Flash forward to 2009.

It's quite ironic to me that the same rap marks who begged and pleaded for Jay-Z to go back to Reasonable Doubt-esque rhyming claimed that 2007's American Gangster was an "excuse to rap about drugs again". The irony of it is that to me, American Gangster is even less of a concept album than Reasonable Doubt, and certainly more disjointed and out of alignment than it's predecesor. There are moments where I think "yeah, I can feel this" in regards to the story of the struggle to the top of a crooked industry, but then there are moments that are terribly unfitting to the concept. The album constantly seeks balance and never finds it. Let's not forget - concept or not - this is music and has to be seen as entertaining first and foremost despite any conceptualism, specially from a seasoned artist such as Jay-Z.

One major issue I have with American Gangster is that there are songs about the pre-success dream and other songs about the actual success, but where are all the stories about the act of hustling, the struggle, and the growing pains of building an empire? OF COURSE they aren't on here! Why? Because they're already on Reasonable Doubt!!. Where's the vivid stories like "Can I Live", "Politics As Usual", "Dead Presidents" found on this album? It's these things that make the album feel incomplete. On the surface, "Ignorant Shit", seems to cover those bases; except later I found out this was a mixtape track with a Beanie verse added and modified production. The song is still hot though. "Fallin" and "Say Hello" are the only songs on here that tell the actual middle of the story. The former can be seen as a retread of"Regrets", perhaps a post-celebratory "fall from grace" retrospect track. Still, it's a certified banger. Bilal kills the hook, the production covers textures that I haven't felt in who knows how long, and Jigga's thought-provoking discourse really allow his talent to shine.

Much like "Feelin It" was to Reasonable Doubt, there is a handful of celebratory tracks. Actually, more than a handful; most of American Gangster IS the celebration rather than the journey to achieve it. "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)" was the most popular single from the album and with good reason. Fun Trumpets, a Kanye chorus, and Jiggaman's charismatic flow, kinda like like "Show Me Whatcha Got" with more personality. "Sweet", "I Know", and "Party Life" all follow suit as fun, bouncy tracks that I like. But that's the problem: these songs are good and I LIKE them, but none of them I really LOVE. The album quickly begins to lose focus, to the point where I start to believe that Jay forgot that this was a supposed "concept album". Of all of the celebratory songs, "Success" is probably the one that sticks out the most in my mind because it features Jay's turn of the century rival Nas. Whenever Jay and Nas do a song together, I get giddy, but this song is slightly above average at best. The gospel production couped with Nas and Jay's uninspired rhymes doesn't make me rush for the rewind button like it "Black Republicans" did.

Make no mistake, American Gangster a very good album, just not extraordinary. With the jazzy production and the use of slightly more complicated rhyme schemes, it becomes obvious that Jay was trying to recapture the Reasonable Doubt vibe both lyrically and musically, but the problem is that Jigga is past that stage. It more often than not sounds like Jay-Z is forcing himself back thirteen years to fit with the concept, rather than just do the kind of album he is most comfortable with (see Blueprint 3). I respect Jay-Z for trying to be conceptual on American Gangster, but it feels incomplete. With it's abundance of pre and post hustler stories, it's almost like a companion-piece to Reasonable Doubt rather than a stand-alone "concept album", serving as both a prologue and an epilogue, not unlike the "Godfather Part II". Again... I have been here before. And remember...