Magna Carta (Loooong Oveerdue)
Magna Carta Holy Grail. This album is the reason I often wait a week to begin writing a review of an album instead of writing it when I first listen to it. I spent a good time not being a fan of Jay Z. It wasn’t until The Blueprint album that I actually openly acknowledged that Jay Z was a good rapper then went back and re-listened to his previous albums. Jay is one of those artists that you can’t judge his albums on the first or second listen. He’s become very adept at placing subtle meanings and gems in his lyrics that many admittedly do not catch on the first, second, or even third listens sometimes and find them months later enjoying songs of his they initially disliked. I’ve already seen it happen with many songs on this album and it’s only been out a couple weeks. There’s such a polarizing effect around any project Jay Z is involved in that it often does take a short amount of time for people’s real opinions to actually form away from the hype of the initial release and this album was no different.
“Holy Grail” ft. Justin Timberlake starts the album off. Jay says it’s the best he’s ever heard Timberlake sound on a song. While that’s to be debated, what can’t be is how hard the beat hits when it drops. Lyrically Jay does hold his own against the track as he waxes poetic about the relationship he has with being famous. “Holy Grail” is evident of one of the major gripes about Magna Carta…the lack of standout “oh man let me rewind that” bars from Jay Z. The song isn’t bad by any means but there is nothing about it that stands out as amazing outside of the beat. “Picasso Baby” , the album’s official first single I’m guessing since it’s the one Jay Z shot a video for, has a ridiculously hard hitting beat from Timbaland but this is one of the songs where Jay honestly sounds bored to me. While that’s been one criticism by some of the album as a whole, it really seems to show on this song. Jay could have done much more with this beat. “Tom Ford” however makes up for the apparent laziness Jay showed on the previous track though. With a catchy hook and beat it’s easily one of the songs from the album that will get stuck in your head, but it’s the ease in which Jay Z attacks the track that makes it appealing. No, he’s not saying anything relatively mind blowing but that’s not always needed to make a good song.
“F**kwithmeyouknowigotit” has a beat from Boi-1da and Timbaland that simply can’t be denied. This song could have been an instrumental and still been good enough to make the album. Problem is not only does Rick Ross make a guest appearance on it, but Jay Z adopts what’s probably the most overused and terrible flow in rap music right now. It can be found in any song by Rick Ross, Chief Keef, and anyone else who can’t actually rap that well. Jay’s a trendsetter in rap not a follower, and that flow simply doesn’t work for him on this song. I listen to this song for the hook and beat only admittedly. “Oceans” ft Frank Ocean is by far one of the best songs on this album. The chorus is evidence of something Jay often isn’t given credit for and that’s slipping certain messages in his lyrics. When Ocean sings “I hope this black skin don’t dirt this white tuxedo before the Basquiat show/And if so what f**k it “and Jay comes with a nice Billie Holiday punchiline by rapping “On the holiday playing Strange Fruit” it’s shows how the song offers the perfect combo of a bit of the introspective Jay with the brashness that many of his fans enjoy the most. “F.U.T.W.” has Jay Z once again reminding the listener that he’s beaten the odds and though it’s a typical Jay track lyrically he does have some nice bars with lines like “America tried to emasculate the greats/Murdered Malcom gave Muhammed the shakes”.
“Somewhereinamerica” is a nice inclusion in the album but it should have been longer. “Somewhere…” comes off more like a freestyle but has Jay offering interesting lines like “See I’m still putting work in/Cause somewhere in America Miley Cyrus still twerkin”. “Crown” is easily one of the top three beats on the album and Jay manages to deliver on the track as well with lines like “Dropped it in the water made it disappear/I made it reappear I had that b***h on a rope”. “Heaven” features another hook by Justin Timberlake and Jay using the Jay Hova/God comparison to create a decent song. “Versus” is a collaboration between Timbaland and Swizz Beatz production wise and Jay comes through with what can barely be considered a verse so one of the best beats on the album is essentially wasted. “Part II (On The Run)” lyrically offers nothing amazing admittedly but the chemistry between Jay Z and Beyonce on this song, the sequel to “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”, combined with amazing production is what makes this one of the best songs on the entire album.
“Beach Is Better” works as a nice interlude into another standout on the album a collaboration between Jay Z, Nas, Pharrell, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Justin Timberlake, and Beyonce who are all credited on the song. Pharrell’s beat is the perfect backdrop for Nas and Jay to ride perfectly and Jay flips Mase’s old flow from the classic “Feel So Good” nice in his opening bars. “JAY Z BLUE” has Jay opening up about his fear of fatherhood and not measuring up to be good enough. It’s a fear many new father’s share but it’s interesting to hear the often guarded Jay open up about it. While some may not think it comes off as sincere, it can’t be denied that it’s an honest side of Jay that would be nice to more often. “La Familia” is another unfortunate waste of a beat though not because it’s too short. It’s because Jay Z really doesn’t talk about anything. It’s like hearing Jay in Rick Ross mode again for 3:34 in a NY accent. It really is a shame nobody told him to do better because this beat deserves better. “Nickels and Dimes” is not only a great make up for the previous song but a very nice, strong close out to the album. In it Jay answers those who question his efforts in giving back with the lines “The purist form of giving is anonymous to anonymous” and directly responding to criticism from Harry Belafonte with the lines “I’m just trying to find common ground/’fore Mr. Belafonte come and chop a n***a down/ Mr. Day’O major fail/Respect these youngins boy it’s my time now/Hubolt homie two door homie/You don’t know all the s**t I do for the homies”. This response has generated a lot of debate about whether or not Jay Z crossed a line of disrespect. That’s up to the listener to decide but I can understand both sides of the argument.
While this album is certainly not the best Jay Z has ever done, it is not a bad album by any means. It actually manages to offer up something new from Jay Z in an area he’s only sparingly opened up about in the past. Even though there’s few lines on the album that can be added to Jay’s collection of his personal best of all time, there is a sense of Jay finally coming a sense of acceptance and being comfortable. Not comfortable in the way he feels he still doesn’t have to compete with current rappers, that’s evident in his failed attempts in “F**kwithmeyouknowigotit” and “La Familia”, but he’s comfortable where he’s at in life. He’s spoken on some songs in the past about being uncomfortable with being the glare that comes with fame but throughout this album there’s times where Jay seems to finally accept that he’s at a place that will always draw scrutiny regardless of what he does. As he says on “Picasso Baby” “No sympathy for the king huh n****s even talk about your baby crazy”……
Album Tracklist
1. Holy Grail (feat. Justin Timberlake)
2. Picasso Baby
3. Tom Ford
4. FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt (feat. Rick Ross)
5. Oceans (feat. Frank Ocean)
6. F.U.T.W.
7. Somewhere In America
8. Crown
9. Heaven
10. Versus
11. Part II (On the Run) (feat. Beyonce)
12. Beach Is Better
13. BBC (feat. Nas, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Swizz Beatz, Pharrell & Timbaland)
14. Jay-Z Blue
15. La Familia
16. Nickels and Dimes
Deffered Potential 