Swizz On Jay-Z Magna Carta Holy Grail

Swizz Beatz recently visited the VIBE‘s HQ to speak on his involvement on Hov’s upcoming album. He also spoke on the marketing scheme through Samsung and Billboard excluding it’s first million sales.

He was being innovative. Some people—they can’t relate to innovation. It’s his album [so] he can do what he wants to do. He’s earned the rights to do whatever he wants to do. He’s put enough time into this game with Billboard and any other outlet. He’s his own boss and there’s a reason why he did it that way.”

Jay-Z previews “Oceans” featuring Frank Ocean below.

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  1. 7thEmerson says:

    Swizz is absolutely right about that

  2. bumpy johnson says:

    they said holy grail track was to drop today , really excited to hear some new hov , just him rappin by himself no features ……

  3. JustMyOpinion says:

    “We wrote how the world would be but now it’s so many other things. No one’s (sic) has addressed that again. All these years, all these other things have been introduced to the world and all this technology and all these things. How do we operate within all that?” – Jay-Z

    ^ And, there you have it. That’s what MCHG will comprise of. I am going to stretch a little and say it will be to 2013 what ‘reasonable doubt’ was to 1996.

    Just my opinion (observation). What y’all think? Take your blinders off, show some objectivity and give constructive criticism.

  4. STINKMEANER says:

    i don’t know enough about this album to be judging it really. from the sound of it though, jay is bringing in all the best talent (though noticeably absent is kanye). i think it is important to keep the business and the music discussions separate. the business side of this is all experimental, who knows if this is going to be more or less successful than a traditional album release. musically, i trust jay is going to bring an album full of great music, i don’t have any doubts about that.

    really the whole business thing is all about money. look at how Louis CK changed comedy specials, and he made millions of dollars selling his special for 5$ directly to fans. I think that is what jay is trying to do, trying to find a way to more directly sell products to people, cut out middlemen, and make more money.
    I also don’t think a lot of people will follow this, because they don’t have money like jay does, they can’t afford to risk an album flop trying to experiment. jay has the name recognition to sell his album no matter what, and he has the money to risk failing on an album without it hurting his career.

  5. JustMyOpinion says:

    “[L]ook at how Louis CK changed comedy.”

    ^ Great points.

  6. Capricorn Religion says:

    FINALLY…..

    I’m just glad this man went back to a narrative. Which, in my opinion is how a Rap album should be made. Or damn, any album to be honest if your going for Greatness.

    I hate this new way of albums being made. 3 songs for radio, joint for a female, party joint, add some of the narrative, couple filler, then BOOM.

    Its one of the reasons why I was slightly mad at Eminem’s “Recovery”.

    I understand that in order to survive the business you have to be 50/50 with creative and business once you make it pass the

    1″Who is this guy and why should I care” First album

    2)Then the “Can he do it again” 2nd album

    3) And last but not least the “Okay. he is certified” 3rd album but….

    Damn. You have to let creative win sometimes. Especially when your at a certain level like Jay and Em is at. Its why I enjoyed “Yeezus” so much. A plain and simple FUCK YOU release.

    I can’t wait to see how the rest of the direction of “Magna Carta Holy Grail” will go

  7. Devante says:

    @Stink Meaner
    A flop is the last thing on Jay’s mind. Samsung payed 5 million for the album and is basically handling all the promotion. I dont think that many people have a Samsung phone for the free downloads to hurt the sales once it goes retail.

  8. bumpy johnson says:

    I think hov plan backfired seein that billboard will not b counting the 1 million copies Samsung bought …. although he pocketed 5 mill up front . but in terms of sales he normally does 400-450 first week ………. any body think otherwise ?

