Jay-Z’s The Blueprint Released 10 Years Ago Today
Jay-Z‘s sixth album The Blueprint hit record stores a decade ago on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001.
Despite the horrible coincidence, the album sold more than 420,000 copies in the first week. This was an impressive feat for any musician in a time of declining sales, let alone while Americans were still reeling from the worst terror attack on U.S. soil in modern history. The album went on to sell more than two million copies and earned a multi-platinum certification. To this day, music critics marvel over how The Blueprint did so well amid the chaos of 9/11.
“Young people not directly affected are always more removed from the onset of national tragedy,” Tricia Rose, a professor at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars, tells CNN.
A handful of other significant albums were also released on 9/11, including Bob Dylan‘s Love and Theft and Mariah Carey‘s Glitter. But no one had record sales approaching what Jay did that week.
“While the much older fans of Mariah Carey or Bob Dylan would likely be too busy and worried about terrorist attacks to rush out and purchase a CD the week of 9/11, Jay-Z’s teen and early 20s fans, already hyped up about this release long beforehand, remained focused on their idol,” Rose says. “And many probably never left the comfort of their bedrooms to download the release.”
