The album’s not done yet, but apparently Jay-Z felt the need to get a response to the unfinished tracks he’s laid down for his upcoming release, American Gangster, due November 6th. Jay held a small listening party Friday evening at his Roc the Mic Studios in NYC.

The information that has circulated due to this event has definitely left me very interesting in this project. Jay played 10 tracks that are slated for the album. One omission though, was his latest single “Blue Magic”. Supposedly, Jay is still unsure where it will fit in on the album and may just stick it on there as an unreleased bonus track. That may be good news as the overall reception to the new single is less than favorable.

Production-wise, I must say I’m a little surprised. I was expecting to hear that the album boasts production from the regular heavyweights such as Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Timbaland. Instead there seems to be at least three tracks produced by Diddy and two from Jermaine Dupri. The only other confirmed productions were from No I.D. and DJ Toomp. Those should be great! DJ Toomp has done some great work for T.I. and No I.D. just screams classic 90s hip hop. I just hope Diddy doesn’t big Jay back to the Volume 1 days.

Anyway, read on for more track by track detail of American Gangster…

• “Pray”: American Gangster’s first cut, one of several produced by none other than Sean “Diddy” Combs — whom Jay still calls “Puffy,” harkening back to days long past when both were members of the late Notorious B.I.G.’s circle. “[The album] starts with a kid looking into the game,” Jay explained. The beat slams ominously behind his scene-setting rhymes: “Mindstate of a gangster from the ’40s/Meets the business mind of Motown’s Berry Gordy.”

• “No Hook”: Another wide-screen Puff production, full of dark organ vibes, and more rhymes from an aspiring kingpin’s perspective: “F—rich, let’s get wealthy/Who else gon’ feed we?” The mood is sneering, hungry, with Jay almost seeming to slip into his long-abandoned double-time flow at times.

• “Roc Boys”: “That’s him at his height,” Jay said of his persona in this song. “It’s a celebration of the whole s—.” Exultant horns burst out on the beat (Puffy again) as the rapper revels in a lifestyle funded by ill-gotten riches: “First of all, I wanna thank my connect/The most important person, with all due respect/…Think rosé/Think O.J./I get away with murder when I sling yey’.” (The song also includes a reference to “black bar mitzvahs.” Maybe that “L’chaim” was even more significant than I realized.)

• “I Know”: Hard-hitting percussion and sparkling synths underly this conceptual track about desire’s many faces: “I know what you like/I’m your prescription/I’m your physician/I’m your addiction.” “I’m using a lot of heroin references,” Jay noted as he tried to unpack the song’s multi-layered metaphors. “[But] on another level, it plays as a song about relationships. And on a drunk-too-much-wine-one-night level, it plays as the game talking to me. It’s f—ing weird — but the music is great.” He’s not lying.

• “Ignorant S—”: Web-savvy fans may recall a purposefully outrageous outtake from 2003’s The Black Album bearing this name. “It’s one of those gems you can’t let go,” Jay said now. So he dusted it off for Gangster, complete with the unforgettably explicit hook in which he boasts, “I got that ignorant s— you like/N—-, f—, s—-, a–, b—-, trick, plus ice!” Just call him rap’s George Carlin. The song now also features a decidedly non-ignorant new verse in which Jay thoughtfully eviscerates Don Imus and all those who’ve equated the disgraced shock jock with foul-mouthed rappers — plus some tight guest bars from Jay’s longtime protege Beanie Sigel.

• “Success”: The endorphin rush provided by new money starts to wear off on this cut, produced by Chicago veteran (and Kanye West mentor) No I.D. “I used to give a f—, now I give a f— less,” Jay reflects over a rapidly descending organ riff. “Truth be told, I had more fun when I was piss-poor.” Jay’s former rival Nas talked him into letting him spit on this track; Nas’ verse hasn’t been mixed in yet, but Jay promises that “It’s hot. He killed it.”

• “Say Hello to the Bad Guy”: Atlanta’s DJ Toomp (T.I.’s “What You Know,” Kanye West’s “Big Brother”) contributed this beat, which keeps that darkening mood going with church-like organs.

• “When the Money’s Gone”: The title says it all about this one. Jay raps about the inevitable downfall which befalls even the most successful hustlers; Jermaine Dupri produced the backdrop of shuffling drums and cascading synths.

• “Fallen”: Another J.D. production, and likely the album’s final track. Jay reflects on the perverse pleasure the public takes in seeing a star destroyed: “Fallen/They applaudin’.” Neosoul crooner Bilal sings the elegiac hook. It’s a cathartic ending to an emotionally gripping album.

• “This S— Right Here”: Jay’s worried that the Marvin Gaye-sampling beat is too laidback for the energetic rhymes he’s currently laid down over it. Legitimately interested in getting some feedback, Jay insisted on hearing each and every attendee’s opinion on whether he should trade the supremely mellow beat in for something harder-hitting. (For the record, it sounds great as-is, and it’ll be a shame if the final album doesn’t include that transcendent Marvin sample.)

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