JAY-Z fans woke up to good news today.
As of Wednesday night (May 22), all of HOV’s Blueprint albums (The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, and The Blueprint 3) are available for streaming on Apple Music.
Observant fans noticed the musical trilogy suddenly reappeared on the platform after being pulled in 2015 when the 4:44 rapper launched his Tidal streaming service. In April 2017, all of JAY-Z’s solo albums were removed from competitive streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music, respectively.
Currently, the only HOV album that remains exclusive to Tidal is his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, as XXL points out. Spotify users, however, will still have to do without as it doesn’t appear Jigga will be putting his music on the popular streaming service anytime soon.
Fans were quick to celebrate the news, most taking to Twitter to rejoice. “Apple done messed around and put Jay Z’s the blueprint trilogy back up. It’s a holiday fasho,” one user tweeted. “I can finally listen to the blueprint again on Apple Music about time jay z stopped being difficult bc I wasn’t signing up for tidal,” another user wrote.
The return of JAY-Z’s Blueprint albums to Apple Music comes after it was recently announced the prolific LP will be archived in the Library of Congress. The album, released on Sept. 11, 2001, was chosen along with songs by Earth Wind & Fire and a recording of Robert F. Kennedy announcing that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed.
“The National Recording Registry honors the music that enriches our souls, the voices that tell our stories, and the sounds that mirror our lives,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said about this year’s additions.
JAY-Z also held the album with high regard when he ranked his catalog back in December 2013. As of press time, no statement has been issued about the rapper’s decision to release his Blueprint albums on Apple Music again.