“For me, the process of making an album is difficult with so many things going on,” Jay told MTV News backstage at his “Eve of Change” show. “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. It may be too freeing. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. You know, I think I need some restrictions. ‘Cause if I had restrictions, I would have done it in three weeks. I would have made what I believe to be a great piece of art.”

According to Kanye West the new album is supposed to be “phenomenal.” West is rumored to be the only producer receiving any credit for The Blueprint 3. I’m personally hoping that this turns out better than the original The Blueprint which Mr. West largely produced himself.

“We went in, and we [did] the whole album,” West explained. “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! I think [Jay pushed the album back because] ‘Swagger’ just did so incredible. We wanted to go up [and make sure] everything was on that level.”

In addition to “Jockin’ Jay-Z” and “Swagger Like Us,” the Jigga Man said his Notorious track, “Brooklyn Go Hard,” is also slated for the album.

“I actually recorded a lot of records already,” Jay said. “You know, all those records that leaked [online] were on The Blueprint 3.”

Word on the street is that The Blueprint 3 will be Jigga’s last album on Def Jam. As of press time it’s unclear as to how much involvement Jay’s deal with Live Nation will factor into the distribution and promotion of The Blueprint 3. Hopefully Jay-Z and Dr. Dre can make 2009 a more memorable year than it already has been!