President Carter: Magna Carta Holy Grail
He just wants a Picasso. Magna Carta Holy Grail proves
that Jay Z may still want a little more than that from the so-called rap game.
Sean Carter shows his continually growing hunger on this album, which is filled
with high highs and low lows. With the
helpful creative influences from superstar producers Rick
Rubin, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz and Pharrell Williams, Jay Z slices back into
the rap scene in effortless fashion. MCHG
starts off hot with the Justin Timberlake-assisted single Holy Grail. On this intro cut, Jay discusses his struggles and his
love-hate relationship with fame. “I can’t even take my daughter for a walk…”
The next track on the album, Picasso Baby, features Mr. Carter rapping about how he is the
modern day Pablo Picasso. Hidden behind metaphors, Jay reveals how all the
things success has brought him really has not changed his life at all. He talks
about how having that Picasso painting one has always dreamed of having cannot
make some unhappy individual suddenly happy. His ten-minute, super artistic
video for the song has recently brought a strong visual component to the track.
Track 3, Tom Ford, features an
aggressive Jay Z spitting bars over a hypnotizing Timbaland-produced
instrumental. Lines like “I don’t pop Molly, I rock Tom Ford” display his
effort to promote hard work and getting things done as opposed to dabbling with
drug usage and essentially going nowhere in life. Track 4, FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt, features Jay and Rick Ross going back and
forth boasting and bragging over Boi-1da production. As the first four tracks
of the album are extremely high-energy, from here the album’s whole vibe
suddenly shifts…
The Frank Ocean-featured Oceans
showcases a very lyrical Sean Carter rapping and rhyming slavery-related
metaphors. Frank Ocean’s emotional hook provides the Pharrell-laced backdrop
with an incredibly smooth fullness. From here, F.U.T.W. features Jay inspiring people who came from similar
backgrounds to really make an impact in this world. Some powerful bars can be
found on this cut such as “America tries to emasculate the greats, murdered
Malcolm gave Cassius the shakes.”
SomewhereInAmerica,
produced by Hit-Boy, showcases a nifty Jay Z dissing the Internet, and blames
our technological advances for the evident, diminishing human intellect. On Crown, Jay Z reminds his fans he is
still the King of hip-hop.
Heaven places Mr.
Carter questioning religion and a higher power, along with other various
theories and mythologies. “Question religion, question it all…” The King of
hip-hop’s wife, Queen Beyonce Knowles, finally makes an appearance on Part II (On The Run). This ‘sort of’
sequel to Bonnie & Clyde ’03
features a harmonizing Beyonce, an RnB-style instrumental and an old-school
flowing Sean Carter through 3 verses. Next, on BBC, Jay Z finds help from Nas, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell over
the lush, jazzy Neptunes-produced vibes.
Jay Z finally delivers his ode to his daughter, Blue Ivy
Carter, on Jay-Z Blue. He takes on
the role of a man who divorces his wife, but actually wants to be there for his
child as he calls himself ‘Daddy Dearest.’ Here, Sean battles with not wanting
to be like his dad while being afraid of the responsibilities brought on by
fatherhood. The last 2 tracks on the album, La
Familia and Nickels & Dimes
feature a traditional Jay Z flow over classic hip-hop production.
MCHG find Jay Z in
an innovative mindset as he tries to blend classical art, modernism and
hip-hop. He tries to mix the current rap trends with clever, more traditional
hip-hop tones. Some of the songs are instant classics and others are instantly
forgettable. That being said, Magna Carta
Holy Grail proves Jay still has it and that there is plenty left in Mr.
Carter’s tank.
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