Little did he know, they were on the same trek and decided to form their label, Natural Born Hustlaz Entertainment.ĭespite the fact that Jay-Z does not recommend rapping to his nephews, Mel believes this is his path in life. He never spoke much about his passion for writing until he turned 16 and told his cousins Spank and Fly Rah about one day stepping into the studio. By 1997, after watching his uncle Jay-Z “Ain’t No N****” video, Mel began to focus on turning his poetry into music. Mel recalls listening to his uncle Jay and absorbing Jay's every movement, lyrics and bar. With much positive response from these blog site audience, no wonder why Jay-Z could not do interviews in the past without inquiry on his nephew Mel.īorn and raised in Brooklyn, NY before settling down in West Orange, NJ- Mel chose the path to become a rapper. Tuesday, September 15, 2009, Mel released his first single "The Message," a response to Jay-Z song "Sweet" off the American Gangster album via various blog sites such as, ,.
JAY Z ALBUMS 2009 FREE
22, 2009 - PRLog - Jay-Z's nephew Ramel “Mel” Carter will release his first free downloadable album “CERTIFIED” on September 29, 2009. and Kanye, Blueprint 3 would be a total loss.īest tracks: “D.O.A.Sept. If not for the solid production from No I.D.
Sure, he still has skills but he’s definitely losing his luster. Jay is like the old uncle at the family cookout running his mouth about his glory days on the basketball court. It might seem like I’m being harsh, but harsh criticism comes with being the “best rapper alive.” Yeah, the lyrics here are good, but they aren’t “Jay-Z good.” Maybe that’s why he spends the entire album reminding us, and himself, how good he was. West sounds way more comfortable over the brooding track than Jay. Kanye does the same thing on “Hate” – Mr. Sadly he nearly steals the show from Jay. I’m a card-carrying Young Jeezy hater but “Real As It Gets” impressed me. Hudson should be thrown under the jail for his horrible Coldplay impersonation on “Young Forever.”īut all is not lost. landmarks.Ī quarter of the tracks – “Run This Town,” “On To The Next One,” “Already Home” and “So Ambitious,” for example – are ruined by cringe-inducing hooks, courtesy of Rihanna, Swizz Beats, Kid Cudi and Pharrell, respectively. Ditto on “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys – Alicia sings her heart out while Jay doesn’t do much more than name N.Y. “Thank You” isn’t bad thanks to stellar production from Kanye West and No I.D., but Jay wastes the beat by simply rattling off his accomplishments. The biggest problem is, with the exception of the tracks mentioned above, Jay doesn’t really have much to say, other than to remind us that he’s still as good as he was 10 years ago. Cole pops up at the end and holds his own with his mentor. “A Star Is Born,” in which Jay checks his ego at the door and pays tribute to the rise of hip hop’s top players, is another keeper. Jay’s all-out assault on today’s bubblegum rappers is music to the ears of a grouchy old-timer like myself. When he spits “you boys’ jeans too tight, your colors too bright, your voice too light” I giggle every time. (Death Of Auto-Tune),” unfortunately you’ve heard the best the album has to offer. And since he’s been so immersed in the business end of the music business, he spends nearly the entire album justifying his spot as rap’s top dog. His latest album, the third and alleged final installment in the Blueprint series, is his first musical venture since he racked up roughly a gazillion dollars in the Roc Nation deal. I figured I defended my position well.īut then he turns around and releases this album.Įveryone knows his story by now: Biggie’s protege takes his spot, sorta retires in 2003 and becomes a mogul, comes back in 2006 with the somewhat unfairly maligned Kingdom Come, drops the awesome American Gangster the next year and launched his new company Roc Nation. The Blueprint 3 (released September 11, 2009)Įarlier this summer, I made the case here about Jay-Z being the top rapper in the industry today.