I thought Jay-Z was washed up in the Fall of 2002. He was 32, his Blueprint 2 had just flopped, and he was on the ropes having just been lyrically crushed by the urban journalist, Nas. However, the Black Album dropped the following year and everything went back to being ho-hum for Mr. Sean Carter.
I thought Manny Ramirez was washed up in the Summer of 2008. He was 36, going absentee from Red Sox games, and was being dissed openly from the unlovable, jerk Kevin Youkilis. However, the dreaded one showed up in Chavez Ravine and began cracking home runs and everything went back to being ho-hum.
Upon further listening, “Blueprint 2″ should’ve told us three, very important things about Jay-Z. One, he has an unflinching loyalty to producers and talent he’s signed as long as they stay in their, subservient place. Two, he’s horribly insecure and rarely deviates from his formula to invite the listener in to his true self (more on this in a second). Third, he shamelessly regurgitates current trends (I, seriously, think that if classical music came back into vogue, he’d have a track with the BSO).
Why do I think these things? For starters, anyone that bucked on the Roc-A-Fella train or started outshining him on tracks (See: Sigel, Beanie on “Some How, Some Way”), they were ditched. For the first time as a commercially dominant artist, he took artistic chances (Not that crossover, current trend chaser “Guns and Roses”, but the dark “Meet the Parents” and “A Ballad for the Fallen Soldiers”) and those were either glossed over or fell flat with audiences (see: mainstream appeal… anyone can be lauded in esoteric magazines).
So, too, with Jay-Z, we’ve learned things with Manny from his exit in Boston and his resurgence in LA. One, he doesn’t care about anyone but Manny. Two, he’s the best player to have on your team when he doesn’t have to carry the load, both as a talent and as a personality. Three, the NL isn’t very good.
Granted, the third thing has nothing to do with Manny, personally, but the other two do. Manny quit on his teammates, the city of Boston (who could blame him), and on himself. He did irreparable damage to his legacy (almost as much as that 50 game suspension the following year did), but he didn’t care about any of that. He just cared about getting out of Boston because he was burned out. Very few people can hit 30+ home runs and drive in 110+ rbis a year. Even fewer can do that while juggling the press in a major market. Nearly no one can do it while being the only real offensive piece on the team. Ortiz had fallen off, Varitek had gotten old, Lowell had misplaced his ‘roids (yes, I die a little inside when, walking through the streets of Baltimore I see some d-bag rocking a faded Boston cap). Manny was done and he let the world know it.
Now, Jay-Z is settling into married life and being a celebrity owner. He seems more interested in hanging out with Bill Gates and the President (can we agree that his “My president is black” remix was one of the worst things ever laid down!?!?! ugh…). His “Blueprint 3″ seemed to be half-done and half-hearted and he didn’t even spazz when Kanye rapped circles around him (the old Jay-Z would’ve ensured that Kanye ended up like Freeway…) Notice the lack of…. people. He’s content with who he has become or, more realistically, just doesn’t feel like being bothered anymore because he’s found some new arena (insanely rich/powerful people) to dominate. He’s like the kid in high school who moves from one table to another trying to climb the popularity tree.
Now, Manny, having worn out his welcome in the City of Angels, finds himself on a new team. He has a new, no-nonsense manager who may be fired at the end of the year and will be in no real need to appease Ramirez. His team is a tight, professional group that holds each other accountable. This will not end well. Unfortunately, I don’t see Manny taking Paul Konerko chewing him out for not running out an out indifferently. There will be a lot of episodes and “manny being manny” and, when the season ends, the door will most likely close on one of the greatest hitters (and jerks) in major league baseball.
Oh well, if he gets lonely, maybe he could call Jay-Z up and they can hang out in Mr. Carter’s private jet. I bet they’ll be fast friends… they have so much in common.
F’n brilliant. For real. I would blast this to the so-called mainstream sports media emails, but I doubt if they know who the hell Freeway is, or how Jay-Z shits on his ‘proteges’. Hell, most ESPN personalities think Snoop is cool. Good stuff though.