The Black Album 10 years removed

“One day it too will pass on its legacy through the seeds it dropped to the ground
And as the wind carries these seeds throughout wherever they might move
A new life will begin for each one of them as they stand as a monument to the one that came before” (Interlude)

The Black Album isn’t my favorite Jay-Z album (The Blueprint), nor is it the most critically acclaimed (Reasonable Doubt). But if I wanted someone to listen to a Jay-Z album for the first time, this would be this album that I would have them listen to first.
The Black Album came out 10 years ago in 2003. At the time it was presented as Jay-Z’s “swansong”. This would be his “last” album.  With hindsight we know that he released more albums (about 5 as of right now), but even at the time people knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay away. If Jay-Z is like Michael Jordan, the person who he often compares himself to, then the Black album is the 1998 season where 23 ends his career with a game winner.
The Black Album starts with a completely uneccesary intro. Jay-Z’s albums are known for having great introductions (A million and one questions, The Ruler’s Back and The Dynasty Intro come to mind) and this doesn’t match up in the slightest. Luckily, the next song “December 4th” completely redeems it. It features a great feature by none other than Jay-Z’s mom, Gloria Carter. It works well as an autobiographical song  

“Pound-for-pound, I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody, look what I embody:
The soul of a hustler, I really ran the street
A CEO's mind, that marketing plan was me” – Jay-Z (What More Can I Say)

“What More Can I Say” and “Encore” are essentially the same song. Both of the songs are victory laps, but one sounds like a street single (WMCIS) and Encore has a more commercial sound. The joy of having an 8th album and having 7 of them be great is that your victory laps are deserved, and Jay can have two right after each other. “Change Clothes” is the spiritual predecessor of “Tom Ford” from Magna Carter where Jay-Z talks about fashion and namedrops designers.
“Dirt Off Your Shoulder” is a song that has a special place in my heart. When the video came out it featured the first verse of Public Service Announcement which is one of my favorite songs (more later). Also, it’s a fun song to perform because of the obvious dance. (You can do it it, no one’s watching)  It’s probably my go to karaoke song. Back to the music, the refrain of  “best rapper alive” continues the victory lap theme of the album.
“Threat” was a standout song when I first listened to the album. It features Cedric the Entertainer just shouting out random threats in between verses. Jay-Z is at his best when he uses word play to stick with conceits.

“When the gun is tucked, untucked, nigga you dies
Like nunchuks held by the Jet L-I
I'm the one, thus meanin no one must try
No two, no three, no four, know why?
Because one's four-five might blow yo' high” – Jay-Z (Threat)

The first two are self explanatory for anyone who’s seen Jet Li with a pair of nunchucks. The 4th line is what makes it. two three and four are both exaggerations of the “no one” from line 3. (As in no two must try, no three etc.) and also saying that he’s “the one” and there’s not even a 2, 3, or 4. The one’s .45 phrase is just icing but still sticking with the numerical conceit. He does it things like this throughout his career at different levels of consistency.
Moment of Clarity is a deep song discussing his father’s death (Pop died, didn't cry, didn't know him that well /Between him doing heroin and me doing crack sales) and his views towards the music he makes (We as rappers must decide what's most important / And I can't help the poor if I'm one of them / So I got rich and gave back, to me that's the win/win). Even better is the song 99 problems, on of Jay-Z’s biggest songs and the song that is the subject of a well-written law review article. The song is popular, great, etc, ad nauseum…
“Fellow Americans, it is with the utmost pride and sincerity
That I present this recording, as a living testament and recollection
Of history in the making during our generation.”
Public Service Announcement is the highlight of The Black Album (and the Grey Album for that matter). It’s one of the best songs in his entire musical catalogue. The song just works. The first verse is one of the more memorable ones that he has. The second verse is less remembered but more impactful

“You can blame Shawn, but I ain't invent the game
I just rolled the dice, trying to get some change
And I do it twice, ain't no sense in me
Lying as if I am a different man
And I could blame my environment but
There ain't no reason why I be buying expensive chains
Hope you don't think users are the only abusers
Niggas getting high within the game
If you do then, how would you explain?
I'm ten years removed, still the vibe is in my veins”. –Jay-Z (P.S.A.)

Following the masterpiece, Justify my Thug and Lucifer play. Justify my Thug isn’t a bad song, but it’s probably my least favorite song on the album.  Lucifer features a Kanye West beat, which is always a good thing, but it also features Jay-Z’s imitation of a West Indian accent which I could live without. (Also, see the first verse of Brooklyn Go Hard. Boom bye bye, please). 
Allure features Pharell again. This time he uses a great Neptunes beat to tell a great story in the second verse. Allure is a haunting song in an unconventional way. It’s a relatively upbeat song until you get to Jay-Z’s story of the mistresses of hustlers.

“Say "hooray" to the bad guy, and all the broads
Putting cars in their name, for the stars of the game
Putting 'caine in their bras and their tomorrows on the train:
All in the Name of Love
Just to see that love locked in chains and the family came
Over the house to take back everything that they claimed
Or even the worse pain is the distress
Learning you're the mistress only after that love gets slain
And the anger and the sorrow mixed up leads to mistrust
Now it gets tough to ever love again” – Jay-Z (Allure)

TL;DR Girl risks everything moving drugs for her guy and after he gets arrested,then killed, she finds out that she’s not even his number one. It’s deep. One of the things that Jay-Z does well is paint selling drugs as a not-always-rosy day-job, something that other rappers don’t do nearly as well.
The last song on this album, “My 1st Song”, features a Biggie interview, where Big relays advice given to him by Diddy.  (“The key to staying on top of things is treat everything like it's your first project, knahmsayin. Like it's your first day like back when you was an intern. Like, that's how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry”) It also explains the title. Mr. Carter borrows Mr. Wallace’s cadence to begin the second verse (“Like I never rode in a limo / Like I just dropped flows to a demo / Like it's ninety-two again and And I got O's in the rental”). The song is the perfect outro for the album. It didn’t end up as his last song or album (he came back like Jordan wearing a Wizards jersey on Kingdom Come). The album is solid and even ten years later it holds up exceptionally well. It’s an album that Jay-Z an be proud of on his birthday (unlike Blueprint 2 which preceeded it and Kingdom Come which followed it)