  9. @ONEMANBEATS says:

    Good idea. so do i have to have a samsung phone to get the album or are they gonna release it in the next week as a download for all media?
    Hit me for beats @ONEMANBEATS http://WWW.ONEMANENT.COM BEAT LIBRARY

  10. STINKMEANER says:

    @devante yeah you are right, jay’s deal with samsung means he has guaranteed $5m in success, on top of all the retail sales and even itunes sales.
    i didn’t mean that he is worrying about a flop, only that he can afford to change and challenge the traditional distribution model.

    i thought about this a bit more, and it reminded me of Watch the Throne, when Jay basically told BestBuy and Walmart that they had to wait a week behind Itunes, and WTT didn’t leak because of it. Yet after that successful distribution method, no one else in the music industry really even tried that. Jay seems to be the only person to be really innovating with digital distribution like this.

    Jay is right when he says, the music industry is following old rules. Think about it, the music industry is trying to distribute ~100mb of data to ~1million people in a 7 day launch week. The idea of using all that plastic packaging, and loading albums on trucks, and stocking them in stores, that shit is incredibly slow and outdated. Nowadays, you can download a 100mb album in less than 30 minutes on your phone/computer/tablet/xbox.

    I think jay is way ahead of everyone, like 5 years ahead of the music industry. Jay’s use of platform exclusivity with his music (WTT being exclusive to itunes and MCHG being exclusive to Samsung) reminds me of the video game industry. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all have their own platform exclusive content , I think in the future we are going to see companies like Apple, Google and Samsung competing to feature exclusive music content.

    Record labels are really on the way out, the most important thing labels did was provide the infrastructure for distribution. Now that distribution is being redefined, record labels are playing a much different role in the future of music. The biggest thing labels can do in the future is provide marketing and investment capital, but a good artist who knows how to use the internet can market themselves and that money will follow right behind.

  11. StarFox64 says:

    yo this shit going on right now is wild funny..

  12. PistolPistol says:

    Wish Eminem could learn something from Jay… Instead of being a fuckin chump w dr Dre ..

  13. Ro says:

    what’s up with the asian guy rubbing are scratching himself, what the heck

  14. the perch says:

    tell me this nigga holding the mic is not getting paid

  15. 7thEmerson says:

    Billboard is really fucked up for that decision not to count the sales. They counted Gaga when she sold her album for 99 cents on Amazon and they counted Madonna when she counted ticket sales as albums. Jay found a genius way to get himself paid and a new method of album release. Can’t knock that.

  16. Push For Life says:

    wheres the music??

  17. Average Jo says:

    This album is definitely gonna be some shit.. Hip hop world is gonna come to a stand still & was that Elliott Wilson’s weird ass laugh at the end??

  18. the brain trust says:

    And, there you have it. That’s what MCHG will comprise of. I am going to stretch a little and say it will be to 2013 what ‘reasonable doubt’ was to 1996.

    Just my opinion (observation). What y’all think? Take your blinders off, show some objectivity and give constructive criticism.
    ______________________________________________________________

    Seeing as Reasonable Doubt made little to no impact in 1996, I don’t think Jay would like that very much.

    Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but how is the subject matter of MGCG (rags to riches, balancing your hustler upbringing against your current affluent status etc) any different from any other Jay-Z project?

    Also, where was the double entendre in the sea sick line? I felt like he was doing a Mr. Fantastic there (reaching).

  19. the brain trust says:

    SMH

    *MCHG

  20. 7thEmerson says:

    @brain trust

    1) With the things he mentioned that was material, he also mentioned all the sights and ambitions, “see” sick – overwhelmed with the sights.
    2) Playing on an old line derived from Max B’s rhymes, “I’m so wavy” – multiple waves like on a boat (people get seasick from the multiple waves).
    3) “Only Christopher we recognize is Wallace” The hood doesnt think about Christopher Columbus, they think of Christopher Wallace aka Biggie. There are people out there (I dont even have to call em out) who despise black culture (Biggie) but upheld white culture in the highest regard, so to hear that they know Big but dont care for Columbus would make them mad – C (christopher) sick; angry because we chose the “wrong” Christopher.

    “Triple entendre, dont even ask me how……….”

  21. 7thEmerson – Since you took it upon yourself to bring up gaga/madonna, please share your links/where you found the info.

