that The Black Album would be his final record and went on a
retirement tour after its release.[2] When it was released, the album debuted at
number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 463,000 copies in its first week.[3]
According to Billboard, it became Jay-Z's top selling record of the 2000s and the
136th highest selling record of the decade in the United States.[4] By July 2013,
the album had sold 3,516,000 copies in the US.[5]

Three singles were released from the album and appeared on the Billboard charts.
"Change Clothes" and "Dirt off Your Shoulders" both reached the top 10 of the Hot
100, while "99 Problems" peaked at number 30.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 84/100[7]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[8]
Entertainment Weekly B+[9]
The Guardian 2/5 stars[10]
Mojo 5/5 stars[11]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide) A[12]
NME 8/10[13]
Pitchfork 8/10[14]
Q 4/5 stars[15]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[1]
USA Today 4/4 stars[16]
The Black Album was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which
assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it
received an average score of 84, based on 19 reviews.[7] AllMusic's John Bush
claimed Jay-Z was retiring at his peak with the album.[8] Vibe magazine said it was
remarkable as an apotheosis of his genuinely thoughtful songwriting and lyrics
"delivered with transcendent skill",[17] while Steve Jones from USA Today said even
with "top-shelf work" from elite producers, the album was elevated by Jay-Z's
uniquely deft and diverse rapping style.[16] Writing for The A.V. Club, Nathan
Rabin felt Jay-Z returned to "brevity and consistency" on an album that
demonstrated his lyrical abilities and, more importantly, hip hop's best producers.
[18] Jon Caramanica wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that The Black
Album was both "old-school and utterly modern", showcasing Jay-Z "at the top of his
game, able to reinvent himself as a rap classicist at the right time, as if to
cement his place in hip-hop's legacy for generations to come".[19]

Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. In Rolling Stone, Tour� argued that The
Black Album was slightly inferior to Jay-Z's best records, namely Reasonable Doubt
(1996) and The Blueprint (2001).[1] Dave Simpson from The Guardian was more
critical, dismissing the music as "an aural equivalent of that old American
favourite, the schmaltzy biopic."[10] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave
the record a back-handed compliment: "[Jay-Z] raps like a legend in his own
time�namely, Elvis in Vegas".[20] Nonetheless, he was impressed by the stretch of
songs from "Encore" to "Justify My Thug" and wrote in a retrospective review for
MSN Music that "the fanfares, ovations, maternal reminiscences, and vamp-till-ready
shout-outs were overblown at best", but they have come to sound "prophetic" because
of the entrepreneurial success and fame Jay-Z continued to achieve after The Black
Album. "He's got a right to celebrate his autobiography in rhyme because he's on
track to become a personage who dwarfs any mere rapper," Christgau wrote in 2011,
"and not only can he hire the best help dark green can buy, he can make it
sing."[12]

In 2005, The Black Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album,[21]
losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout at the 47th Grammy Awards.[22] It was
also ranked number 349 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all
time.[23] Pitchfork ranked The Black Album at number 90 on its decade-end list of
the top 200 albums from the 2000s,[24] while Slant Magazine ranked it seventh best
on a similar list.[25] In 2012, Complex named it one of the "classic" records of
the previous decade.[26]

Track listing
All song samples, writing and production credits are according to the album
booklet.

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length

1. "Interlude" Just Blaze 1:22
2. "December 4th"
CarterJustin SmithWalter BoydElijah Powell
Just Blaze 4:32
3. "What More Can I Say"
CarterAndre GonzalezSimon JohnsonThom BellKenneth GambleRoland Chambers
The Buchanans 4:55
4. "Encore"
CarterKanye West
Kanye West 4:11
5. "Change Clothes"
CarterPharrell WilliamsChad Hugo
The Neptunes 4:18
6. "Dirt off Your Shoulder"
CarterTimothy Mosley
Timbaland 4:05
7. "Threat"
CarterPatrick DouthitRobert Kelly
9th WonderJay-Z
4:05
8. "Moment of Clarity"
CarterMarshall MathersLuis RestoSteve King
EminemLuis Resto[a]
4:24
9. "99 Problems"
CarterRick RubinNorman LandsbergFelix PappalardiJohn VenturaLeslie WeinsteinWilliam
SquierTracy MarrowAlphonso Henderson
Rubin 3:55
10. "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)"
CarterSmithRaymond Levin
Just Blaze 2:53
11. "Justify My Thug"
CarterDavid BlakeDarryl McDanielsJoseph SimmonsLarry SmithIngrid ChavezLenny
KravitzMadonna Ciccone
DJ Quik 4:05
12. "Lucifer"
CarterKanye WestHugh PerryMaxie Smith
Kanye West 3:12
13. "Allure"
CarterWilliamsHugo
The Neptunes 4:52
14. "My 1st Song"
CarterNicholas McCarrellGermain de La Fuente
AquaJoe "3H" Weinberger
4:45
Track notes

