Review Summary: This album is a mix of Jay-z's Black Album and The Beatles White Album. It was mixed by DJ Dangermouse.
An unlikely combination. Words can't describe how different Jay-Z and The Beatles are, in fact , success is the only thing they have in common. With that said, its a quite surprising how well this mix works.
Saying this album still falls under the hip-hop category, it will most likely appeal to the hardcore Jay-Z fan over the Beatles fan. If you're a big fan of both, you'll have a hayday with this one, but any Beatle fan/rap hater should stay away.
What makes this good disc for the most part is consistency, there are no weak tracks here. There are a handful of songs, "Public Service Announcement", "What More Can I Say", & "Moment of Clarity", that sound as if they could replace the original versions.
"99 Problems" & "Encore", two of the singles off the Black Album, are combined with a couple of the Beatles more hardcore songs. The latter is sped up a little, anyone who digs the original version won't like this one at first listen.
Jay-Z is one of the greatest MC's of all time. The Black Album is considered one of his best, and his rapping is a big part of this record. On the song "December 4th" he talks about how rap kept him out of trouble as a child and how his mother was a big influence to him, lyrically this is the best song on the album.
The Beatles White Album, Rolling Stone put this album at 10th on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Need I say more. This album came about when Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison coulden't agree on what songs to put on the record. So they put them all.
Who knew, a british pop group from the 60's and a hardcore MC from Brooklyn could be combined to make such a good album. I'd say this is a worth while listen if your into rap or just love good music. This is a surprise that I think anyone can enjoy.
Album Highlights:
"Public Service Announcement"
"What More Can I Say"
"December 4th"
"Moment of Clarity"
