Jay-Z will release his Blueprint 3 album on 11 September, several sources have confirmed. His first album since 2007's American Gangster, Blueprint 3 will be released on the eighth anniversary of the original Blueprint – and the 9/11 attacks.
The 11 September release date was first leaked on Twitter by Sam Crespo, a vice president at Atlantic Records. Though the tweet was later removed, both Billboard and MTV have corroborated the information. A formal announcement is expected on Sunday, at a New Jersey concert organised by radio station Hot 97.
Blueprint 3 will be released on Jay-Z's new Roc Nation label, with distribution, marketing and promotion through Warner Music's Atlantic imprint, according to reports. This runs contrary to last week's news of a Sony/Epic release, claimed by Billboard. Sean Combs – better known as P Diddy – has been credited with convincing Jay-Z to sign with Warner/Atlantic, though it's understood to be a one-album deal.
Last month, Jay-Z spent an alleged $5m (£3m) to leave long-time home Def Jam/Universal. The rapper's new label, Roc Nation, is part of a multimillion deal with promoter Live Nation.
Cameos by Nas, Young Jeezy and Andre 3000 have long been promised, although only Kanye West has been confirmed as a producer. West described Blueprint 3 as an "anti-Auto-Tune album" last week.
But what's most important is that Blueprint 3 live up to its name: if it's even one third as good as the original, we're in for a treat.
