Contrary to popular belief, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 is far from being a classic. The supposed follow up to 2001′s critically acclaimed The Blueprint & 2002′s Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse (though in truth the three albums have little, if anything, in common other than name) comes after a long wait. In September 2008, Swagga Like Us was released — a great single which we were led to believe would appear on both T.I.’s Paper Trail & The Blueprint 3 — followed by Jockin’ Jay-Z, Brooklyn (Go Hard) & History (the latter being a wonderful Kanye West produced track in homage to newly elected President Obama). The signs looked good for the forthcoming album… but this proved to be a false dawn.