Jay-Z: The Blueprint 2LP Blue Vinyl

Why you'll love it

This blue 2LP set is the 25th anniversary edition in a gatefold jacket. The Blueprint debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 427,000 copies in its first week, and in 2018 it became the first 21st-century album added to the National Recording Registry.

This edition

2LP set
Blue vinyl
25th anniversary edition
Gatefold jacket

About the album

Jay-Z made The Blueprint fast, in about two weeks at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York, and moved its date up a week to stay ahead of leaks. It arrived on September 11, 2001, and quickly became the record that defined his run as a solo artist.

The sound is warm and soul-soaked, with a young Kanye West producing four tracks and Just Blaze three, plus Bink, Timbaland and Trackmasters. "Takeover" rides a Doors sample, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" became a hit, "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" and "Song Cry" flip classic soul, and Eminem, the album's one guest, produced and rapped on "Renegade." "U Don't Know," "Never Change" and "Hola' Hovito" keep the momentum going across all four sides.

Rolling Stone ranked it No. 50 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and No. 4 on its best albums of the 2000s, and Pitchfork put it at No. 5 on its top 200 of the decade. Two weeks to make, twenty-five years to celebrate, which is roughly our ratio for unpacking boxes.

Also at Kops: more Jay-Z on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B