As I have matured in the way that I listen to music, I have become one of those people that doesn't rush to declare an album's greatness until I've had ample time to sit with and study the product in its entirety. Thus, you can imagine how annoyed I became at seeing so many people gawk at my favorite rapper's twelfth studio album, Magna Carta... Holy Grail. Granted, Jay-Z flexed his hustler's muscle once again by selling a million records well before his much-anticipated album even hit the market, so you know this only fueled the frenzy. What built the anticipation even more was that a lot of his core fans had been disappointed with his product as of late--some since American Gangster and many since as far back as The Black Album. However, I knew there was trouble afoot for our beloved superhero (or beloved villain depending on who you ask)...
