The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was billed as his last album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme in the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For this album, Jay-Z wanted to use a different producer for each song, and worked with Just Blaze, Kanye West, the Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features an appearance by Pharrell Williams.