As of the end of November, there was a heated battle for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 being waged between Motor City madman Eminem and the King of New York Jay-Z. The winner: the self-proclaimed "Michael Corleone of the microphone/The Michelangelo of flow," otherwise known as Jay-Z, whose sixth solo album, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse (Def Jam), sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, unseating Eminem's soundtrack to 8 Mile (Interscope) from its short reign at the top. The two most popular MCs in hip-hop couldn't be more different. Driving forward with alarming velocity, Eminem's flow is wound up to vein-popping intensity; it always seems on the verge of veering off the tracks in a screech of obscenities and violence. Jay-Z, on the other hand, is the casual virtuoso who makes rapping sound like Sunday morning. Laying back on the beat, he turns casual conversation and tossed-off asides into hard-swinging raps that are pure confidence, a representation of all-American cockiness that is unmatched in hip-hop.

It's all an act. Making raps sound effortless takes serious sweat, and there's no better proof than Jay-Z's astonishing work ethic. Since releasing his Def Jam debut, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, he's turned out nine CDs, including six solo albums, one soundtrack, one live album, and two collaborative efforts. That's 1.5 albums per year. But after last year's stunning career highlight, The Blueprint, it's hard to imagine what even the "flow of the century" could do to top himself. Mo' tracks, mo' producers, and mo' cameos is the unsatisfactory answer on The Blueprint 2. Following the razor-sharp focus and unadorned emotion of The Blueprint -- which featured only one guest MC (Eminem) and Jay-Z's most personal work to date -- this year's model is a bloated and overstuffed two-disc, 110-minute set with 25 songs, 10 producers, and more than 15 cameos. It's the return of Jay-Z as calculating CEO, with one eye on his market share and the other on his bank account.

The sad part is, there's nothing here that sharp editing couldn't have remedied. Strip away soggy disco funk like "As One" (featuring an Earth Wind & Fire sample better suited to P. Diddy), too many appearances by Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella crew, and some heavy padding toward the end of the second disc and you'll find another classic album hidden inside. A true sequel to The Blueprint, however, this is not. For one, Jay-Z seems to be enjoying life a bit more these days. His heavily publicized romance with Destiny's Child Beyoncé Knowles is detailed in the first single, " '03 Bonnie & Clyde," a we're-so-happy-together love song that has him actually sounding sorta cute. "The new Bobby and Whitney/Only time we don't speak is during Sex and the City," he raps over a smooth, neo-soul beat. And though the one cut directed at Nas, "Blueprint 2," does have a spooky Ennio Morricone sample going for it, the disses have no heart. More than just a dull track, it gives weight to rumors that the Nas/Jay-Z beef was nothing more than a smartly constructed marketing tool.

Even the supposed concept of the album -- the "gift" of being a hip-hop zillionaire versus the "curse" of fame -- doesn't hold up. Jay-Z's pros-and-cons list comes up pretty one-sided: "You're invading my space, you need to be easy . . . stop spittin' in my face," he moans on "2 Many Hoes." The price of fame sure is steep, Jigga -- some spittle on your brow. We feel for you.

Still, emphasizing the positive is what Jay-Z does best. So as a collection of party cuts and battle tracks that luxuriate in cocksure attitude, giggle-worthy one-liners, and over-the-top braggadocio, The Blueprint 2 delivers. And as the top dog in hip-hop, Jay-Z can afford the best producers in the game. They come through with the disc's hottest stuff, from the lush, pitch-shifted soul of newcomer Kanye West's mixes to the fractured Indo-funk of standard bearer Timbaland's tracks to the new-wave crunk of the ever-present Neptunes. Even Lenny Kravitz sounds cool on "Guns & Roses," a swaggering dip into rap-rock fusion.

Yet despite the top-drawer beats, the astonishing flow, and the convincing case that can be made for The Blueprint 2 as one of the best hip-hop albums of the year, a whiff of desperation surrounds this project. It's as if Jay-Z needed the parade of guest stars and producers to reinforce his ego. And if he can't trust himself to carry an entire album, then it's only a matter of time before someone else claims his crown.

Issue Date: December 6 - 12, 2002