Jay-Z - "Jockin' Jay-Z" (prod. Kanye West)

A couple days ago, Jay-Z debuted a verse from "Jockin' Jay-Z" at Kanye's MSG show. Everybody lost their shit – it sounded like American Gangster really had revitalized the rap legend, and another great album was in the works.

But the studio cut, featuring notably less enthusiastic vocals than Hova's inaugural live performance, isn't quite as thrilling. Jay-Z has done much better with minimal beats before – check American Gangster's "Hello Brooklyn 2.0" for evidence – and his wordplay isn't nearly as clever as we saw on his last advance single, "Blue Magic." And let's be honest, that "'cause I like money bitch!" line is embarrassingly terrible (as is his awkward revival of the Oasis feud). His flow is decent, but Jay's performance lacks presence and energy (maybe his voice is simply too low in the mix). In any case, I hope this isn't an indicator of what to expect for The Blueprint 3.

Kanye fares a little better. While I do miss the sped-up soul of The College Dropout and Late Registration, the loose grind of "Jockin' Jay-Z" shows Kanye trying his hand at a new style of beat and, for the most part, succeeding. "Jockin' Jay-Z" is vaguely reminiscent of Black Star's "Definition", propelled by a frenetic, repetitive guitar hook and a stark drum beat. It's an exciting production, sure to get your blood pumping and your hands in the air. And, as we saw last Wednesday, it certainly packs a punch in an arena setting.

Still, I'm skeptical about the recent direction of Kanye's production. Kanye's strength has never been rhythm – he's much better with texture and layering. Lately, we've seen Kanye stripping down the layers of his music and going for a simpler approach, focusing less on sampling and more on synths. While I applaud his decision to branch out, I also wonder if he is compromising his greatest strengths. Sure, Graduation had a handful of jaw-dropping moments ("Flashing Lights", "I Wonder"), but those songs don't quite chalk up to his past masterpieces ("Slow Jamz", "The New Workout Plan", "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", "Gone", etc.).

All in all, "Jockin' Jay-Z" is fun but kind of soulless, which is disappointing when considering the incredible collaborations that Mr. West and Mr. Carter had on the original Blueprint. It's a decent song, to be sure, but hardly anything special. I really hope that the duo have another "Heart of the City" or "Izzo" up their sleeves, but after hearing "Jockin' Jay-Z", I wouldn't put money on it.


Live debut of "Jockin' Jay-Z" at MSG; 8/6/2008