The Black Album is a 2003 hip hop album by rapper Jay-Z. It was promoted as his final studio album, although Jay-Z subsequently announced a return to solo recording in 2006. The album was very well received by critics and was also a commercial success, debuting at #1 with about 463,000 sold in its first week and more than 3.5 million to date. The black disc is accompanied by a black-covered set of liner notes and a black jewel case.
The album features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams (in Change Clothes), and Jay-Zs mother, who speaks about his childhood in different portions of December 4th. An a cappella-only version of The Black Album featuring these performances was also released.
In early interviews, Jay-Z said that the album would be a return to his Reasonable Doubt sound (responding to criticism from some fans that his subsequent efforts were too commercial) and that it would be for the streets, with no singles; however, Change Clothes and Dirt Off Your Shoulder were both successful singles.
He also claimed that the album would have a different producer for each track, and early magazine advertisements listed a series of numbers (representing tracks) and a producer for each number. The final album did feature a variety in producers, although Roc-A-Fella producers Kanye West and Just Blaze produced two tracks each, in addition to the two produced by frequent Jay-Z collaborators The Neptunes. Longtime collaborators DJ Premier and Dr. Dre did not produce any tracks. 9th Wonder saw a boost in popularity after producing Threat for the album. (Jay-Z is credited as the second producer on the track for finding the R. Kelly sample that was included in the beat.)
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The album features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams (in Change Clothes), and Jay-Zs mother, who speaks about his childhood in different portions of December 4th. An a cappella-only version of The Black Album featuring these performances was also released.
In early interviews, Jay-Z said that the album would be a return to his Reasonable Doubt sound (responding to criticism from some fans that his subsequent efforts were too commercial) and that it would be for the streets, with no singles; however, Change Clothes and Dirt Off Your Shoulder were both successful singles.
He also claimed that the album would have a different producer for each track, and early magazine advertisements listed a series of numbers (representing tracks) and a producer for each number. The final album did feature a variety in producers, although Roc-A-Fella producers Kanye West and Just Blaze produced two tracks each, in addition to the two produced by frequent Jay-Z collaborators The Neptunes. Longtime collaborators DJ Premier and Dr. Dre did not produce any tracks. 9th Wonder saw a boost in popularity after producing Threat for the album. (Jay-Z is credited as the second producer on the track for finding the R. Kelly sample that was included in the beat.)
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