Magna Carta…Holy Grail is an album that is outstanding both production-wise and lyrically, delivering more of the same rags to riches story that we know about Jay-Z, just that this time around he is more conflicted about what it all means and where this will take him.
What is a surprise is that this is the most cohesive project Jay’s put together since The Blueprint.
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.
The bizarre juxtaposition of Jay-Z on hit and miss form and a borderline-perfectly produced record makes it a trying listen.
Beyond some excellent beats and a few flashes of lyrical prowess, Magna Carta… Holy Grail doesn’t invite the kind of intrigue that Jay-Z is capable of.
This is by far Hova’s most casual record; he could’ve called it Shrugging in Luxury. It’s interesting, but it’s never happy, sad, angry or romantic. It’s not even overly smug.
Jay-Z returns to putting out rap albums with Maga Carta... Holy Grail, and raps about as well as you'd expect at this point in his career over some pretty fresh production.
Running to an hour long, ‘Magna Carta…’ becomes exhausting, bumping familiar motifs with such frequency that, as the album nears its close, the senses feel entirely numbed.
Jay-Z’s latest does little to prove that he can come up with anything that isn’t entirely predictable.
‘Magna Carta… Holy Grail’ is a solid example of a decent modern rap album and nothing more.
The fact of the matter is, Jay-Z probably just can’t carry an entire album anymore if you’re a lyrics head. But Jay was always custom built for a world where beats take precedence over rhymes
Only a small subset could acquire Magna Carta Holy Grail on its release date, and it seems safe to say that fewer still will relate to it in a meaningful way.
Time will tell whether or not MCHG is a stopgap or a stepping stone, though either way it’s below par.
Musically, it feels relatively safe with a lot of moments that remind you of other songs, whilst lyrically it rarely offers us new insights into the man.
This isn't Watch the Throne, full of rich and weighty contributions from a man who is still enormously talented. It's rap music as a transaction, with a host of stars and hip names wrangled together to convince you it's not.
The bulk of Magna Carta, however, really is just an obscenely rich dude gloating about his spoils.
On Magna Carta… Holy Grail, however, Jay is not looking back or looking forward. He’s looking nowhere except in his overcrowded closet, the switch in his brilliant brain in the “off” position.
If you ask me, Hov is the real King John here — well-liked, living the high life, godlike — but out of touch with the rest of us peasants, who just so happen to be the customers.
Magna Carta… Holy Grail isn't a total bust, but neither is it anywhere close to Jay-Z's finest moments.
The title reference to the Magna Carta, a document stripping English kings of their unbounded power, is fitting seeing that Magna Carta is an album that does the same, removing the gloss on an artist who’s long since ceased to be untouchable.
Magna Carta’s a mess, and not even an entertaining one – it’s simply a dull record by someone who’s in deep danger of going down as a dull human being.
JAY-Z DISCOGRAPHY DEEP DIVE #15
Jay-Z and inconsistency. Name a better duo in hip hop, I'll wait. These two go hand in hand, one would not exist without the other. So, you shouldn't be surprised that this album is super inconsistent. It barely feels like a Jay project. It sounds fake as hell, Jay's flow is R.Kelly collaboration levels of ass and the lyrics are pretty mediocre. Hey, at least the features are really good and there are some great beats here. That's about it. It's not as bad as ... read more
I like this album. Parts of it do feel outdated but Hov brings 2010s edm and trap into his classic hip hop sound relativly smoothly. In some ways this feels similar to Blueprint 3, an album I dont like, but with some of the star studded featured executed their performances better. Throughout the runtime the album can start to drag, but luckily the production is slick, elegant, and flashy so it keeps your attention and makes some of the filler tracks more listenable. Def overhated.
Prolly One of my favs albums from jayz yet since i didnt listen to his discography but i like this album very cool
1 | Holy Grail 5:38 feat. Justin Timberlake | 77 |
2 | Picasso Baby 4:05 | 77 |
3 | Tom Ford 3:09 | 61 |
4 | FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt 4:03 feat. Rick Ross | 56 |
5 | Oceans 3:58 feat. Frank Ocean | 80 |
6 | F.U.T.W. 4:02 | 73 |
7 | Somewhereinamerica 2:28 | 75 |
8 | Crown 4:33 | 65 |
9 | Heaven 4:03 | 73 |
10 | Versus 0:51 | 51 |
11 | Part II (On the Run) 5:33 feat. Beyoncé | 78 |
12 | Beach Is Better 0:55 | 56 |
13 | BBC 3:12 | 72 |
14 | JAY Z Blue 3:50 | 63 |
15 | La Familia 3:33 | 50 |
16 | Nickels and Dimes 5:03 | 67 |