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Originally Posted by Rob Instigator
Here is what Christgau said about 4:44
Jay-Z: 4:44 (Roc Nation/UMG) At its frequent peaks, this unusual album nails the understated mastery it's going for—the calm candor of a titan with plenty to own up to hence plenty to teach. He's so discreet you may not notice that he can still outrhyme the small fry—"fuck with me"-"cutlery"-"butlers be"-"hustlers be," say, all parsing as "The Story of OJ." But clever's not his program. From the subtle beats No I.D. builds from Sean Carter's all-time playlist, he means to pretend he's just talking to us, nowhere more than in the painfully detailed "4:44" a.k.a. "I Apologize" a.k.a. "I suck at love." But just as "4:44" resorts for no discernible reason to an "I cut off my nose to spite my face," "The Story of OJ" is marred by a pun on "Dumbo" that's funny twice max and very nearly wrecked by the deplorable "You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America?" The answer, in case you were wondering: "credit." Which is an OK principle—Jay-Z isn't the only rap elder advising youngbloods to buy property instead of Lambos. But there are plenty of similar lapses on an album where "Legacy" celebrates his money, some of it secured by other people's artworks, rather than his art. He's teaching black capitalism, not weighing every word much less manning up and learning to love. Compared to white capitalism, I'll take it. But unlike learning to love, it has plenty of downside. A MINUS
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That's a pretty good review. An A- is a good review, wherever it came from. You hate Jay. Why would you post something that (generally) praises him?
Anyway, there's no denying the "Jewish people" line is in poor, poor taste regardless of the intention. As is, I think, trying to "teach" a systemically disenfranchised and marginalized people how to live their lives by spending money they don't have on things they don't have access to. I'm not a fan of the "Jay as financial guru" thing he's doing here. It's fucking really, dangerously, brazenly oversimplifying the greater issue of racial income and living condition disparity that is a fucking plague on the American infrastructure, and it makes Jay sound a little bit like the Donald motherfucking he-who-shall-not-be-named-but-I'm-doing-it-anyway-because-if-he-appears-in-front-of-me-like-Voldemort-I'll-beat-him-with-his-own-sad-cock-so-bring-it-on Trump of black America.
That said, the album is still really good on the whole. And I am still listening to it. If a modern rap album comes out and disses Kanye and Jewish people and makes me think of Donald Trump with the first five minutes, and I listen anyway... ME... that's a Fucking achievement.