Just as an aged Superman comes out of retirement in the comic to restore order to a chaotic world of younger heroes, Jay-Z envisioned himself returning to a rap scene he felt had lost its way. "Shawn Carter" Rebirth:
The beat wasn't the lush, cinematic soul-sample sound of the album. It was cold, industrial, minimal. A distorted synth line looped over a crushing drum pattern. Then, the voice came in. It was Jay, but younger, hungrier, stripped of the "old money" polish.
Jay-Z leveraged his status to assemble a powerhouse production team and guest list. Notable contributions included:
