Mr. Shawn Carter, better known to you and I as Jay-Z, recognized the fact that his sequel to the “The Blueprint” did not hit his typical mark of quality. He has come back to the scene with “The Blueprint: 2.1,” a shortened but upgraded version of “The Blueprint 2.”

The album features two new tracks, “Excuse Me Miss Again” and “Stop.” On “Excuse Me Miss Again,” Jay-Z gives us pimp subject matter from the original track, only this time he has improved it from the original. Jay-Z’s expert lyricism is extremely clever and witty, making this track helpful to the album. In the song, no one is safe from criticism, including his former “Bonnie” Foxy Brown.

-“Young, don’t mess with chicks in Burberry patterns/ Fake Manolo boots straight from Steve Madden.”

The other new track, “Stop,” features Jay-Z with rapper Swizz Beats doing what he does best … bragging. The beat and sound of the bass in this song makes this one of the more popular songs on the album.

“Blueprint: 2.1” also features tracks that previously were released on “Blueprint: 2.” On the track “Bonnie and Clyde ‘03,” Jay-Z raps are teamed up with the smooth and soulful vocals of Beyonce Knowles. The song is extremely pop-like, making it radio friendly, so you will either love it or hate it.

The best track on the album is “The Watcher 2.” Jigga teams up with Dr. Dre, Rakim and Truth Hurts making this an unbelievable track. Truth Hurts sings the hook in a different manner, making it better than the original.

Another favorite from the album is “N**** Please” featuring Young Chris. This is a typical Jay-Z song in which he goes off on one of his bragging tangents, but the song has such a killer beat that you will put it on repeat.

“Poppin’ Tags” features southern rappers Big Boi, Killer Mike and Twista forcing them to stray from the southern beats they are used to. Even Jay-Z seems thrown off as his lyrics are a little shaky.

Whether you love or hate him, you can’t deny that Jay-Z has power and influence in the hip-hop world. Whether you think his influence is good, there is no denying he is one hell of a lyricist.