The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse
The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse
Studio album by Jay-Z
Released	November 12, 2002
Recorded	December 2001 – September 2002
Studio	Baseline (New York); Record One (Los Angeles); Encore (Los Angeles); Master Sounds (Richmond, Virginia); Manhattan Center (New York); Boiler Room (Providence, Rhode Island); Sony Music (New York);
Genre	Hip hop
Length	108:24
Label	Roc-A-Fella; Island Def Jam;
Producer	Shawn Carter (also exec.); Big Chuck; Charlemagne; Darrell "Digga" Branch; Dr. Dre; Ron Feemster; Heavy D; Just Blaze; Jimi Kendrix; the Neptunes; No I.D.; Timbaland; Kanye West;
Jay-Z chronology
Singles from The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse
	"'03 Bonnie & Clyde"; Released: October 10, 2002; "Hovi Baby"; Released: November 12, 2002; "Excuse Me Miss"; Released: February 4, 2003;

The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse (stylized as The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse) is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group as a double album. It serves as a direct sequel to his previous album, The Blueprint (2001). It was supported by two singles that peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100: "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (featuring Beyoncé Knowles) and "Excuse Me Miss".

The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse debuted atop the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 545,000 units, while it received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Along with generally average or mixed reviews from music critics, Jay-Z himself cited the album as his second-worst due to its overabundance of tracks. A one-disc reissue, Blueprint 2.1, was released in 2003.