    Billboard did the right thing. The whining around here is ridiculous. You wouldn’t have benefited from any decision made by Billboard. The only people who really care about this are the obsessed Jay Z fans that feel the need to fight for him.

  22. fuck these niggaz says:

    Swiss gonna have the weakest beats on the album son is over rated

  23. Jeezus says:

    Timbaland looked confused as hell, like wtf is this nigga jay talkin about

  24. the brain trust says:

    Yeah, I wasn’t talking about the Christopher line. I already knew that was dope as fuck.

    HOWEVER, you linking ‘sea sick’ back to Biggie is the worst form of reaching ever seen though. lol
    Even Jay wasn’t thinking about that bullshit.

    The sea sick line as suspected, still makes no sense.

    ‘See sick’ is not a real phrase. Jealousy, envy, ambition etc do not relate AT ALL to the invented phrase ‘see sick’. Very sloppy writing there IMO.

    Also, Pharrell laughing in the background like Jay just spat some genius bars was so corny.

  25. The Brain Trust says:

    @Jeezus

    Lmaooo exactly!

    He was thinking ‘this nigga is taking fakedeep to another level’.

  26. zeee says:

    @the brain trust is right. Jay z is the inventor of “fakedeep” always saying real weak stuff in interview in a question form like “isn’t it obvious” and that see sick line was real weak but you know pharell always had to be on the D

  27. rebeltko says:

    The sea sick line is very easy to figure out and plus he explained it for you. The song is called Oceans, he says sea sick which relates to ocean and “sea” could also be “see” as in when a hater sees Jayz (a successful black man) they hate or feel some kinda way so they “see” sick (they feel) sick. Now from a technical standpoint if you wanna nitpick the lyric thats fine but the song is called Oceans so Jay using “sea” sick as part of what adds on to the concept overall is in fact genius. If you are a better MC then Jayz then go make your own album but until then STFU.

  28. rebeltko says:

    Cant wait to hear this album

  29. RRCoolJ says:

    Man, I’m glad a lot of y’all are on here calling out that weak ass “sea sick/see sick” line. Hov is the greatest but he loves to build himself up sometimes to be more than what it is. I know he has some amazing lines on the album, but this, for damn sure wasn’t one of em. And Pharell gets dickrider of the century for treating it like Jay said some Reasonable Doubt type bars. FOH!!!

  30. rebeltko says:

    Instead of bitching over one line, judge the song for all its lines combined that make up the whole concept of Oceans. Crying about one line is like looking at a painting at bitching over one color instead of stepping back to see the full picture. smfh

  31. foekist says:

    @ the brain trust says:
    Thursday, June 27 2013 at 2:05 AM EST
    Yeah, I wasn’t talking about the Christopher line. I already knew that was dope as fuck.

    HOWEVER, you linking ‘sea sick’ back to Biggie is the worst form of reaching ever seen though. lol
    Even Jay wasn’t thinking about that bullshit.

    The sea sick line as suspected, still makes no sense.

    ‘See sick’ is not a real phrase. Jealousy, envy, ambition etc do not relate AT ALL to the invented phrase ‘see sick’. Very sloppy writing there IMO.

    Also, Pharrell laughing in the background like Jay just spat some genius bars was so corny.

    I AGREE 100%. WHAT’S EVEN MORE CORNY IS YN FAKE ASS LAUGH AT THE END. WE JUST KNOW THAT’S HIM! IF THERE WAS A HOV DICK-RIDER AWARD, THIS GUY WOULD GET IT. HANDS DOWN! < FIGURATIVELY OF COURSE HA

  32. The Brain Trust says:

    @rebeltko

    We all understand the song’s concept. We all know what he was trying to do.

    We’re making fun of the video because Jay forced a double entendre that simply wasn’t there.

    The gibberish phrase ‘see sick’ has never, and can never, mean ‘feel sick’.

    We’re not nitpicking. In fact, as Jay himself would say, we’re listening to music as opposed to skimming through it.

