10 Perfect Hip-Hop Albums With No Bad Songs
8. The Blueprint - Jay Z
By the time Hova had reached the '00s, he had come a long way from just dealing drugs on the street of New York. After Reasonable Doubt set him up as one of the few proteges to go toe to toe with Notorious BIG, the next decade was about to be even more lucrative for Jay. Even after making his name on songs like Can I Get A, The Blueprint brought a lot more class to the hip hop realm.
Across nearly every track on here, Jay seems to be a man who is staking his claim to hip hop's throne, with some of the greatest single lines of his career. Along with having some great crossover potential on songs like I.Z.Z.O., this was also a precursor of things to come, like Heart of the City being produced by a young Kanye West and Ye also sampling bits and pieces from this album on his own records.
Above all else, this is the kind of album that brought a level of bravado into the world of hip hop. Whereas the early days just sounded like kids messing around with drum machines, this is where it stepped up to the big leagues of music. Since Frank Sinatra wouldn't cut it with the kids anymore, Hova is more than a worthy replacement for Old Blue Eyes.