by Short-T
First off, I want to say that I really like this album. Magna Carta Holy Grail has been played since Wednesday. 2013 has been a disappointing year for me with music when Tyler, The Creator has the best Hip-Hop album over J.Cole’s album that is losing replay value. MCHG delivered personal lyrics from a man that has been sharing stories about the deaths of his father, nephew, and uncle for his last three albums to seem human. This album would have been better off being called Life And Times Vol. 4 or at least Blueprint 4 as a nod to its new marketing scheme of being available to Samsung users, releasing the lyrics to the songs before the release, and no radio single.
Magna Carta Holy Grail opens with Jay-Z’s new BFF, Justin Timberlake singing about how fame is so cold. MC Hammer gets another shout out about his losses and Jay-Z even mentions fellow Brooklynite, Mike Tyson as two of the most visible celebrities that publicly lost wealth and fame. “Picasso Baby” is the song I expect from Mr. Carter. Critics and fans were mad about how much Jay-Z and Kanye West talked about their wealth on Watch The Throne. I think it’s contradictory for Hip-Hop fans to criticize rappers that actually have large amounts of money talk about their purchases, but then a new rapper can have a hit song about cashing out the next year and then this year you got three new guys singing about Versace, Versace, Versace. Anyway, Jay-Z wants to own a Picasso in his castle, Blue Ivy is able to lean on the Basquiat paintings hanging in the kitchen because she owns them, and he finally admits that he never had sex with Foxy Brown.
“Tom Ford” has to be and needs to be played in the club if not for the beat itself, at least for the reference to molly. Jay-Z saves “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” after Rick Ross’s verse that seemed to take forever to gain momentum for him to talk about the bag he buys for his lady and his Reeboks falls flat after a great opening from a Pimp C sample (Long Live The Pimp!) about why young black men wear jewelry. “Oceans” made me think about how similar Jay-Z and Spike Lee are. They are both from Brooklyn, both support New York basketball teams, and they both used their talents to shed light on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans with the song “Minority Report” and the documentary, When The Levees Broke. “Oceans” is the sequel to “Minority Report” as was Spike Lee’s If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise that follows the city after the BP oil spills. The inclusion of New Orleans native, Frank Ocean, singing about hoping his black skin doesn’t ruin his white tuxedo is a perfect touch.
“F.U.T.W” is the song for the aspirers and dreamchasers. This is the song Jay-Z had in his head in 1995 before Reasonable Doubt was released. “Somewhere In America” is the only short song on the album that I don’t have a problem with as it reminded me of Chris Rock’s details of his neighborhood on his HBO special, Kill The Messenger. On this song, the multi-platinum rapper, businessman, and innovator is still watched as he moves on to greener pastures of gated communities. The irony of it all is that while the feds and neighborhood watch have their eyes on him, Miley Cyrus is having fun twerking somewhere in another part of the country. “Crown” works on certain days. I can’t listen to this everyday without thinking about Ja Rule. “Heaven” has more questions about religion than an atheist could ever think of, “Versus” was unnecessary, nothing else to say about that song, it just shouldn’t exist.
“On The Run (Part II)” may be the first Jay-Z / Beyonce collaboration that I actually like. I liked “03 Bonnie and Clyde” till I found Tupac’s version, “Crazy In Love” was annoying, “Hollywood” was only enjoyable because of the production, anyone could have done Beyonce’s part on “Pray,” and “Lift Off” was cool but could have been better.“Beach Is Better” is too short and sweet; props to Mike Will Made It on the production. “BBC” is the the more Hip-Hop twin brother of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” Pharell is still able to not make it seem like he just used the same instrumental. Nas fills his verse with imagery of the places he has seen thanks to his status while S. Carter talks about how his status still brings trouble: “Mace n!ggas at Madison Square Garden/20 million sold and we still catching charges.” “Jay Z Blue” is the best dedication to a daughter/Biggie duet I have ever heard. With a sample from Biggie’s “My Downfall” and the movie Mommie Dearest, Blue Ivy’s dad reflects on the beauty of having a daughter and how he plans to do everything in his power to be the best father and make her happy. After the dedication of his first born comes the shoutout to the rest of the family in “La Familia.” Besides the quick shot at Lil Wayne this song has nothing to offer for listeners.
“Nickels and Dimes” is a great closing track. The production and the hook will distract you from Hov’s lyrics, but on the second or third listen, the lines become more noteworthy. For example: “ I cut myself today to see if I still bleed/Success is so so sublime/Gotta do that time to time so I don’t lose my mind/Something ‘bout the struggle so divine/This sort of love is hard to define/When you scratching for every nickel and dime/Got me itching to do this shit for my mom/Do this shit for my town/Leave the door open hoping they kick it down/The purest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous/We gon’ make it there, I promise this.” Just like Watch The Throne’s closer, “Love You So,” the almighty Hov sits on top with his crown reflecting on who used to be at his roundtable and who is in the royal family now.
This is grown man B.I. This is the album people expected Jay-Z to make after Nas shared his personal life on Life Is Good. He made an album for the Essence Festival crowd instead of trying to please the Summer Jam crowd and the result is an album full of songs that could be played for the radio, the club, the car, and barbeques. This is arguably the best album I have heard so far in 2013.
