Ep. 1: Hola' Hovito | The Ruler's Back: The Making of The Blueprint by Jay-Z

From Breaking Atoms comes our new original podcast series celebrating the 20th anniversary of Jay-Z’s sixth album, The Blueprint. 

 

In this first episode, we double back to a post-Millenium New York where triumph and tragedy were both served in ample amounts. We’ll look at Jay-Z ascending to the top of the Rap kingdom, Roc-A-Fella Records becoming a dynasty, more people than ever listening to what the South had to say and Hip Hop evolving into a Unicron-like commercial juggernaut.

 

Guest appearances by Andrew Barber, Shawn Setaro, Oliver Wang, Nuface, Carl Lamarre, J’na Jefferson, Thandie Sibanda, Jayson Buford, Bianca Gracie, Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Young Guru, Bink, Miki Hellerbach, Just Blaze, Lily Mercer and Dylan Green

 

0:39 - Introduction by Sumit and Chris
1:22 - Sumit and Chris on Jay-Z’s career in the 90s and the lead up to The Blueprint’s release
3:11 - Sumit and Chris on the changes in Hip Hop during the 2000s
4:28 - Andrew Barber on the success of Nelly and Eminem
5:33 - Shawn Setaro on the watching artists advance up mixtape tracklists
6:10 - Oliver Wang on the sample free production shift in mainstream Hip Hop
7:18 - Nuface on The Blueprint bringing something new to the table
7:56 - Carl Lamarre on the emergence of contemporary artists and New York finding its way
9:04 - J’na Jefferson on Eminem and Missy Elliott broadening the Hip Hop audience
9:45 - Thandie Sibanda on the change in Hip Hop music after the millennium
10:10 - Jayson Buford on the importance of Soul music in Hip Hop culture
10:51 - J’na Jefferson and Jesse Bernard on how Soul music connects Black history 
11:34 - Bianca Gracie on the influence of what would later become known as chipmunk soul
12:30 - Deborah Mannis-Gardner on the legalities and politics around clearing samples
13:23 - Andrew Barber on Beanie Sigel’s The Reason album showcasing The Blueprint sound
14:34 - Young Guru on meeting Jay-Z for the first time and going to Baseline Studios
15:28 - Young Guru on the shift in Roc-A-Fella’s sound via Kanye West, Just Blaze and Bink
16:06 - Bink on how his relationship with Roc-A-Fella Records began
16:57 - Bink on the making of 1-900-Hustler and Freeway’s debut
18:08 - Bink on the artists rhyming on the wrong part of the 1-900 Hustler beat
18:28 - Nuface on Bink’s contributions to Jay-Z’s career
18:48 - Oliver Wang on Bink’s consistency over the last 25 years
19:20 - Miki Hellerbach on Bink’s production enabling Jay-Z to be more introspective
20:10 - Just Blaze on meeting with Dino Delvaille and being introduced to Gee Roberson
22:13 - Just Blaze on Gee Roberson’s production team and working on Amil’s album
23:14 - Just Blaze on Jay-Z recognising his production talent and recording Streets Is Talking
25:22 - Lily Mercer on Just Blaze’s style evolving and making well-known samples feel new
26:08 - Dylan Green on the energy in Just Blaze’s beats
26:39 - Carl Lamarre on Just Blaze and the other producers pushing Jay-Z’s writing ability
27:16 - Young Guru on Just Blaze’s ability to adapt and change his sound when needed
28:17 - Andrew Barber on Chicago radio embracing Kanye West 
29:02 - Young Guru on Kanye West showing up when Jay-Z and Scarface needed to record
30:02 - Young Guru on Baseline Studios being essential to Roc-A-Fella’s productivity
30:58 - Just Blaze on Baseline Studios’ tight-knit environment and quality output
32:36 - Young Guru on OG Juan throwing away a recording by Miles Davis
33:47 - Nuface and Young Guru on Kanye West bringing a beat CD to the studio

 

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