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7.0
56550
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
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
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7.0
56574
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The bizarre juxtaposition of Jay-Z on hit and miss form and a borderline-perfectly produced record makes it a trying listen
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7.0
57212
7.0 |
Uncut
Attempts to balance his great wealth, tough history and new responsibility. Print edition only
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6.7
56654
6.7 |
Pretty Much Amazing
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
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6.6
56671
6.6 |
Paste Magazine
This is by far Hova’s most casual record; he could’ve called it Shrugging in Luxury
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6.0
56676
6.0 |
Entertainment.ie
Jay-Z seems a little too sanitised in comparison to Kanye West nowadays
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6.0
56681
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Jigga does produce moments when questions are asked to which he doesn’t yet know the answers
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6.0
56648
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
There's not much on Magna Carta?.?.?.?Holy Grail that he hasn't said before in more interesting ways
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6.0
57206
6.0 |
Mojo
Some wildly uneven wordplay, on a needlessly bloated set. Print edition only
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6.0
56896
6.0 |
Time Out
Essentially, it’s business as usual: another competent effort from a once-stunning MC who hasn’t produced anything breathtaking since midway through last century
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6.0
56976
6.0 |
NME
Let’s be clear: Jay-Z doesn’t make bad records. At this stage in his career, he more resembles Springsteen or Dylan: a wise old soul, a wordsmith
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6.0
56573
6.0 |
PopMatters
Jay was always custom built for a world where beats take precedence over rhymes—one could argue he’s the most influential artist in birthing that formula—and Magna Carta is that quite explicitly
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6.0
56588
6.0 |
The Fly
A solid example of a decent modern rap album and nothing more
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6.0
56621
6.0 |
DIY
We know that he doesn’t have to make records anymore, but it does leave us wondering - does he even want to?
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6.0
56526
6.0 |
Clash
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
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6.0
56529
6.0 |
The Independent
Musically, the album leans heavily on Timbaland productions, with occasional input from the likes of Pharrell, Swizz Beats, The-Dream and Mike Dean
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6.0
56530
6.0 |
The Observer
It's the varied production – the sinuous work of Timbaland, in the main – that really elevates Magna Carta Holy Grail beyond the usual Jay-Z document
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6.0
56531
6.0 |
Daily Telegraph
Whereas West's "Yeezus" makes you do a lot of work, Jay-Z lays everything out for the lazy listener
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5.8
56532
5.8 |
Pitchfork
Unlike Watch the Throne, Jay-Z lacks a foil to bring out an emotional or sociological underpinning, someone to help Magna Carta resonate beyond “look at my shit”
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5.5
56592
5.5 |
The 405
Magna Carta Holy Grail isn't a bad album, but it's certainly not one of Jay-Z's strongest
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5.0
56791
5.0 |
The Digital Fix
It's not the legacy album it could have been - but it's still probably worth a slot on your CD rack
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5.0
56527
5.0 |
Independent on Sunday
Better moments include the sinuous, horn-inflected “Oceans”, with Frank Ocean
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5.0
56549
5.0 |
Spin
He gave his music to us for free so he could get his $5 million from someone else. That's all that matters. Cheers, everyone
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4.2
56576
4.2 |
A.V. Club
Where West continues to introduce new twists in his ever-unfolding story—with Yeezus, he’s reinvented himself as rap’s most compelling villain—Jay-Z has remained static, frozen in permanent victory
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4.0
56568
4.0 |
musicOMH
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
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4.0
56548
4.0 |
Slant Magazine
The beats still sound expensive, the guests are the best money can buy, but his ivory-tower ascendance has left him unmoored in a detached Gatsybian universe
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4.0
56650
4.0 |
State
It’s fitting though that, on an album made pre-platinum by a mobile company, for the first time in his career Jay-Z decides to phone it in
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4.0
56707
4.0 |
Drowned In Sound
It's a strange and anodyne record, that speaks of a king, nay a god, who may not have lost his crown, but would benefit from leaving his lofty boardroom once in a while
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4.0
57186
4.0 |
Q
Isn't a dreadful record, but it is a redundant one. Print edition only
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3.0
56646
3.0 |
The Quietus
Jay-Z wants so desperately to be thought of as hip hop's king - and he is that alright, sitting up high in his castle alongside pop's queen Bee, as rap music continues to excite and evolve in the slums below
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2.0
56590
2.0 |
Fact
One of the most vacuous big name records I’ve heard in a long time
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