Following the release of Jay-Z’s 12th studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, many reviews of the 16-track project were penned, but according to the Brooklyn rapper, the importance of those reviews is beginning to wither away in the age of the internet.
During a recent interview, which took place earlier today (July 10) with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, Jay-Z blamed the internet and the fact that everyone now receives music at the same time as the reason behind album reviews gradually losing their importance.
“I think reviews have lost a lot of their importance now because of the internet,” Jay explained. “Everyone is experiencing things at the same time. You can write a review like the guy from USA Today, tomorrow. Ya’ll both can write the review at the same time…That’s why the critic became important in the music space because they got the music first. They would get the music two months early because the magazine had a long lead time. They get it. They sit with it. They review it. They send it out a month ahead of time. You reading it. You looking like ‘Oh, this album’s gonna be dope.’ You don’t have the music. So, you’re reading reviews for a month. Right now, the music comes out like this. People are writing a review in a day. First of all, you can’t listen to an album and rate it in a day. It’s just impossible…And when I see that I’m like ‘Oh, so this is all just bullshit.’”
Jay-Z also addressed the numerous albums that were released last month, including Kanye West’s Yeezus and J. Cole’s Born Sinner, and explained that it’s up to the fan individually to decide if they want to “slow it down” and focus on consuming one project at a time.
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“It’s up to the individual to figure out how to slow it down cause it’s just going faster and faster,” said the Magna Carta Holy Grail rapper. “Everything is moving quicker. Information is going quicker. These great things are fleeting…I’m not gonna let anybody speed up my process. I don’t care what’s happening out there. That’s the great thing about having ultimate confidence in yourself is it doesn’t matter what’s happening.”
Jay-Z’s full interview can be found below (via XXL Magazine).
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