    Learn to hold your hero to a higher standard, and stop being a perpetual dickrider.

  33. Biggest Hov fan but now a days his lines have really been dry but we love him so much no one calls him on it… every other album he talks about this duality/success story, do something else man. I was doing sea/see sick in my spoken words when i was 17, i’m about to be 30… It feels like after reasonable doubt, Dear Summer and a couple hot 97 freestyles he forgot how to rhyme.

    poeticassasin.wordpress.com

  34. also love the dialogue in this thread, we need more of this on this site, we have to hold these rappers accountable whether they are our favs or not… we all arent dumb and just listen to the beats.

  35. rebeltko says:

    @The Brain Trust , No your bitching. You singled out one line instead of looking at all the lines which is some straight up nitpick shit and worse then that the word you picked out which was “seasick” was written on a song called Oceans. FOH. You seriously are mad about one word from song with 48 bars and about a hundred words that all fit into place to create a whole concept? Thats some bitchass shit right there. You can pick out one word you dont like outta any song in music but that dont mean the song aint dope. You talking about holding up standards? The fucking standards of one word? Are you fucking serious? You talking about the word “seasick” on a song called Oceans and thats what you decide to hate on? Hate pure hate at its finest right there.

  36. rebeltko says:

    And stop with the bullshit lie that every song he makes is about duality. No its not, Pray, American Dreamin, Hello Brooklyn, No Hook etc…. D.O.A, Empire State, A Star Is Born, Venus vs Mars, Already Home, etc…New Day, Welcome To The Jungle, Murder To Excellence, Why I Love You etc… Glory, and Open Letter deal with different subject matter but yeah Magna Carta Holy Grail is based around a duality kinda of subject matter because you haters are always saying you want substance every two seconds so stfu and listen. Holy Grail, Heaven and this song Oceans all have dope lyrics and concepts and subject matter for thinking people’s music. Stop crying over one word like ‘seasick”.

  37. y is it nitpicking? we are having a conversation on the video… he is discussing.his sea/see sick line so we are having a civil conversation about it… and I didnt say every song is about duality/success, i said every other album he says thats what the concept is… he has made great concept songs, no one said he hasn’t, we are talking about the way he converses, he makes it seem like what he is talking about is much bigger than what it actually is… Once again, big Hov fan, but not everything he says is golden… people on this site are writers/thinkers/and artists too.

  38. rebeltko says:

    It is nitpicking because you want EVERY single word to be as perfect as you would like it but a line that says “sea-sick” in a song called Oceans does actually work pretty well. You talk about the concepts of his albums but several of them have different approaches and perspectives but if they have similarities in duality its because its coming from the same person. Jayz cant have an out of body experience and then come back and give you Eminems perspective because thats not his life. You are nitpicking because you people act as if you can make 13 solo albums and three duo albums (16 all together for Jay) over the course of almost 20 years and do it better then Jayz, which I highly doubt most of you could do. You wanna nitpick at every single word and line and rhyme from Jayz as if you people can do better so if your artist too then here you go –

    Reasonable Doubt (1996)
    In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997)
    Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life (1998)
    Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)
    The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
    The Blueprint (2001)
    The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002)
    The Black Album (2003)
    Kingdom Come (2006)
    American Gangster (2007)
    The Blueprint 3 (2009)
    Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)

    Now go make sure every word of every song is dope and all have different subject matter with complex lyricism in every line. A song like Oceans is not about one word in one rhyme. Its a play on several other lines that make up the whole song.

  39. rebeltko says:

    Your saying Jay talks about his music as if its much bigger then it actually is or more complex or more deeper or whatever. So since your mind and talent and skill level is so far passed Jayz that to you his music seems small minded or simple, then post your own albums and songs and let us nitpick every word of it and lets see if you have songs like Holy Grail, Heaven and Oceans or songs that are so much better then Jayz. I highly doubt you do.

