Jay-Z - 'Magna Carta Holy Grail'

[lamontbdc]

"I'm anti-Santa Maria/

Only Christopher we acknowledge we is Wallace, I don't even like Washington's in my pocket"

Oceans goes hard as fuck! Quickly becoming 1 of my favorite Jay tracks ever.

Still digesting the album though. Copped the physical this morning and listened all the way thru once. About to hop on the interstate, zone out & give it the road/whip test. But Oceans, FUTW, & Heaven already stand out after 1 complete listen.

that's my shit right there

 

[S2J]

There are not too many 'oh shyt i didnt catch that!' moments on this album...scratch that, it shouldnt be.

Not that you need those type of lines anyway...

But I did like that 'Greatest gift gvin is anonymous, to Anonymous, we gon make it there...' line. Some might not know the backstory

 

[texasdaking88]

There are not too many 'oh shyt i didnt catch that!' moments on this album...scratch that, it shouldnt be.

Not that you need those type of lines anyway...

But I did like that 'Greatest gift gvin is anonymous, to Anonymous, we gon make it there...' line. Some might not know the backstory

I liked that line but i am one who doesnt know the backstory.. what happened?

 

[ohhhla]

The homie called Magna Crapper Holy Fail.

I laughed.

 

[KillaCham]

The homie called Magna Crapper Holy Fail.

I laughed.

Damn @tompetrez3 even corny in real life

 

[S2J]

There are not too many 'oh shyt i didnt catch that!' moments on this album...scratch that, it shouldnt be.

Not that you need those type of lines anyway...

But I did like that 'Greatest gift gvin is anonymous, to Anonymous, we gon make it there...' line. Some might not know the backstory

I liked that line but i am one who doesnt know the backstory.. what happened?

Jay z got hacked by the hacker group Anonymous a few months ago, and they revealed his financial records to some extent (might have included charitable donations, not sure)

So him adressin them went right along with his theme of the song, that people dont know what he gives/has

"To Anonymous, we gon make it there, i promise this"... imo can either be seen as 'make it to a billion (since his records show he isnt worth that just yet) or it could mean make more donations (?)

And in the last verse he flips it...first he says 'My flow is a gift, Philanthropist', Then when he repeats the Anonymous line he switches it up:

'So to Anonymous, here yall go...'

Basically sayin, here nggas, my bars adressin you is my charitable gift. You're welcome. LOL Thats y i said Nickles n Dimes is his best lyrical song of the album

 

[S2J]

delete

 

[Kellmill]

Finally heard the album, I was hella worried. But I'm definitely feelin this shit. As far as the new releases my list goes like this

MCHG

The Gifted

Yeezus

Born Sinner

 

[deathrowzorrow]

The album is about to sell 400k first week its a flop from what I heard it was gonna sell 1kk first week

 

[CJ]

Damn so technically he looking at 1.4 mil first week

Camel wins again

 

[JDSTAYWITIT]

Thats the funny thing about some people who point out Jay z lines. Yea his lines r witty, but sometimes, especially now, they're not as deep as they think. Lol So it just exposes them

They point out a rather simple line n you just look at em like 'Ngga, thats deep to you?'

@nahson I'm looking at you...sir.

Meeeehhhh nah

Problem is you can't really make a definitive statement like "it ain't really deep" or whatever the case may be because you didn't write the shit nor do you know the intent .... This is exactly why lyrics get misinterpreted all the time by niggaz swearing they know what such n such talking about

For example ..Jay explained the Miley Cyrus line on twitter ... And while its not exactly some James Baldwin esque assessment of American society it is a very keen attempt at explaing the fear in which older white culture still has in regards to black cultures deeply impactful influence

Yet niggas sittin here focusing on OMG he said "twerk" that's so "cringeworthy" ..... Whilst missing the whole fucking point of the lyrics and not realizing the sarcastic humor in him pointing out how much this hiphop shit has "turnt this American Sweetheart out" ...

But ...."nahhhhh this shit can't have any depth to it". ...you niggas sound stuuuupid tryna to analyze a Jayz lyric"

Smh.....Impoverished ass niggas

 

[Mrslim1]

Good Album . At this point he still better than 96 % of rappers . And smarter than all of them. He is a legend point blank and still making the moves and music most rappers dream of making . Don't have to like the album but its far from bad

 

[eastbay510]

I actually know quite a few people who didn't have Samsung phones and didn't want download the album and went out and bought it today... Jay might actually do some pretty good numbers 1st week on top of the first mill

 

[JDSTAYWITIT]

It's funny how the hiphop based critics are fuckin with this album pretty heavy while the alternative outlets are calling it so-so ......

