Way Too Important

Jay-Z, American Gangster

by J. Edward Keyes

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Published: Nov 27, 2007

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Jay-Z

American Gangster

(Roc-A-Fella)

It's a cliché, sure, but it's true — if the movie American Gangster didn't exist, Jay-Z would have had to invent it. In a way, he already did: The album's drug-czar-turned-canny-mogul is essentially a minor variation on the same story Jay-Z has been telling since 1996, though he's rarely told it with this degree of clarity and focus. More than just a return to form, Gangster ranks with Jay-Z's best work, a record that gains gravity and nuance with each listen.

What makes Gangster especially fascinating — and, indeed, what makes it worth talking about a full 23 days after its release — is that it represents a curious kind of conundrum, a step forward/step back that presents just as many roadblocks as passageways. The record comes one year after Kingdom Come, Jay's much-ballyhooed un-retirement that found him attempting to transition into the hip-hop equivalent of U2. The result was overbaked and palpably calculated. By contrast, Gangster is leaner, grimmer and generally better, a full hour of a rare talent firing on all cylinders. Jay treats language like Legos, disassembling and reconstructing with stunning fluidity. In "Success" he nimbly outlines the fate of his foes: "I'm way too important/ to be talking 'bout extorting/ Asking me for a portion's/ like asking me for a coffin/ Broad daylight I'll off your on switch/ you're not too bright/ goodnight/ long kiss." Gangster is full of runs like these, each of them layered over marvelously hazy '70s soul samples.

Yet for all its strengths, Gangster is still something of a concession; that it works so well raises genuine questions about whether Jay can ever successfully abandon this persona. The dilemma hits its apex in "Ignorant Shit." The song has gained notoriety for Jay's direct address of Don Imus, but the real daggers lie in its chorus. As the Isely Brothers croon in the background, Jay looks his customer base in the eye and hollers: "This is that ignorant shit you like/ Nigga, fuck, shit, ass, bitch, trick plus ice." He sounds a little exultant, a little rebellious, and more than a little annoyed.

(j_edwardkeyes@citypaper.net)

 

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