Eighteen years after its landmark debut, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint is being celebrated by the Library of Congress. The nation's oldest federal cultural institution has added Mr. Carter’s 15-track opus to the new National Recording Registry, which “honors the music that enriches our souls, the voices that tell our stories and the sounds that mirror our lives.”

“The influence of recorded sound over its nearly 160-year history has been profound and technology has increased its reach and significance exponentially,” expounded Librarian of Congress's Carla Hayden in a statement. “The Library of Congress and its many collaborators are working to preserve these sounds and moments in time, which reflect our past, present and future.”

A rap offering that emerged just as the September 11 attacks took place, The Blueprint is inarguably Jay-Z’s most visceral, personal and reputable body of work. The album’s success was contingent on Jay-Z’s ability to solidify his credibility and forge his legacy as one of music’s greatest rappers, on the heels of facing charges on assault and weapons possession that could have dramatically impacted his life and career.

“I beat them charges like Rocky,” which is presumably what lends to The Blueprint’s installation – along with 24 other recordings – “as aural treasures worthy of preservation because of their cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage.”

For the uninitiated or freshly minted rap heads, The Blueprint also continues to garner wide acclaim that purports Jay-Z’s sixth studio project is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, with praise directed at the Brooklyn native’s lyricism and production. It was especially made famous for Jay-Z brutally dismissing a pair of his most formidable opponents at the time, Mobb Deep and Nas, just minutes into the project.

See below a complete list of the newly added entries. To learn more about the National Recording Registry program, visit here.



2018 National Recording Registry