Jay-Z - The Black Album

The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on November 14, 2003, on Roc-A-Fella Records. It was promoted as his final studio album, which serves as a recurring theme,[1] although Jay-Z returned to solo recording with Kingdom Come in 2006.

The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 463,000 copies in its first week.[2] The Black Album has sold 3,516,000 original copies in the United States as of July 2013.[3] It produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including Hot 100 top-ten hits "Change Clothes" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".

Upon its release, The Black Album received acclaim from music critics. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards,[4] ultimately losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout.[5] The album was ranked #349 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6]

Jay-Z had announced that The Black Album would be his final album. He went on a retirement tour following the release of the album, but he later came out with releases of various songs and collaborations.[7]

1. "Interlude" Just Blaze 1:22
2. "December 4th" Just Blaze 4:32
3. "What More Can I Say" The Buchanans 4:55
4. "Encore" Kanye West 4:11
5. "Change Clothes" (featuring Pharrell) The Neptunes 4:18
6. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" Timbaland 4:05
7. "Threat" 9th Wonder 4:05
8. "Moment of Clarity" Eminem, Luis Resto (co) 4:24
9. "99 Problems" Rick Rubin 3:55
10. "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" Just Blaze 2:53
11. "Justify My Thug" DJ Quik 4:05
12. "Lucifer" Kanye West 3:12
13. "Allure" The Neptunes 4:52
14. "My 1st Song" Aqua, Joe "3H" Weinberger 4:45