Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” will be archived in the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
The National Recording Registry made the announcement today. The Blueprint, Jay-Z’s sixth studio album, was released on Sept. 11, 2001, received universal acclaim from music critics and was a landmark moment for hip-hop.
Every year, the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board selects 25 titles to be added to the prestigious slate for their cultural and aesthetic significance. The new group of recordings also includes music by jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon and bandleader Cab Calloway, Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly,” Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam,” Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual,” Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” and more.
The Registry will also preserve Robert F. Kennedy’s speech following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, two months before Kennedy was killed.