The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse debuted atop theBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 545,000 units, while it receivedtriple platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Along with generally average or mixed reviews from music critics, Jay-Z himself cited the album as his second-worst due to its overabundance of tracks.[1] A one-disc reissue,Blueprint 2.1, was released in 2003.
The recording sessions took place after Jay-Z's critically acclaimed and commercially successful sixth albumThe Blueprint (2001). The production on the album was handled primarily byJust Blaze andKanye West – both of whom had recently established themselves as two of hip-hop's most celebrated producers due to the success ofThe Blueprint – while other producers includeThe Neptunes,Timbaland,No I.D., Darrell "Digga" Branch, Charlemagne, Big Chuck,Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kendrick,Heavy D, and Neff-U.
'03 Bonnie & Clyde features Jay-Z's then-girlfriendBeyoncé Knowles.
UnlikeThe Blueprint which was almost void of guest appearances,The Blueprint² features many featured guests, even out-of-genre artists that includeLenny Kravitz andSean Paul. Other features include West Coast rapper and producer Dr. Dre,Rakim,Beyoncé Knowles,Faith Evans,Beanie Sigel andScarface.[2] The album also includes an uncredited verse fromKanye West on the Timbaland-produced track "The Bounce". Pharrell also provides vocals and hooks of many of his produced tracks, for example "Excuse Me Miss" and "Nigga Please".
Though the album has no strict concept, the album contains two discs.[2] The first disc titled "The Gift" features mainstream, pop-oriented music. The second disc titled "The Curse" contains dark, emotional, and bravado street songs such as the dark-toned retelling of "Meet the Parents", the emotional substance of escaping the dangerous ghetto in "Some How Some Way", the dissing ofNas andJaz-O in "Blueprint2", and the bravado "Nigga Please".[2]
The Blueprint 2 received lukewarm reviews from critics.[14] AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 64, based on 19 reviews.[3] According toNathan Rabin, the record "led many to claim that [Jay-Z] lost his vise-like grip on rap music". In his review forThe A.V. Club, Rabin deemed it "overreaching but surprisingly solid", featuring a first disc of cleverpop-rap jams and a second that was "darker and more erratic".[15]Rolling Stone critic Christian Hoard saidThe Blueprint 2 was another "strong record from hip-hop's most dependable voice" but felt Jay-Z'sflow was more impressive than the production, finding it "long on both bouncy funk and forgettable R&B samples".[11]AllMusic's John Bush believed Jay-Z showcased some exceptional songs but could not carry the 110-minute double album as consistently as its predecessor.[4]Soren Baker was more critical in theChicago Tribune. He felt Jay-Z's reworking of other rappers' music ("A Dream", "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", and "The Watcher 2") was unimaginative while the rest of the album lacked his usual enthusiasm.[16] "It reminds me of nearly every other double CD",David Browne wrote inEntertainment Weekly. "It could have been a good single disc."[7]Robert Christgau named "U Don't Know (Remix)" and "Poppin' Tags" as highlights while writing in hisVillage Voice consumer guide that he was disappointed Jay-Z sampledPaul Anka for "I Did It My Way" when he could not get permission to useFrank Sinatra's recording of "My Way".[17]
Rollie Pemberton was more enthusiastic in his review forPitchfork, writing that Jay-Z "weaves his way through every imaginable style and flavor with unyielding expertise".[9]Billboard hailed it as "the most ambitious and most fully realized album of his career",[18] whileQ felt it surpassed his previous album.[10] In the opinion ofSpin critic Chris Ryan,The Blueprint 2 found Jay-Z "tightening the screws of his delivery" and discovering a "bruising poetry in a flow that once seemed clumsily conversational".[12]
West's verse on the track "The Bounce" marked his first appearance as a rapper on aRoc-A-Fella release (although he contributed an uncredited hook toThe Blueprint's "Never Change" the previous year aside from handling the production).[19][20]
Blueprint 2.1 is areissue byrapperJay-Z, created from a re-cut version ofThe Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse.[27] It was certified gold by theRIAA. The album was released on the 8th of April 2003. Onesingle was released from the album, "La-La-La", on the 29th. It contains half the tracks of the original, alongside 5 bonus tracks, including the aforementioned "La-La-La", the new track "Stop", a remix ofPunjabi MC's "Beware of the Boys", and two moreBlueprint 2 tracks, the title track and "Bitches & Sisters", which is also a bonus track on the original album.
The album contains two bonus tracks (after "What They Gonna Do, Pt. II") not included inThe Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. The track "Stop" is a new cut and "La-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Again)" can also be found on thesoundtrack to the 2003 filmBad Boys II. Although "La-La-La" did not chart theBillboard Hot 100, it did chart on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (at 37), theHot Rap Songs chart (at 20), and theBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart (at 12), all in theUnited States of America. "Stop" also charted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hops Songs chart (at 53). The songs "Blueprint²" and "Bitches & Sisters" from the original album were also placed as bonus tracks. The Jay-Z remix of Punjabi MC's "Beware of the Boys" is included as an additional bonus track on the European version only and is lifted off Punjabi MC's album/CDS. The bonus tracks are unlisted and do not have track numbers.
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