CNN On Jay-Z Blueprint 9/11 Release

This Sunday, not only marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11, but also the release of Jay-Z’s sixth album, Blueprint. CNN wrote a piece on the project’s impact which coincidentally dropped during the tragic terrorist attacks .

 “Young people not directly affected are always more removed from the onset of national tragedy,” said Tricia Rose, a professor at Brown University and author of “The Hip Hop Wars.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 said. “And many probably never left the comfort of their bedrooms to download the release.
“Hip-hop heads (fans) have a different kind of relationship to music than fans of other genre,” said Sachs, an assistant professor of media technologies and culture at St. Mary’s College of California. “Hip-hop is not just music, it’s a culture, and that mentality permeates many aspects of the lives of hip-hop heads.”

Read the full article here.