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Jay-Z featuring Swizz Beatz, "On to the Next One"

by Devin Chanda  |   February 12, 2010 3:48 EST

More than any of its predecessors, "On to the Next One" best accomplishes what Jay-Z set out to do with "The Blueprint 3": stay the course of trendsetter. The veteran rapper explains why all should continue to follow his lead with lines like, "Used to rock a throwback, ballin' on the corner/Now I rock a Teller suit, lookin' like an owner," equating aging with improvement. That point is not lost on producer Swizz Beatz, who trades in his usual arsenal for fresh sounds more native to Ibiza than Jay's native Brooklyn. Unleashing sputtering drums over a sample from Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.," Beatz packs the song with a hypnotic electro-bounce. Its thundering bassline is nothing new-in fact, it's been Beatz' calling card for years-but it's still convincing as ever, much like Jay-Z and his forward-looking work.

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