Never one to leave money on the table, Jay-Z reneged on his alleged retirement on The Black Album, bringing back the Blueprint franchise (after a middling comeback, Kingdom Come, and an American Gangster soundtrack). On “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” Jay discovered his power to direct trends had waned; Auto-Tune hardly died after the single dropped. The Blueprint 3 still proved Jigga wasn’t washed. “Empire State of Mind” replaced Sinatra’s “New York, New York” as Gotham City’s superhero music. And the propulsive “Run This Town,” featuring Kanye West, may as well be a Watch the Throne practice run.