By now, you may have heard…
It’s been a busy month of April for Jay-Z, but on Thursday morning he woke up and decided to shut down hip-hop.
With all of the talk surrounding his recent move to athlete representation — which includes the signings of Robinson Cano and Victor Cruz — and conversely, away from NBA ownership, his new partnership with Universal Records and his recent getaway to communist Cuba with the wife, Jay-Z just had to get a few things off his chest. Jigga enlisted familiar friends Timbo and Swizzy to provide the would-be paper for his “open letter” the scribed to those who find faults with his moves (I thought Hov didn’t write though??).
So, what have we learned today? Here’s a few thoughts:
First off, you can’t help but think, “This is what’s it’s come to” when listening to “Open Letter”.
No longer do other rappers inspire Jay to step inside the booth and “take off the blazer/loosen up the tie”. Hov is throwing shots at HIGH-RANKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS on this record! Not to say this is totally unprecedented in hip-hop, but never before has a rapper been criticized so publicly by politicians, against a backdrop that includes a legitimate friendship with the leader of the free world and (potentially) very real foreign policy implications (of course, Jay & Bey’s trip to Cuba was approved by the United States government, but I digress). Jay-Z may have to modify his moniker once more from “International Hov” to “International Incident Hov“.
If interested in what life really like in #Cuba @s_c_should have visited persecuted rapper #AngelYunierRemon #99problems&dictatorsareone
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 8, 2013
Musically, the song is good but not great. However, the sheer excitement of the moment itself seemed to elevate this record like few others. Whenever Jay releases new music, it becomes an event in just about every sense. Whether you like him or not as an artist, the rap world stops and pays attention when Jay-Z approaches the podium (even the leaders of the new school). In New York, Hot 97’s Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg Morning Show played this record on a seemingly endless loop, while throwing shots at Power 105 all the while.
Speaking of, it’s telling that Hot 97, the long time dominant radio station for NYC hip-hop was given this exclusive, while Power and The Breakfast Club, the newcomers with all the momentum, were left out in the cold. The two stations have been at odds for a long time and the beef doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Needless to say, this is quite the coup for Hot 97.
Also, Jay is quick to point out that while he’s selling his share of the Brooklyn Nets, he’ll still own a piece of the Barclay’s Center. So he’ll still be courtside to watch the Nets get bounced in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
It has been confirmed that Jay-Z is in the studio working on his next album. Given the fact he is the ONLY rapper that’s doing what he’s doing, Jay’s subject matter, while predictably draped materialism at times, is absolutely uncharted territory for hip-hop.