  40. rebeltko says:

    You people want a new concept every album, every line, every word. You want over the top crazy lyricism every word of every line, you want different subject matter, you want lines that are so complex that you want quadruple entendres mixed with metaphors mixed with punchlines etc… every single word of every line and you want every single second of every song to be the greatest hip hop classic of all time. Well guess what Jay overall, pound for pound as done better then any other MC ever period. Lyrically Nas is the only one that has maintained a high level of lyrical ability and commercial success from the mid 90s till now. So Jay is damn near his own competition at this point. Stop holding him to a standard that you yourselves have not even done or accomplished before.

  41. bumpy johnson says:

    the sea sick actually fits the theme he is talkin about , but yuall got to listen the whole sentence as to where it does makes sense ….. but yuall right pharell did the dick ridin a little on overdrive , did not really see the wow for him to get on like that , mabe I missed something ………BUT that Christopher Wallace line was fuckin dope though cant front ………………. the guy is 43 and still dope ………… hov this

  42. rebeltko says:

    And lastly you people keep talking about Pharrel being excited about the Jayz line but yourselves in his shoes. If Jay was a friend of yours for over 15 years and your in the studio with him and he makes a song called Oceans that your involved with and he uses “sea-sick” as one word of the rhyme (considering most of the other lines play off “Ocean”), you people would be excited too. The rhyme (or word) is dope if you keep it in perspective and in context. “Sea (see)- sick” the song is called “Oceans”, I mean for real stop fucking hating cause this nigga is dope still after all these years.

  43. Trap lord says:

    It’s amazing how much of an impact this guy has to the point where there will be a full fledged debate about one line in a song that hasn’t been released lol…only HOV

  44. The Brain Trust says:

    Wow.

    @rebeltko….. are you alright? Like, are you stable……..mentally I mean?

    You just exploded, and began posting a series of angry, convoluted rants over a Jay-Z video? Really?

    Ok. Lemme make my points as clear as possible.

    1. The belief that you have to be a rapper in order to criticise another rapper’s lyrics is laughable & childish. Food, Art, Music, Movie & Sports critics aren’t required to have participated in the field they are critiquing in order to have valid, logical & well reasoned viewpoints. You understand that right?

    2. Stop pretending like you don’t why I focused solely on the ‘sea sick line’. Both Jay-Z (and more embarrassingly) Pharrell placed GREAT emphasis on the line in question. They were acting like there was some mind altering, Shakespearian level of wit hidden in that bar, when it reality, it was simply a failed attempt at wordplay. And btw, you screaming ‘CONCEPT, OCEAN, SEA, SEE’ isn’t going to change that.

    3. Yes, every line in an artist’s song should be scrutinised and criticised if need be. I made fun of Kanye when he spat the ‘keep it 300 like the Romans’ error (even though I love Black Skinhead). I winced when J. Cole said ‘my black and white diamonds got me shining like an oreo’ on ‘Chaining Day’. Lil’ Wayne’s occasionally terrible punchlines (even when they’re on great songs) have been a running joke on twitter for years. So tell me, why should Jay-Z’s bad lyrics be any different?

    4. Only an absolute stan would deny the fact that rags to riches/ juggling past crime & present affluence has been a key theme in every single Jay-Z project since 96. Personally, I think it’s getting very repetitive, shows a lack of creativity, a lack of personal or artistic growth and an obsession with self. Others might love such repetitiveness, and that’s for them to decide.

    4. You’re right. My mockery was based on pure hate at it’s finest. It was me expressing my hatred of bad writing, even when the source of said writing is your god, Mr. Carter.

  45. G says:

    The “SEE sick” line is ment to be taken as a visual, meaning lets say for example you get a brand new car, watch, dating the hot new girl @ work or school and you have a hater who observes this,they want these things for themselves. Hence they see it and get “see sick”.

  46. it's the roc says:

    ha, you guys can’t be serious. that line is wack? compared to whom or what? it’s called being creative and clever. you don’t have to use all established phrases when you rap, you can make up clever lines and phrases and leave it for the fans to interpret. i would have expected the reaction to that line to be positive. instead people are complaining? haha. it’s 2013 and there is so much bullshit out from horrible rappers and you are complaining that a rapper turned something into a double entendre? would you rather all the lyrics just be 100% direct and never go any deeper than the surface?

