SOHH NYC

Written By SOHH Reckless

[Editor's Note: The views of this blog do not necessarily reflect those of SOHH.com]

Today is September 11th. So first and foremost, I'd like to acknowledge everyone who was affected by the 9/11/01 fall of the Twin Towers-- whether they escaped doom, lost a family member, were down the street, or even here in the New York City in any borough. Rest in peace to all who didn't make it.

But something else occurred that day. To thwart vehement bootlegging, Hov's camp decided that it was best to drop "The Blueprint" a week early-- which then fell on not the previously scheduled September 18th, but September 11th, 2001. In the midst of a crisis that plagued the news-- hour after hour for over a week-- "The Blueprint," arguably another one of Jay's classics, was able to pull something not many expected. This achievement makes number one. And this is number one out of eleven things you probably would have never expected to happen after "The Blueprint" dropped (mostly chronologically):

1. Despite the 9-11 turmoil and chaos that rocked the nation, "The Blueprint" manages to skyrocket to #1 on Billboard and go (nearly) gold, with nearly 430,000 copies sold in the first week. Who knew? It then went on to push over 2 million albums nationally.

2. Jay-Z retires... and then un-retires.

3. The Roc-A-Fella circle suddenly breaks up-- and falls apart forever. Dame becomes ghost. Biggs becomes M.I.A. Eventually, all the artists on the ROC disappear. Well, except Kanye.

4. After being overlooked, Kanye West becomes the hottest rapper on Roc-A-Fella. And almost the only reason Roc-A-Fella still exists. And then becomes one of the hottest producers. Thanks, Dame!

5. When faced with a choice, Kanye West turns his back on Dame-- who helped uplift him into stardom-- and goes with Hov, who had never believed in him from day one. Kanye admits this in an MTV interview with the popular Sway.

6. Jay-Z takes over Def Jam... or not. Wow! Did you hear that Hov is the President at Island Def Jam now? Many would have begged to differ. And still do.

8. Dame Dash (allegedly) goes broke. This is still up for debate, as he is-- or at least was-- worth millions. But millions go quickly when you're spending more than you realize. One thing, however, is not up for debate: As reflected in his interview with popular gossip blog Bossip, Dame is still quite bitter.

9. Jim Jones becomes obsessed with Jiggaman. "Beefing" is one thing. But then he gets extra with it, using a poster that says "WHO IS JIM JONES? ASK JAY-Z NOVEMBER 7th" to promote the release of "Hustler's POME," names his mixtape "Harlem's American Gangster" after Hov's album "American Gangster," and the list goes on and on.

10. When the youngn's say Mr. Carter is the "best rapper alive" they're not talking about Jay-Z. ...

11. Jay-Z marries Beyonce. But what happened to "Girls, Girls, Girls"? And then there's "Big Pimpin," where he says "Me give my heart to a woman?/ Not for nothin' never happen I'll be forever mackin.'" Okay Hov.

There are many more. But I'd be here all morning.

Thanks to the bangers that make up "The Blueprint," I don't have to skip a song, even to this day. Besides "Reasonable Doubt," this is the only Jay album I can say that about.