Jay-Z wants us to know that HE knows certain words and isn't afraid to use them. Yeah, those words. All of them, over and over again. The edited version won't be much help here, because the edited words are so obviously edited out that it's almost worse.

That's the disclaimer--now about the music. This CD begins with a sound sample of the artist's mother talking about him as a child, in counterpoint with the Jay-Z himself talking about his feelings of abandonment when his father left home. It's a heart-tugger (really!) and sets up the rest of the CD in a uniquely sentimental way.

The whole album is lovingly and carefully produced. The background vocals are wonderful, the tracks seem to sparkle with an extraordinary energy and passion. This CD is not for everyone, but there's something substantial at the heart of it, if you can get past the obscenity and Jay-Z's macho posturing.