Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 Splits Critics

Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3 seems to have critics divided. Some see flashes of brilliance showing the rap veteran at his best, while others see a mediocre effort that relies too much on celebrity.

• Jay-Z sounds "hungrier than he has in years on about half the tracks, while sharing time with guest stars or grappling with undercooked production on the rest," writes Greg Kot for the Los Angeles Times. "Yet even at three-quarters speed, Jay-Z can still be formidable."

• The album is "incredibly boring," writes Chris Richards for the Washington Post. "The man sounds fed up not only with hip-hop but with himself."
• "This hugely entertaining, mainstream rap album suggests Jay-Z still has the skills and gravitas to see off the pretenders," the Telegraph's reviewer writes.
• "The Blueprint 3 would be better as an EP, with the back half of the album trashed," writes Andrew Winistorfer for Prefix. The first half is "good to great."

(More music review stories.)