After a few listens I've had some time to digest it and I can safely say that this is good album. It's the polar opposite of Kanye's recent avant garde creation Yeezus, a challenging game changer of a record but MCHG still holds its place as a crossover for pop and hip hop. You could say it's 'safe' but Jay Z doesn't need to break boundaries anymore, he's become a mainstream rapper without turning r'n'b and for a forty three year old he can fire out words like nobody else, his lyrics are at his best, sharp, current and a tad boastful but also honest about his private life which creeps in from time-to-time.
You'd have expected to hear some Kanye on this record, you usually can but after Watch The Throne the pair probably need a break. Instead of the recognisible K.West beats Jay's turned to Timbaland for production, along with Pharrell who lays his hand on a few too, ultimateley giving the record a softer vibe. There's numerous collabs on here who elevate the sound including the opening number and title track which sees Justin Timberlake return the favour following Jay Z's party piece on Suit and Tie. Every time I hear the track I think it's Bruno Mars, not just vocally, it even sounds like one of his songs, which is no bad thing... Then Jigga pops up and slips in some Nirvana lyrics amongst his struggles with everyday life for a 'celebrity' and overindulging on the use of needless bad language and the n-word, that trend continues throughout the celebratory LP.
Frank Ocean brings melody to Oceans as his soulful voice sails by and Mrs Carter's inclusion Part II (On The Run) feels more like a Beyonce song than one featuring her. MCHG reaches its pinnacle on the Pharrell produced BBC (Billionaire Boys Club). The beat is almost identical to the one on Pharrell's latest smash, Blurred Lines but it isn't just the beats that the producer helps on as he joins Beyonce, Timberlake, Nas and Swizz Beatz with a few rhymes working collectively as a team strong enough to take on the best of them.
From the Watch The Throne pair Jay tends to be the more humble but like Kanye he compares himself to Picasso and declares himself to a God and Cassius Clay, then again, who doesn't... There's plenty of bragging going on over the course of the record, whether that is about money, possessions, success or his wife but when you are one of the most successful musicians ever you kind of earn the right to. His kid, Blue Ivy not only gets shouted out a few times, Jay Z Blue is all about struggling with his new role as a father as he pleads for forgiveness whilst Heaven questions religion and to prove that the rapper is tech-savvy both Twitter on Tom Ford ("fuck hashtags and retweets, 140 characters in these streets") and Instagram on Somewhere In America ("when I was talking Instagram, the last thing you wanted was your picture snapped") getting a mention.
It might not be a ground-breaking record ready to set the world a light but it was never going to be, not many forty three year olds are capable of churning out half decent albums, never mind consistently. Some say he should have stuck to his retirement plans ten years ago but a decade on he's still influential, not just in mainstream hip hop but as a role model for those growing up with nothing but talent.