Arguably, Jay-Z is the smartest dude on the planet, a close second being Arnold Schwarzenegger, before he reached too high too early, but that's another story. So Kottke linked to this, hence I just re-link to him with some other comments.
Jay-Z's book, Decoded, is not the greatest ever written. It's no "Road to Freedom," but I read it because I do believe it's a smart dude. So, in his works, you could argue it's a piece of long-form poetry, I would rank that maybe around Blueprint 3.
I came across him during Blueprint 1 & 2, as well as the Black Album, all of which were great and continue to be re-listens. I'm also, for some reason, a great fan of American Gangster (movie & soundtrack), which is kind of like a fairy tale of a gangster movie, where you root for the bad guy, even though you know the man's eventually going to get him.
Do I really think he's smart? Yes, absolutely. The smartest? It depends on context, but I do think he's got an empire state of mind (much like Arnold) and moves the chess pieces accordingly. So he deserves my respect for that.
OK, I'm out.
Jay-Z's book, Decoded, is not the greatest ever written. It's no "Road to Freedom," but I read it because I do believe it's a smart dude. So, in his works, you could argue it's a piece of long-form poetry, I would rank that maybe around Blueprint 3.
I came across him during Blueprint 1 & 2, as well as the Black Album, all of which were great and continue to be re-listens. I'm also, for some reason, a great fan of American Gangster (movie & soundtrack), which is kind of like a fairy tale of a gangster movie, where you root for the bad guy, even though you know the man's eventually going to get him.
Do I really think he's smart? Yes, absolutely. The smartest? It depends on context, but I do think he's got an empire state of mind (much like Arnold) and moves the chess pieces accordingly. So he deserves my respect for that.
OK, I'm out.
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