Binary, Beats, and Basquiat: Reviewing Magna Carta Holy Grail

Originally published for Destroy to Rebuild 7/2013.

As I sit in Fort Tryon park, Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail blaring through my (coincidentally) Roc Nation Skull Candy headphones, I feel the full weight of Hov’s power and influence. He has become a god among men by the standards of many, and he’s quite aware of it. Yet, there’s a new sentiment seeping through his self-acclaim that, ironically, gives him a new sense of humanity: vulnerability. This dichotomy permeates Hov’s twelfth solo release.