Triple plat 17 years after his debut
I doubt it was forgettable
I doubt it was forgettable
Triple plat 17 years after his debut
I doubt it was forgettable
American Gangster was dope
But BP3, MCHG, 4:44, Carters, Kingdome Come have all been mediocre to trash
Backend of Hov’s career is questionable at best
That’s shyt sold over 500k first week even after he gave away 1 million (which didn’t count btw)worst album of all time
fake plats
Jay-Z, Samsung Announce Deal to Give Away 1 Million Copies of New LP
Jay-Z announced his new LP, "Magna Carta Holy Grail," via a Samsung commercial that aired during Sunday night's NBA Finals. And in a powerful introduction to the rumored $20 million partnership reported last week, Samsung has purchased 1 million copies to give to Samsung Galaxy smartphone...www.billboard.com
Jay's comeback output hasn't been bad. Kingdom Come didn't have hits like Jay albums used to, but that's a good album lyrically and production wise. AG was good, WTT was good, 4:44 was good.
This was bad though. It had a couple bangers but all the basquiat/picasso sh1t lost me, the production wasn't great, and it didn't really connect either. BP3 was wack but he was clearly chasing hits and succeeded, so this album is worse.
Was gonna post this gif earlierUh, I just want a Picasso
I'm a hassa, no, I'm an a$$hole
MCHG was basically Jay's attempt at "art rap" after Kanye started influencing him post American Gangster.
Hov was the one treating Kanye as a "Big Brother" during this era because he wanted to stay relevant with the youth and the masses who were generally craving the type of rap coming out of Young Money, GOOD Music, and MMG over Roc A Fella which was becoming a literally dead label.
Hov tried to play up his hipster/artsy/fashionista persona during MCHG which explains the whole Picasso documentary and the song titles but it didn't really feel authentic coming from Hov.
The album ironically sounds less dated than Blueprint 3 but it still sounds quite dated and Jay was basically just hopping on trends and dumbing down his lyrics to the highest degree in his career.
In hindsight, it's actually amazing how this album has almost no legacy. Keep in mind, this album outsold both 4:44 and Yeezus yet both albums have much stronger legacies in 2023 than this one. Nobody talks about Holy Grail anymore. Tom Ford came and went. Part 2 with Beyonce feels overlooked. The cuts are forgotten. Honestly, the only memorable track is the song with Ross but that's mainly due to Ross.
After this mid, 4:44 was exactly the album that Hov needed to make to secure his legacy.