There’s usually three things you expect in life: death, taxes, and a new Jay-Z album every year.  2008 came and went though without a new Jay-Z album.  Don’t worry though.  Jay-Z’s taking a different approach towards his new album ‘The Blueprint 3,’ an approach he’s rarely taken: he’s taking his time.

In an interview with MTV News, Jay-Z admits that he could release an album full of new material right now if he wanted to, but opted not to in order to create the best music possible.  Kanye West is the album’s sole producer, debunking the old rumor that Timbaland was going to produce all of the music.  West calls the new material “phenomenal.”

This is a change of pace for Jay-Z who between 1997 and 2004 had been releasing hit albums annually.   Following a “retirement” from rap to focus on his role as President and CEO of Def Jam Records, Jay-Z returned in 2006 with ‘Kingdom Come’ followed by ‘American Gangster’ in 2007. 

Lately, Jay-Z has appeared on several tracks, including DJ Khaled’s ‘Go Hard’ and most recently, a new verse for the Young Jeezy presidential hit, ‘My President.’  He performed ‘History,’ a song that leaked last fall, at one of the inauguration balls for President Barack Obama.  Everything surrounding the hip-hop megastar has prevented him from knocking out a great album in a short amount of time like he usually does.

“For me, the process of making an album is difficult with so many things going on," Jay-Z said.  "And me, I wanna make it beyond and above. I'm gonna take my time with it. I don't have any quotas, and that's a good thing.”

West believes the positive feedback received from the hit “Swagger Like Us” which featured West, Jay-Z, T.I., and Lil’ Wayne, inspired Jay-Z to take more time to refine the album. 

"We went in, and we [did] the whole album," West said. "He wanted to do a few more joints, so he kinda pushed it back. Now we're gonna go in and just work on some more records. So I got some more stuff to kill it with! We wanted to go up [and make sure] everything was on [Swagger Like Us’s] level."

Many believe ‘The Blueprint 3’ will be the final Jay-Z album at his longtime home Def Jam Records.  Following this album and a greatest hits album, Jay-Z is expected to kick off his reported 10 year, $150 million deal with concert promoting giant Live Nation and start a new incarnation of Roc-A-Fella Records called “Roc Nation.”

So far, the recent songs are sounding like the Jay-Z everyone knows and loves.  While we might not want to keep seeing this album be delayed further, ‘The Blueprint 3’ might be worth the wait.