The following is my exchange with friend and noted music aficionado, Sal Patel, on the occassion of the release of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s new albums. Sal and I discuss the records’ artistic merits, their thematic relevance, and music criticism in general. A warning: we run long (5,333 words long, to be exact), though it is worth it.
Trev: July 4th has come and gone. In this corner of the world, the holiday meant two things – 1) a good excuse to break out my pitiable impression of President Bill Pullman’s Dylan Thomas-aping ID4 speech, and 2) the release of Magna Carter Holy Grail. Hola’ Hovito.
Jay’s 12th solo studio represents many things: a new standard in digital distribution; a marketing masterstroke; a cooperative of the biggest producers in the industry; and a reminder that he is peerless in the genre where longevity and consistency are concerned. The fact that Hov unveiled the album’s cover art by placing it in Salisbury Cathedral next to one of four existing copies of the actual Magna Carta gives you a sense of the level of authority and influence he has achieved.
What about the music itself though? Is his flow still as special? Is he still hungry and engaged as a lyrist? Can, and should, hip hop’s most revered veteran still have a say in writing its #newrules?
To help me delve into these questions (and I suspect, a great deal more), I turn to my partner in crime, the Beanie Siegel to my Memphis Bleek, Mr. Sal Patel. Where music is concerned, Sal perhaps the best arbiter of taste and quality that I know; if a record or artist has Sal’s co-sign, I’m on it. In short, Sal is That Dude where new music is concerned. We missed having a proper back-and-forth upon the release of Yeezus two weeks ago, and I will be damned if I let that happen again here. So, SP, I am throwing the Diamond up at you as a kind of Critical-Analysis Bat Signal. Help me crack the code that is MCHG, as my cup runneth over. What’d you think?
Much more, after the jump… Continue reading
Low Culture, High Concept 