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(September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
^[a] signifies an additional producer
"What More Can I Say" features additional vocals by Vincent 'Hum V' Bostic
"Encore" features additional vocals by John Legend, Don Crawley, Leonard Harris and
Kanye West
"Change Clothes" features additional vocals by Pharrell Williams
"Threat" features additional vocals by Cedric the Entertainer
"Justify My Thug" features additional vocals by Sharlotte Gibson
"Lucifer" features additional vocals by Kanye West
Sample credits
"December 4th" contains a sample of "That's How Long" written by Walter Boyd and
Elijah Powell Jr., and performed by The Chi-Lites.
"What More Can I Say" contains samples of "Something for Nothing" written by Thom
Bell, Kenneth Gamble and Roland Chambers, and performed by MFSB, and "Keep Your
Hands High" written by Tracey Lee and Christopher Wallace, and performed by Tracey
Lee featuring The Notorious B.I.G..
"Encore" contains elements of "I Will" performed by John Holt.
"Threat" contains a sample from "A Woman's Threat" written and performed by R.
Kelly.
"99 Problems" contains samples of "Long Red" written by Norman Landsberg, Felix
Pappalardi, John Ventura and Leslie Weinstein, and performed by Mountain, "Get Me
Back on Time, Engine Number 9" performed by Wilson Pickett, "The Big Beat" written
and performed by Billy Squier, elements of "99 Problems" written by Tracy Marrow
and Alphonso Henderson, and performed by Ice-T, interpolations of "Touched" written
by Chad Butler and Bernard Freeman, and performed by UGK, and portions of
"Children's Story" written and performed by Slick Rick.
"Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" contains a portion of "No One Can Do It
Better" written by Tracy Curry and Andre Young, and performed by The D.O.C., and a
sample of "Seed of Love" written by Raymond Levin, and performed by Little Boy
Blues.
"Justify My Thug" contains portions of "Rock Around the Clock" written by Max C.
Freedman and James E. Myers, and performed by Bill Haley & His Comets, samples of
"Rock Box" written by Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons and Larry Smith, and
performed by Run-DMC, and an interpolation of "Justify My Love", written by Madonna
Ciccone, Ingrid Chavez and Lenny Kravitz, and performed by Madonna.
"Lucifer" contains a sample of "Chase the Devil" written by Hugh Perry and Maxie
Smith, and performed by Max Romeo.
"My 1st Song" contains a sample of "Tu y Tu Mirar...Yo y Mi Canci�n" written by
Germain de La Fuente, and performed by Los Angeles Negros, and a vocal portion of
The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1996 interview for MTV.
Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.[27]

Aqua � producer
Marcella Araica � assistant
Vincent "Hum V" Bostic � vocals
David Brown � engineer, mixing assistant
Shari Bryant � marketing
Buchannans � producer
Kareem "Biggs" Burke � executive producer
Shawn Carter � executive producer, liner notes, primary artist, producer
Demacio Castellon � engineer
Cedric The Entertainer � guest artist, vocals
Don Crawley � vocals
Damon Dash � executive producer
Tony Dawsey � mastering
DJ Quik � mixing, producer
Danee Doty � vocals
Jimmy Douglas � mixing
Eminem � mixing, producer
Sharlotte Gibson � vocals
Walik Goshorn � photography
Leon Harris � vocals
Keenan "Kee Note" Holloway � bass
Ken "Duro" Ifill � mixing
Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua � A&R
Just Blaze � producer
Gimel Keaton � engineer, mixing
Steve King � bass, engineer, guitar, mixing
Jason Lader � programming
Darcell Lawrence � A&R
John Legend � vocals
Jonathan Mannion � photography
Rob Mitchell � A&R
The Neptunes � producer
9th Wonder � producer
Amber Noble � marketing
Felix Pappalardi �
Luis Resto � keyboards, producer
Rick Rubin � mixing, producer
Lenny Santiago � A&R, photography
Andrew Scheps � engineer, mixing
Robert Sims � art direction, design
Chris Steflene � assistant engineer
Michael Strange Jr. � engineer
Darrell Thorp � mixing
Timbaland � producer
Richard Travali � mixing
Joseph Weinberger � producer
Eric Weissman � sample clearance
Kanye West � producer, vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2003-2004) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 97
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 66
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 66
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 47
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[32] 18
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 34
US Billboard 200[36] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[37] 1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[38] 1
Year-end charts
Chart (2004) Position
US Billboard 200[39] 11
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[42] 3� Platinum 3,516,000[5]