You’ve heard Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” alongside Rihanna and Kanye West. Now pull up a seat and watch your neighborhood TRU Brain TRUs debate the new single from Blueprint 3.
Come on in, the trustees are waiting.
Black Barbie:
Anyone that talks sh*t about this song really needs to examine their ears. From the beat, to the verses and ad-libs, all 3 held their own. Now, I know some are debating whether Jay or Kanye had the better verse, but Jay won out with this line alone: “Please follow the leader, Eric B we are, Microphone Fiend, its the return of the god, peace God!” C’mon now, how many of y’all even caught that?! Thankfully, Kanye surprised everyone because he gave Jay a run for his money and delivered an amazing verse his damn self (“What you think I rap for? To push a f-cking Rav4?). Really, who thought Kanye would hold his own on a song with Jay? The “baby brother” is definitely catching up to his “big brother” indeed. Now, I personally hate Rihanna’s voice, so I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I could make it through an entire song that she’s on. She definitely was the right voice for this song (*ahem* thank the powers that be for keeping Drizzy Drake off of this). All in all, I gotta say, I love this song. It’s definitely staying in rotation.
Nahshon:
Jay is victory lapping again, but it almost feels like he cares this time. I like the sound of the song. It captures everything that we liked about Rihanna’s “Umbrella” plus a comparably lyrical Kanye West. It must be rough to be the low point on your own song. Jay is proving that he’s a great businessman and that he can craft a sound, hopefully he can also show up lyrically at some point on the album, I’d hate to see Kanye AND Drake get him on his last album.
Dom Corleone:
For an artist with as diverse a catalog as Shawn Carter, this song is uncharacteristically generic. The banality begins with an all-too-familiar ‘Yeezy drum pattern, a whiny Rih Rih chorus and a forgettable Hov verse. Fortunately, Jay salvages what’s left of the track with a solid second verse before ‘Ye lays down the most memorable portion with witticisms galore, i.e. “She got a ass that’ll swallow up a g-string/ Up top, uh, two bee stings.” Remember Hov outshining ‘Ye on “Never Let Me Down” from College Dropout? “Run This Town” is proof that apprentice can (eventually) trump master, but don’t count on it becoming a prevalent theme just yet.
Jaap:
Jay-Z seems out to solidify his status as the biggest in the rap game again and pulls out a pop record to broaden his appeal beyond said rap game. Now there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but Jigga’s pop records were never the shining stars of his albums and this one is far from an exception. The chorus sounds like it should’ve been a Rihanna solo song and Jay sounds more like Kanye on the introductory parts of his verses, especially in the way he wrings words to rhyme that don’t actually rhyme. Speaking of Kanye, he’s much more at home on a track like this and even manages to — who woulda thunk it a mere 5 years ago — outshine his ‘big brother’ on his own track.
Ivan:
As a Jay-Z fan who still bumps The Blueprint every once in a while, I can state with certainty that “Run This Town” will not get the same love in eight years’ time. Rihanna’s vocals are tepid and sound dialed in. Jigga’s zest falls flat and feels, for lack of a better word, aged. On the plus side, Kanye outshines his fellow Roc-star with a solid verse, but he’s no “Renegade”-era Eminem. And the beat isn’t much to gawk at either, with its dark monotone and recognizable drums. Overall, a disappointing venture. Last week, Microsoft’s shares took a plunge; so did my expectations for The Blueprint 3. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Rizoh:
It looks like someone finally got tired of being bullied by “Big Brother.” Roc Nation dropped the ball on the song credit though; it was supposed to read ‘Kanye West Featuring Rihanna,’ because ‘Ye murdered Jay on his own track. But that’s mostly because Jay was barely trying. In other words, Kanye didn’t win, Jay lost. *Gasp* I’m officially looking forward to that Drake single.
Andrew:
If this song is what the Blueprint 3 entails then consider me purposefully absent for it’s September 11th release. The man who is worth more than most school district’s yearly budgets is rapping about “running this town”? Stupid. That’s like Berry Gordy reminding everyone that he IS Motown. Rihanna’s singing on the hook was reminiscent of the first take she did on “Umbrella” except she was blackout drunk when she did it. And Kanye rapping about feeling like a superstar? Lord help me, why do I feel like I’ve heard this before?
Overall Rating:
Updated to reflect Jaap’s review/rating.
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