A momentous occasion has essentially been spoiled as a result of a leak that brought the trilogy of The Blueprint series out the gate prematurely. In order to save what is left for anticipation, Jay-Z’s eleventh studio album has been pushed up three days and will be released tomorrow.
Although no reports have been given as to why the date was pushed up, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. If anything, such a move would have been expected after the leak with Jay having such a strong fan base that was going to find a way to get their hands on the disc whether they liked the final product or not.
Originally slated to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the original Blueprint along with the terrorists attacks in New York, Jigga will now be placing himself on the racks Tuesday to go up against Raekwon as he releases the much delayed sequel to his 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.
Fans will also be able to have the complete series as Def Jam is releasing The Blueprint Collection which comprises the first two of the series being repackaged together with an empty slot to place the final chapter of the series.
As Jay has said before, he IS a business, man and as a result he has come up with yet another marketing plan as it celebrates the album. Along with pre-ordering the Blueprint III CD, fans can also order three T-shirts with two sporting his first two singles and the other reading “The Return of the God.” At $85 though, Hov might just be pushing it, but there is always going to be someone that will go out to make the purchase.
Rumors have circulated that Jay-Z plans to link up with Alicia Keys at the MTV Video Music Awards this year to perform the track “Empire State of Mind” which will be held on September 13. As a result, word has been going around that MTV is trying to make sure that Jigga doesn’t premier the song to fans at his “Answer The Call” concert which is scheduled for Friday.
Even with the release this week, the rapper has already stated that he is in the process of making his next album and has stated that it will be his most experimental album yet. He also stated that it will not be a number one album, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing.
