MGMT, Drake, Mr. Hudson, Rihanna & Kid Cudi on The Blueprint 3
“Blueprint 3″ has taken longer to record than any of Jay-Z’s previous albums. The rapper says he finished the project in November, then held it back as he negotiated with Def Jam. “The time gave me a chance to step back, touch it, step back, touch it, rework it. Then I had to keep motivating myself because of the current state of music. My album is a single album, but it’s part of a collective — the collectiveness of hip-hop,” he says.
So Jay-Z took his time, and let his hair grow out — as he usually does when he’s in the studio — and came back with collaborations with producers Kanye West, No I.D. and Timbaland, as well as musician contributions from MGMT, Drake, Mr. Hudson, Rihanna and Kid Cudi. (As of now, there are no collaborations with Beyonce, although he doesn’t rule out the possibility.)
