What
was Jay-Z thinking the first
time he heard “I Am a God”? I’m interested to know not just because Kanye
West is Shawn Carter’s one true protégée, but also because Jay-hova, of course,
was supposed to be the original god MC. Even though he does refer to it more
than once here as “the magnum opus,” no one expectedMagna Carta Holy Grail (MCHG)
to turn out comparable to Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint,
or The Black Album, beyond the fact that it’s a Jay-Z album.
It definitely didn’t wind up on the same sonic level as Yeezus, an album that
puts MCHG to shame in terms of grandiosity and
experimentation. But with this – Jay’s first solo effort since 2009’s The
Blueprint 3, which preceded Blue Ivy Carter’s birth, Obama’s second
term, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 – the 43-year-old did try to
make his most important record in a while.
MCHG doesn’t have an “Empire State of Mind”, or even a “Niggas in
Paris”, but there are plenty of indelible moments here, songwriting-wise.
Regardless of your feelings about its juxtaposition, “I don’t pop molly, I rock
Tom Ford” is vintage Hov form on “Tom Ford”, a relatively bare track dominated
by Jay’s emphatic flow. There are also brilliant hooks here: Justin
Timberlake’s elaborate chorus on “Holy Grail” is smoother than anything he
recorded for his Jay-assisted “Suit and Tie”, while Frank Ocean’s poetic turn
on “Oceans” is every bit as majestic as that of his own “Pyramids”.
Unlike Yeezus, this is a perfectly approachable album, and there
are moments that will make Hov fans out of kids who weren’t even born when “Big
Pimpin’” came out.
Which
brings us, finally, to one of the few things MCHG can be
called for certain: a legacy album. You might say Shawn Carter is at a
crossroads these days, looking at all his past glories on one side and all his
future obligations – to wife, to child, to country – on the
other. MCHG packs a lot of ideas, and not all of them prove
very useful, or even well-articulated, by the end. The pieces congeal,
eventually, to form a semblance of one of our most prominent cultural figures.
The image just isn’t as defined, as focused, or as powerful, as it once was. Hit the jump and get this album for free below.
