BLUEPRINT III Album Art

Idolator editor Maura Johnston has a post wherein she reflects on the recently released album art for Jay-Z’s forthcoming Blueprint 3, smartly dubbing it a veritable “Rorschach test” for all the many different interpretations it’s elicited from critics and fans.

As far as I’m concerned, the message couldn’t be clearer: stop whitewashing musicianship and recording artistry with “secret machines.” Autotune, the Antichrist of of musical creativity, must die!

It’s kind of thrilling, I think, to watch Jay-Z’s career reinvigorated by this crusade for quality and authenticity. He’s waging war against the facade of pristine production and calling out anybody who can’t hold up on stage or in studio with nothing but a mic, a voice and a mind. It’s time to separate the greats from the fakes, and Jay-Z’s drawing the line in the sand, adding that much more excitement to the release of this album.