“Treat my first like my last, and my last like my first and my thirst is the same as when I came.”

Is it really like that? Really?

Like I said at the start of this week, I am a fan of Jay-Z. He is exceptionally talented and plays with words effortlessly. He stands apart from those of lesser talent who are putting out mediocre music at best. The fact that Jay-Z sells millions of records is not surprising, yet neither is it necessarily a sign that these records represent his best efforts.

I’m going to wrap this up like this: if you really are a cut above the rest, the challenge isn’t to outdo those in your field, the challenge is to outdo yourself, stretch yourself, expand yourself. The album that comes from there, from that state of mind, that is the Jay-Z album that I believe is yet to come, that I can’t wait to hear, that I will recommend to Simone.

Ganbatte kudasai, Jay!

“Nothing is for itself, but each thing partaking of the other is living its greatest possibility, is surpassing itself with vitality and meaning and is part of the making of a great unity. So with the works of the great masters.”

-Robert Henri

8/10/08 - Will that album be Blueprint 3?…