I tend to go along with Rick Rubin who claimed that after working on Kanye West’s new alum, listening to the new Jay-Z is a little ordinary. “Oh what a feeling…” Jay-Z raps and the feeling is, hasn’t he written this rap before?
The album hit the internet this morning and the link I am sharing below belongs to Funkmaster Flexvia howflyhophop.com Listening to it, it isn’t bad, it isn’t even bad by Jigga’s standards, but really, if you are gonna steal off your best song this century, “Roc Boys” surely you should be improving on it, not really doing nothing too much with it.
It is too early to put down Magna Carta Holy Grail. I think I like it but I am not sure if I am over reacting to the thrill of the new. I know for sure, “Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit” is his best song since “On To The Next One” in 2009, which tells you two things:
1. He is having lousy 21st century, at least artistically.
2. Kanye West is the greatest rapper of the 21st century.
I wonder what Kweezy makes of it? I wonder if “Crown” has Kweezy sneer whle he is watching the throne. I bet it makes him feel pretty certain that while Jay-Z is gonna outsell the fuck out of him, Kweezy wins the artist grabs hands down. Really, again my opining is really just beginning to foment, but it ain’t much. It isn’t offensive and at least there is no “Empire State Of Mind”.
Three tracks that may end up major… two more than Blueprint 2 and three more than Watch The Throne. On top of that, there is one really fun track, “Somewhere In America”. Dross? Here is a snapshot of the three Jay-Z and Beyonce love songs:
1. “03 Bonnie And Clyde” – A
2. Crazy In Love – A
3. Part II (On the Run) – C-
Yes, the third is el doggo del doggo? The worst of the lot. For sure. Still, at its simplest it is at its best and “Somewhere In America” is really fun and funny and… oh to hell, let’s do this, right?
1. Holy Grail – Makes “Suit And Tie” sound like a barrel of laughs. What a crappy song from one Mr. Timberlake – C-
2. Picasso Baby – This is the one that references “Roc Boys” -it’s more than OK – B+
3. Tom Ford – The designer. This ain’t up to much but the beat is pretty excellent – B-
4. FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt – Look,maybe “I gotta bitch she’s a masterpiece” might not seem like much, but you ain’t heard Rick Ross spit it – A
5. Oceans – Frank Oceans that would be… interesting agitprop but it doesn’t quite work. Frank needs a change up – C-
6. F.U.T.W. – More agitprop… but he has a point. And he does Muhammed Ali justice – B
7. Somewhere In America – I LOVE this song, just the usual crap with a weird diss of Miley Cyrus for taste but if you don’t love this Jay-Z will never be for you – A
8. Crown – This is why Jay-Z isn’t in the same league as Kweezy. Kweezy can do just about anything Jay-Z can but Jigga is no Kweezy – D+
9. Heaven – Oh no he’s said enough… hasn’t said enough – C+
10. Versus – whatever, nevermind – C-
11. Part II (On The Run) – Fourth dog in a row – C-
12. Beach Is Better – Only 55 seconds but his best rap on the album – A
13. BBC – Ho hum superstar workout except the chorus is fun – B-
14. Jay-Z Blue – “I work till I’m half dead and hear people saying that I’m getting on…” Not the best song on the album, but this, about being and not having a father, is very very good – B+
15. La Famaglia – Not very good and, why the reference to a decade old album? – C-
16. Nickles And Dimes – Maybe it’s the mix? Great beat but it goes nowhere – C-
So, his best album since American Gangster but what does that tell you? 3 great songs, 2 pretty good songs and a handful of total dogs. But look at it this way: if Yeezus was West’s first album, the entire world would have applauded a major new hip hop artists; if Magna Carta was Jay-Z’s first album, the world would have ignored it. I’ll review it again when it has had awhile to sink it.
Grade: B-
Decide yourself here:
http://howflyhiphop.com/2013/07/04/jay-z-magna-carta-holy-grail-album-download/