Jay-Z Explains The Cover Art For ‘The Blueprint 3′

Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 cover

Were you a little confused by Jay-Z’s album cover for his forthcoming album The Blueprint 3? You’re not alone.

The cover shot showcases various white and black instruments with three translucent red stripes going across the middle. Not exactly the first thing you’d think of when thinking about a blueprint.

Knowing the cover needs a little explaining, Jay elaborated on it in an interview with MTV.com.

“These things are like the forgotten pieces in hip-hop,” Jay said of the instruments, which include a piano, trumpet, and even an accordion.

“[Hip-hop] is still about music. It’s not about radio and it’s not about making gimmicks… it’s still about making music, [but] these things are just piled in a corner, but it’s still about music at the end of the day.”

With the musical pieces explained, Jay went on to discuss the prominent red lines on the covers for the album and the “Run This Town” single featuring Kanye West and Rihanna.

“The three stripes everyone is asking about is made from the original three. The first three that they made on the wall was someone with their hand carving out [three lines],” he said referring to the earliest symbol of the number. “It’s just more like classic.

“The whole thing about this album and how I approached it is I wanted to make a new classic to start that all over again, like going back to making the classic albums that we grew up listening to.”

The Blueprint 3 hits stores September 11.

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