4 outta 5 star review on HipHopDx
http://www.hiphopdx.com/m/index.php?s=album-reviews&id=2108

Jay-Z finds himself in a strange place artistically in 2013. The signs were there in 2007, when Jay reverted to coke rap on the excellent American Gangster. While doing so was a response to lukewarm reception to 2006’s comeback album Kingdom Come, Jay more reverted to the same territory on 2009’s The Blueprint 3 and 2011’s Watch the Throne. Though Kanye West’s presence on the latter allowed Jay a bit of latitude to work some social commentary, Throne was hardly a departure from the Jay-Z we’ve seen for much the past decade.

So where does that leave Shawn Carter musically in 2013? In pretty damn good shape, it turns out.

The first thing listeners will say to themselves upon clicking play on Magna Carta Holy Grail, the latest in music and technology synergy (or whichever industry buzzword one is wont to use), is, “Wow, Timbaland produced this?” Jay-Z has a list of producers with whom he’s had legendary rapport (Just Blaze, DJ Premier, and Kanye West, for example), but MCHG reminds us to not forget about Timothy Moseley. Unlike Timbaland’s subpar contributions on The Blueprint 3, Timbo completely avoids “Timbaland-isms” that would otherwise make a cut sound like “Jay-Z on a Timbaland track” rather than just a Jay-Z track. Whether it’s the Soul-Rock intro that is “Holy Grail” or “F.U.T.W.,” which sounds like it would be right at home following up “So Ghetto” on Vol. 3, Timbaland hits the right notes time and again on this one.

Hit-Boy’s excellent work on “Somewhere In America” lays the foundation for Jay to reveal that even as he shakes hands with Presidents and headlines Rock festivals, he still doesn’t feel welcome: “New money, they lookin’ down on me / Blue bloods, they tryna clown on me / You can turn up your nose, high society / …You should come to the housewarming / Come and see what your new neighbor ‘bout / Yellow Lambo in the driveway / One-thirty-five, I’m on the highway.” It may just seem like more stock Jay-Z braggadocio, but there’s real bitterness here.

“Jay Z Blue” is the piéce de résistance, however. Shifting from soft keys, guitar strums and lush strings to trademark Timbaland samples, Jay lays all of his fears about fatherhood on the line, informed by his own father’s failures. It’s a treat to hear a notoriously guarded artist speak so candidly.

The two most hyped tracks of the album surprisingly fall short. “BBC,” for one, isn’t as good as its billing. Not that the cut is bad; in fact, Nas, JT, Swizz Beatz and company genuinely sound like they’re having fun. But the track shows that Pharrell can’t quite escape his isms, which is a bit disappointing. “La Familia,” touted as a Lil Wayne diss, is easily the most forgettable MCHG outing, with lazy rhymes over uninspired production.

Magna Carta Holy Grail is where Jay-Z’s emceeing finally meets his “High Rap” ambitions. This is easily the best rhyming Jay’s done since American Gangster. But a sharp Shawn on the mic isn’t a surprise. What is a surprise is that this is the most cohesive project Jay’s put together since The Blueprint. The project is smartly produced, with Timbaland’s aforementioned contributions rewarding Jay’s faith in his old “Big Pimpin’” buddy, with contributions from Adrian Younge (of Twelve Reasons to Die with Ghostface Killah fame) and others adding fine touches to the record.

What really makes this project stand out from the overwhelming majority of major label Rap release in 2013: everything on this project sounds like it was recorded for this project. Beats don’t sound like they were chosen from a producer’s C:/ drive, and Rick Ross’ verse doesn’t have nothing to do with anything (see “Accident Murderers” from Nas’ Life Is Good). Who knows whether Jay-Z knew what he had in mind when he got into the kitchen, but instead of adding every spice available to him, he used only what he needed—and the recipe benefitted because of it.

When the book on Shawn Corey Carter’s music career comes to a close, the narrative about Jay-Z’s inability to evolve will seem silly in retrospect. After all, who else could call Big Daddy Kane, the Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar peers at different points in the same career? Jay-Z has endured, which is the measure of greatness. Magna Carta Holy Grail may not give us a completely new vision or version of Jay-Z, but it does clear up some of the fog that still paradoxically surrounds one of music’s most instantly recognizable personalities.

CS on the first bolded..

Ether at the second ...

 

[Infamous.H_G_C]

I actually know quite a few people who didn't have Samsung phones and didn't want download the album and went out and bought it today... Jay might actually do some pretty good numbers 1st week on top of the first mill

Predicted to move 400k by week's end. That no. 1

If you combine that with his samsung sales, that's 1.4 million moved first week.

I ain't even a JayZ fan but fuck billboard and the critics!!!

