| This was creative, genius even. Jay-Z puts out an album, Kingdom Come, that isn't well-received by his traditional constituents. Their problem? Jay-Z has gone "soft," he's rapping about his wealth, his opulent lifestyle rather than spitting the obligatory lyrics about the dope game and the corner, muses that simply aren't part of his life anymore. How can he reconcile being true to himself with giving the streets what they want? Create an entirely new genre: The hip-hop concept album. Sort of a portal through which an artist can exist in an alternate reality. In one brilliant move Jay-Z neutralized his prior detractors and avoided accusations that he's drawing on a culture he's no longer a part of. After all, American Gangster isn't about Jay-Z, or is it? |
