“Allure” – Jay-Z
(Words: Shawn Carter, music: Chad Hugo & Pharrell Williams, available on The Black Album, Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam, 2003)
Perhaps because I’ve played music most of my life, and perhaps because as a music fan I tend to be immediately drawn in by rhythm and sounds before words, I’m always interested to know who produces hip hop tracks. I’m even more interested when these tracks tend to break type, as the Neptunes’ production on Jay-Z’s “Allure” juts against the sound I normally associate with the production duo. Sure, that’s Pharrell singing the hook (if you want to call it that, as it’s much more subtle than the more radio friendly tracks they produced). The strings and piano backed by a slower beat give it a retro-soul feel (something like the What’s Going On album, production-wise), the perfect sonic landscape for one of Jay’s more contemplative tracks. It almost has the feel of sitting in a booth sharing a drink with Jay, listening to him blow off some steam.
Even if most of us will never sip champagne with a multimedia mogul, I think we can understand Jay’s idea of being drawn in by things we shouldn’t do (mine usually involve turning off my alarm clock and climbing back into bed). It’s also an interesting window into Jay-Z’s personality – even before his so-called “farewell album” ended, he’s promised his return (and now, two albums later, he’s fully un-retired). I can imagine that someone who’s had so much success on so many endeavors might get “bored” of being prolific. At a certain point, success becomes meaningless without a challenge, and if the challenges in front of us aren’t enough (and for most of us, they are), some of us seek out challenges. In that sense, the adrenaline rush of trying something new, even if it means risking failure, feels better in the moment than all of the platinum records hanging on your wall. With “Allure,” Jay tells us that he needed to take a break to see what else was out there, but that in the end he’d come back, if for no other reason than that he’s too good at “the game” to quit playing it for too long.
More on Jay-Z: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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