I keep having to play the album over and over again, he's got jewels in there that are sure to be going over people's heads.

 

[Nah Son]

Random thoughts

-A year ago there was a thread about how the next Jay album should sound. I remember back then I posted that I wanted him to drop a hard and straight rap album with no too much pop shit and features, I didnt think it would happen but he did it. The beats are top notch from beginning to end, and hes delivering on most tracks. This is almost exactly the album I was hoping for

-I was disappointed with Holy Grail you cant put Mickey Mouse Club Justin on a hard ass beat like that, shit is wrong. He really shouldve spit all the way through that shit with no hook no feature on some Dynasty intro shit, the beat was perfect for that. Jay been known for his classic intros and this couldve been another one

-Why did Timbaland go to the listening party as a nurse

-lol @ at those Jay took such and such rappers flow claims. Man if yall gotta go that route at least name some rappers that have some kind of nice flows to steal from. I read Gucci Mane and Chief Keef in here, the fuck? Inb4 "Tom Ford is a good track but he clearly jacked Bruse Wane vintage flow on that last verse smh"

-Dont get the hate for La Familia, it was nothing extraordinary but a decent song. On the other hand I'm not feeling BBC like most people do, Nas and Hov came with it but I dont fuck with that beat too much.

-I hate to say this but how can that Miley Cirus line really go over peoples heads, shit is real simple too smh.

-I never seen Tomp sound so shook wtf. Usually his rants do have a couple true points, but them last posts look like he dont even know what to hate on this time. Buttuh come get your idol bruh

Please explain how 'Twerk, Miley Miley, twerk' went over our heads, sir.

Come on bruh aight you took the opportunity to collect some lols by dumbin it down and I aint mad at that. But you and I know what I was talkin bout

Miley = White America, twerking = hip hop/ hood shit. The poster white girl shakin her flat ass tries to emulate the black culture which is a slap in the face for everyone with a undercover redneck attitude

I never said the line was super lyrical or genius I was just referring to people who tried to use the line as a argument against him like "How the fuck a forty year old gon shoutout twerking" callung it cringeworthy etc. Shit is stupid cause its really not hard to get the meaning behind the line

 

[Nah Son]

And what the hell is going on with Jay and Just Blaze? Son went from being his go to producer to sending tweets his way like a fan. Plus I cant remember the last song he produced for him. Something must have happened, its a shame cause that was a crazy combo

 

[Nah Son]

Why yall dropping all these yuppie media reviews I gives a fuck what these Columbia creative writing program dropouts got to say about rap albums

Tell em to stick to review Hootie and The Blowfish or some shit

 

[S2J]

Thats the funny thing about some people who point out Jay z lines. Yea his lines r witty, but sometimes, especially now, they're not as deep as they think. Lol So it just exposes them

They point out a rather simple line n you just look at em like 'Ngga, thats deep to you?'

@nahson I'm looking at you...sir.

Meeeehhhh nah

Problem is you can't really make a definitive statement like "it ain't really deep" or whatever the case may be because you didn't write the shit nor do you know the intent .... This is exactly why lyrics get misinterpreted all the time by niggaz swearing they know what such n such talking about

For example ..Jay explained the Miley Cyrus line on twitter ... And while its not exactly some James Baldwin esque assessment of American society it is a very keen attempt at explaing the fear in which older white culture still has in regards to black cultures deeply impactful influence

Yet niggas sittin here focusing on OMG he said "twerk" that's so "cringeworthy" ..... Whilst missing the whole fucking point of the lyrics and not realizing the sarcastic humor in him pointing out how much this hiphop shit has "turnt this American Sweetheart out" ...

But ...."nahhhhh this shit can't have any depth to it". ...you niggas sound stuuuupid tryna to analyze a Jayz lyric"

Smh.....Impoverished ass niggas

Then you are exactly the type of the dumb-smart ngga i'm refering to

I dont need Jay z, or anyone else, to spoon feed me a 'movin white girl, double entendre, get it?' soliloqy in order to get it.

I 'got it' on the first listen.

Dumb-smart ngga: Man, they just dont get it! They aint even listenin!

Me: No, dumb-smart ngga. I overstand the line, and i'm telling you it wasnt a) hard to get in the first place, or b) really that damn deep

 

[Kellmill]

Why yall dropping all these yuppie media reviews I gives a fuck what these Columbia creative writing program dropouts got to say about rap albums

Tell em to stick to review Hootie and The Blowfish or some shit

Co-sign. A lot of these reviews sound like they were written mostly before the album drop. That's common. Word to that Washington Post review, I bet he knew he was gonna go there with that review before the album even dropped.