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Originally Posted by noisereductions
word. While I feeel a lot of it is Jay on autopilot, the beats are incredible. And my best compliment is that even when he has little to say, he sounds awesome saying it.
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Yeah, he might want to branch out a bit lyrically. I think taking a more political angle would serve him very well. He can't really talk about the same old shit anymore, but he is in the perfect position to start rapping about social and cultural issues.
For instance, nobody's going to buy Jay Z rapping about his own life being "hard knock" anymore, but what about all the people who still live the life he escaped? He could be an advocate for change. He could tell other people's stories, and ensure that they were heard. From now on, I only want to hear 2 tracks per album about how awesome Jay is. I don't mind that Magna Carta consist of little else, but I think he could be a John Lennon figure for the rap world; something that gwnre's never truly had.
Basically, instead of telling us more about his own story, and laughing at the "haters" (of which there are, essentially, none) I want Jay to get angry, and rap about the average 40-something black man. My one complaint about Jay, who is basically my favorite pop emcee, is that he sounds like a ficking republican. A CEO. A "two-percenter." I just want him to take the "with great power comes great responsibility" path, instead of the "with great power comes the right to brag about having great power" one.
Still, one of the most well produced hip hop albums of the year. Even lyrically, it packs a serious punch at times, and features some lines that are destined to be classics. He also has managed to change with the times, without losing that Reasonable Doubt-era, Brooklyn gangsta persona that made such an impression in the '90s. I can't think of any others from that era who have been able to evolve with the genre, and sometimes even stand at the forefront of the cutting edge, while still essentially sticking with the style that made them stand out in the first place (with the possible exception of Nas--ironically-- though history simply hasn't been as kind to him as it has to Jay, and Nas has always been stuck between his inherent urge to preserve his individuality, and his susceptibility to the opinions of others... Specifically critics and fans; motherfucker is way too eager to make them happy. Jay doesn't give a fuck.)
My posts are ridiculously long. I start them, and get distracted, and get back to them hours later, making them read (I'm sure) like some kind of steam of conscousness tirade. Sorry about that.