4:44 and his work on A Written Testimony are arguably the best things he's done since American Gangster, way back in 07.

Both projects are critically acclaimed for Jay's introspective lyricism and highlight the poignancy and hunger in his verses.

But if he was clearly capable of elevating his craft all this time, exposing glimpses of depth here and there, why did we have to sit thru landfills like BP3 and MCHG?

Because Jay-Z is a p****.

One of the most insecure MC's of all time, so much in fear of status and people's perceptions, the CamelGOAT chose to put out mediocre albums rather then take any true creative risk and fall flat on his face.

He's a not a businessman, hes a business, man.

I get it.

I'm just saying, why wait till near the end of your career to grow a creative backbone?

Cause he was always obsessively concerned with being "The King" instead of just being the illest MC he could be.

not saying i agree with op but jay z paid for platinum on his last 2 albums

that seems insecure to me just saying

of all the rappers you can call a p****....

he's a p**** for that nfl partnership

Also used Tidal to fake Kanye and Beyonce's streaming numbers.
''We was praisin' Billboard, but we were young''

Thread gon get locked fast with that title @op

lol shut up

reaching to hate, i hate it

will you niggas ever stop the hate

Explain

he just cares about bottom line and making money, nothing else

I’m not hating on it tho I’d probably do the same.

It’s all about money, after all

In a nutshell, partnering with the NFL knowing how they did Kaep dirty

Among other things

"If skills sold truth be told
I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli
Truthfully I want to rhyme like Common Sense (But I did five Mil)
I ain't been rhyming like Common since"~ Jay Z

If Jay's next album is about black business and financial empowerment will y'all say he needs to change it up?

They did Kaep dirty but he still wants to play? And almost did if it wasn’t for his b**** so that’s not on Jay

I get what you’re saying, jay isn’t exactly a daring artist and only went 4:44 route because of Kendrick

Those were just smart business moves tbh. Typical jay

Still I'd rather be Jay than Common. Don't care what KTT says.

He just been in a zone now..

He's been trying to get back in the groove since he came out of retirement.

He sounds a lot better now than he did on Kingdom Come, BP3 and MCHG.

The last time he was in a zone was on AG after being inspired bv the film

Title rebrand I see you @op

why specifically buy a million albums why not get the bag though?

This same thread will be made bout Drake in 4 years

Here's a more recent one for the OP

"Critics wanna mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin'/ Motherf**ker if you did then Killer Mike would be platinum. ~ Kendrick Lamar"

wym