"Now double your money and make it stack"

I, like most people conversant with the hip-hop game, knew Jay-Z wasn't being serious when he asked the rhetorical "What More Can I Say?" on his so-called retirement album "The Black Album". We all knew he'd be back...and, before you could say "Rocnation", he was.

Worryingly, though, he wasn't quite the HOV we all remembered. "Kingdom Come" was quite weak, "American Gangster" was quite a bit worse. And his collabs with wifey Beyonce....well, to be honest, I was too busy admiring her perfection to really notice his accessorizing presence in those videos. As for his 25 second cameo in "Umbrella", no that really does not count (although Rihanna should probably build him a shrine for single-handedly saving her career).

And then came "D.O.A." I was personally blown away. If you haven't heard it yet, please do it now. The song has a gorgeous old school sound, complemented beautifully by a jazzy-rocky-bluesy guitar riff/trumpet sample, all set off by a deep rolling drumline that is sicker than a 6 year old with chicken pox. And lyrically, it glitters. I must've heard the song 30 times in a row after I first saw it on MTV Base last summer. And this coming from a hardcore Trancehead. Yeah, it's pretty baller.

Why he followed it up with "Run This Town" though I'll never know. It features a creatively toothless Kanye and an unbeatably annoying Rihanna. I could go on and on about how grossly terrible this song is but just typing out the last few lines about it gives me a mild toothache...so I'm just going to stop here.

And then came (oh boy I can see you guys sitting up straighter in your chairs) "Empire State of Mind". Confession: not my cup of chai. I promise I'm not just saying that to be 'different' (evidence: I love "TiK Tok"), I just genuinely don't like it much. Yes, Jay-Z's verses are sharp and eloquent; and sure, I've sung along to Alicia's powerful chorus at many clubs over the last few months (although for this I'd like to blame it on the a-a-a-alcohol)...but I just never managed to connect with the song. Perhaps because: a) I don't really love NY all that much, b) the harmonic and rhythmic composition of the base tracks just aren't as creative and strong as I'd like.

So I was left waiting...for a little more genuine HOV magic. And, the benevolent hip-hop god didn't leave me hangin'

And "On To The Next One" was born.

[I know a couple of people who were quite disturbed by some of the Occult/Masonic references the video makes. If you'd like an article that analyses this in more depth, just e-mail/ask me for it - I don't really want to link it up on my blog]

First, let's just talk about the song can we? Epic win. Swizz Beatz is truly a legend and I know that without the skillful production and mastering that he's done on this track, it wouldn't be half as explosive as it is. He uses an old fashioned drum machine but complements it with the very modernist deep bassline and rounds it all off with a sample from an electro-pop classic ("D.A.N.C.E." - Justice >> and yeah I spotted that by myself before confirming it from the official release, can I get a "what what!") -- tell me that's not slick! If you pay half as much attention to the production and sound engineering side of music, you'll surely appreciate why I've just spent a paragraph singing Swizz's praises. Jay-Z is in top form with his word play ("No I'm not a Jonas [pause] brother, I'm a grown up/No I'm not a virgin, I use my cojones") and you can tell he had a blast recording this one - after all it is mostly Jay-Z talking about how awesome...well, Jay-Z is.

And then there's the video. Shot in crisp black-and-white, it features a smattering of obscure images/references, some probing portraits of interesting characters and is decidedly and wonderfully eerie. Also, Jay-Z looks so freaking hot, I don't even know what to do with myself. Oh yeah and the sexy The Joker-esque guy is the icing on the bizarre-o cake. Right up my alley and I laaav it.

I've heard mixed reviews from my 'real'-hip-hop-fan friends but really my opinion of this track is pretty much set in stone. I don't know if it's coz the song is objectively great, or if it's because I've loved Jay Z since I was 12, or if it's because I'm drawn to creepy things...whatever the reason, I think it's bloody brilliant. It reminds me that even today it is still lines like

"Somebody bring me back some money please, hey

I got a million ways to get it, choose one"

that make me fistpump the hardest. You can take the girl outta Hip-Hop but you just can't take the Hip-Hop outta the girl...