As I read all the gossip on line about Jay Z's latest effort, I noticed how so many people are comparing this project "Magna Carter/Holy Grail" to his previous efforts. I sat down and talked to the biggest Jay Z fan that I know ( my nephew Gary) and asked him what he thought about the new project. He instantly started to compare it to Jay Z's The Blue Print and The Black Album. As he spoke I just listened to his views regarding Jay Z's music as a whole. It was then that I realized that Gary and other Jay Z fans are really not comparing the Jigga Man to other artists. I found this very interesting and it made me come up with a few thoughts.
The first thought was.... If you are not comparing him to other artists than how are we really judging Jay Z? To me it's simply, Jay z fans and people in general are comparing him to himself. Meaning like my nephew Gary, many are putting up Magna Carter/Holy Grail to his previous works. To me I think that is not a smart thing to do. In-short when you compare one CD to another from the same artist, people tend to leave out some serious points. And the main point is time.
The time that a project is released has to be taken into consideration. Just think about it????? When Jay Z released his second CD titled In my lifetime, vol.1 November 4th 1997 the first single and video was Always be my sunshine. Now back then people "may" have liked the track and video but if you asked Jay Z himself he would say that he wasn't a big fan of the video and song. This illustrate my point perfectly. The artist adhere to trends for the sole purpose of selling music. So when you listen to Jay Z's latest effort one have to take in consideration the current landscape of the game. In-short I'm simply saying that you can not compare Jay Z to himself you have to compare him to his modern contemporaries. Artists like 2 chainz, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Meek Mills, Wale, Ace Hood, Young Jezzy J.Cole, Future, French Montana, and Asap Rocky all of which are burning up the charts and streets right now. The before mentioned rappers is who we should be comparing Jay Z's latest effort to. With the help of super producers, Pharrel, Timband, Swizzbeats, Rick Rubin The Dream and top notch artists Justin Timberlake, Beyonc'e, Rick Ross and Frank Ocean The Magna Carta/Holy Grail is clearly towering over the competition. In-regards to the Samsung promotion and the CD sells as a whole it will not only be a history making release but it's the release and the ultimate soundtrack for the summer. Until next time have some fun and get something done.