  47. cant stop laughing says:

    All these people commenting must be artist, producers, or record execs… what happened to good ol fans

  48. loch says:

    Jay Z is making history in front of our eyes.New marketing #Newrules. I think Jay is about to drop a banger.He coming for niggas heads again.jay is the best business man/rapper period.Puff don’t count.50 running 2nd.Hov
    Loch Ft. @DJDooWop “Spaz Out” (official Music Video): http://youtu.be/oWF0DkfI2zk

  49. butter says:

    yall serious? rap is dead. jay does nothing for his community so he does nothing period. you must be young. so brainwashed. he is saying NOTHING.

  50. zeee says:

    It would have been better if pharell when of on the line ” the only christopher we know is wallace” now that’s a way better line. As a hip hop head that sea sick line is weak. That’s like that ludacris line ” blowing up, balloons” its week like 7 days. ZING!!!

  51. Common Sense says:

    anyone prasing the see sick line is on dicks

    rebeltko and brain trust

    quit riding dick, the line was weak, ima jay fan, but if he says some weak shit ima admit it

  52. Common Sense says:

    i meant 7themerson not brain trust

    but rebeltko is a stan dick rider, quit with the novel ass comments

  53. rebeltko says:

    @The Brain Trust, 1st of all if you wanna bitch about a rapper using one word (that actually fits the song), then make your own songs and do it better then. Since you got so much to say about Jayz why dont you make your own shit and lets see how good you are lyrically. 2nd the line “Sea-sick”, I cant believe that this one word went over your heads to the point where you cant figure out how this one word works. Again the song is called “Oceans”, at its partly about looking at the ocean and “seeing” deeper then what’s on the surface. On top of that the song has deeper meaning. Now you pronounce the word “sea” like Cee, so therefore you could make it “see” and it plays off “Sea(see)-sick” and it actually fits perfectly in a song called Oceans. So the fact that you bitch over one word that at the end of the day works perfectly is some hatin ass shit period. You talk about Jayz bad lyrics but guess what? Jayz can rap better then YOU and you talk about Jay talking about duality as if thats the only thing he ever talks about but even if it is. The nigga calls himself the “monster of the double entendre” so him flipping words for double meaning is actually his style idiot. Go listen to Do U Wanna Ride from Kingdom Come where he says that line and that song also has deeper meaning. Bottomline is you can comb through Jays lyrics and hate if you want but just keep in mind that YOU yourself could never rap as dope as Jayz so when you hate on this mans lyrics just understand that his lyrics are still better then yours. If you dont rap then fine, criticize and hate all you want but to pick out one word of a song and then act like Jayz is all around a wack artist over one word his some extreme hating and some nitpicking bitchshit.

  54. fuck u pussy says:

    Lol @ rebeltko son must have a jayz poster he prays to at night. I never seen so much dick riding on this site. Let ppl have their opinion.save the long essays nobody wanna read dat shit.foh! U act like u beyonce n hov is fucking ur pussy.

  55. eXtreme.com says:

    Jay z is the only rapper who can simultaniously be in the same league as 2 Chainz, Rick ross, T.I , Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki minaj, etc,. and at the same time be compared to legends like Raekwon, Nas,Ghostface, Big L, Biggie smalls etc,. Which to me makes him the Greatest of all time. Who else can blend into those two different worlds like that so effortlessly? Sure the “seasick” entendre is a little basic but im sure this album well be filled with so many Gems that I can forgive lol

  56. Lamont Antwan says:

    Dope! Had me stuck for a minute like timberland face… “I hope they don’t get see sick” (sea sick “oceans”). That’s stupid… word play craaazzyy, I would know cuz I’m a writer. He officially got his swag back since blueprint 3. Got it even more on the throne. I would say when he worked with diddy on american gangsta… but who “I AM”

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