Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail - 7/4/13

[Kleeberg]

'Picasso Baby'
'Heaven'
'Versus'
'Tom Ford'
'Beach Is Better'
'F**kWithMeYouKnowIGotIt' (Feat. Rick Ross)
'Oceans' (Feat. Frank Ocean)
'F.U.T.W.
'Part II (On The Run)' (Feat. Beyonce)
'BBC'
'La Familia'
'Jay-Z Blue'
'Nickles & Dimes'
'Holy Grail' (feat. Justin Timberlake)
'Open Letter'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B--ZARCwSIE

[Kleeberg]

Me, after listening to MCHG...


I should start out with the fact that I am biased towards Jay...he's my favorite rap artist of all time. However, I am humble enough and not 'Stan' enough to admit when something isn't good. I didn't like most of Vol. 2, Vol. 3 & that terrible Roc family album that he put out long ago. Thankfully, I don't have to admit that with MCHG.

First off, the way that Jay is releasing this is pretty legendary. Instead of just dropping his album into stores, he paired up with Samsung. Samsung bought a million copies of it, and released it exclusively on their devices for the masses. In essence, Jay went platinum before his album even released. He held a viral scavenger hunt in NYC for people who then revealed the track listing through binders.

The music. Just looking at the track list, you'll notice there aren't many features. This is rare these days, but Hov can still carry a track by himself. Most rappers out there can't, so they pack their albums with features. We've got Rick Ross, JT, Beyonce, Frank Ocean and Nas on BBC (which is uncredited for some reason). Most of the production is handled by Timbaland, with one Boi-1da song and a few Pharrell tracks. I'm the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of Timbaland's production, but the tracks here don't feel like Timbaland tracks, which sounds good to my ears.

Overall, Magna Carta Holy Grail is great. The beats are smooth, Jay-Z is on it lyrically, and the sparse features are used well. There are only a few skippable tracks (Versus, Tom Ford).

Standout Tracks:
F*ckwithmeyouknowigotit feat. Rick Ross
Part II (On The Run) feat. Beyonce
Crown
BBC feat. Nas
Picasso Baby

Final Score: 4.5/5

[Ironhorse75]

Originally Posted by Kleeberg

First off, the way that Jay is releasing this is pretty legendary. Instead of just dropping his album into stores, he paired up with Samsung. Samsung bought a million copies of it, and released it exclusively on their devices for the masses. In essence, Jay went platinum before his album even released. He held a viral scavenger hunt in NYC for people who then revealed the track listing through binders.

Also, nobody knew about this album until the NBA finals commercial. Usually a song is released to test the waters. Then an official single comes out months before the album does to build up the hype. I was listening to J Cole's Power Trip half a year ago. Here, just a commercial two weeks before its release.

I actually liked Tom Ford. Maybe that's because I'm into that Suit & Tie vibe, or that I own a pair of TF sunglasses . Tom Ford tuxedos for no reason...

[Kleeberg]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse75

Also, nobody knew about this album until the NBA finals commercial. Usually a song is released to test the waters. Then an official single comes out months before the album does to build up the hype. I was listening to J Cole's Power Trip half a year ago. Here, just a commercial two weeks before its release.

I actually liked Tom Ford. Maybe that's because I'm into that Suit & Tie vibe, or that I own a pair of TF sunglasses . Tom Ford tuxedos for no reason...

The more I listen, the more Tom Ford grows on me.

[MifuneFan]

Looking forward to listening to this. The album title is cool and all, but am I the only one that feels like "Magna Carter" would have been more awesome? It feels like a missed opportunity.

[ZooTv]

Every track on this record kills, he's truly unmatched.

[Jr7936]

i streamed it on soundcloud and even though the beats were good, I wasn't feeling the lyrics at all
I like jay z but his lyrics seemed rushed on it like he wasn't even trying

i still think the j cole born sinner cd is a better all around hip hop cd