The Ruler's Back: The Making of The Blueprint by Jay-Z

In this first episode, we double back to a post-Millennium New York where triumph and tragedy were both served in ample amounts. We’ll look at Jay-Z ascending to the top of the Rap kingdom, Roc-A-Fella Records becoming a dynasty, more people than ever listening to what the South had to say, and Hip Hop evolving into a Unicron-like commercial juggernaut.Guest appearances by Andrew Barber, Shawn Setaro, Oliver Wang, Nuface, Carl Lamarre, J’na Jefferson, Thandie Sibanda, Jayson Buford, Bianca Gracie, Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Young Guru, Bink, Miki Hellerbach, Just Blaze, Lily Mercer and Dylan Green.

We look at The Blueprint’s creation, the marketing strategy ahead of its release, Jay-Z declaring war with Nas and Prodigy on the big stage and revisit an urban legend regarding Michael Jackson that refuses to rest.Guest appearances by Andrew Barber, Just Blaze, Young Guru, Pain In Da Ass, Yemi Abiade, Akaash Sharma, Bianca Gracie, Nicolas Tyrell-Scott, Lily Mercer, Miki Hellerbach, Carl Lamarre, Lily Mercer, Shawn Setaro, Carl Lamarre, Bink, Shawn Setaro, Thandie Sibanda and J’na Jefferson.

In this third episode, we’ll break down the second half of The Blueprint album, dive even deeper into the creative process and explore the relationships among some of the album’s key contributors.Guest appearances by Carl Lamarre, Jesse Bernard, Young Guru, Pain In Da Ass, Miki Hellerbach, Jayson Buford, Nuface, Shawn Setaro, Big Hass, Akaash Sharma, Just Blaze, Bink, Yemi Abiade, Nicolas Tyrell-Scott, Andrew Barber and Tony Dawsey.

For our explosive finale, we look at The Blueprint’s release date coinciding with the World Trade Centre attacks, the album’s critical success and commercial reception, its influence on the artists who came before and after and its enduring legacy.Guest appearances by Andrew Barber, Young Guru, Just Blaze, Jayson Buford, Nuface, Oliver Wang, Jesse Bernard, Lily Mercer, Nicolas Tyrell-Scott, Dylan Green, Akaash Sharma, Miki Hellerbach, Shawn Setaro, Pain In Da Ass, Bink, Yemi Abiade, Thandie Sibanda, J’na Jefferson and Carl Lamarre.