Recorded by (Assistant): Shane 'Bermi' Woodley (track 5, 6, 10).Recorded by: Gimel 'Young Guru' Keaton (track 1-6, 8-13), Kamel Abdo (track 2-4, 8, 9), Jimmy Douglas (track 7).Photography (Architectural Imagery): Della Valle + Bernheimer Design.Mixed by: Doug Wilson (track 1, 10, 13), Gimel 'Young Guru' Keaton (track 2), Supa Engineer DURO (track 3, 8), Jason Goldstein (track 4-6, 9, 10), Jimmy Douglas (track 7), Richard Huredia (track 12).Track 13 features organs performed by Bo, live organs performed by Victor Flowers, and background vocals performed by Schevise Harrell & Luren Leek.Track 5 features additional vocals performed by Stephanie Miller & Michelle Mills.Track 4 features additional vocals performed by Q-Tip, Slick Rick & Biz Markie.Track 2 features additional vocals performed by Josey Scott.Track 1 features bass performed by Eric 'E Bass' Johnson and strings performed by Keyamo.The album is considered one of Jay-Z's best albums and has been labeled as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.īurdon, Carter, Chandler, Densmore, Krieger, Lemay, Lomax, Manzarek, Morrison, Parker, WestĬarter, Gordy, Mizell, Perren, Richards, West The Blueprint has since sold over 2,700,000 copies in the United States alone as of February 2012. The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 420,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, The Blueprint received universal acclaim, with critics praising Jay-Z's lyricism and the production. Eminem is the sole guest appearance on the album, appearing on the self-produced 'Renegade'. The two also produced a hidden track each. Just Blaze produced the songs ' Girls, Girls, Girls', ' Song Cry' and 'U Don't Know'. Kanye West produced four of the thirteen tracks on the album, including the hit single ' Izzo (H.O.V.A.)' and the controversial diss track ' Takeover', which features diss lyrics aimed at Nas and Prodigy. The album is also famous for the breakouts of its producers Kanye West and Just Blaze. At the time of its recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials for gun possession and assault, and had become one of hip hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from Nas, Prodigy and Jadakiss. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West and Just Blaze. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to fight bootlegging.

The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released in 2001 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Bink, Kareem 'Biggs' Burke (exec.), Shawn Carter (exec.), Damon Dash (exec.), Eminem, Just Blaze, Timbaland, Trackmasters, Kanye West

Jay z albums blueprint