The album is solid. I do not hear any outright "hits," notwithstanding the JT track, but it is an elegant album. Furthermore, I was surprised there were more than 10 tracks on it. This very much reminds me of the old days when rap CD's racked up to 20 tracks on an album.
I like much of the rap and imagery Jay-Z paints in the listener's mind, but I must bring this down to the harsh reality and expose this for what it is... a loss leader for Jay-Z's other businesses.
Jay-Z's power comes from his fame, which relies on his status as a hip-hop superstar. Therefore, in order to still be relevant in his other business endeavors, Jay-Z must release albums to maintain his visibility in the public eye, since it is his large cadre of fans that give him his inherent value. This then can be extrapolated into furthering the Jay-Z mythology.
I also think it was very important that Jay-Z made this an extremely cipher/lyrically based album rather than one focused on hits. This doesn't expose Jay-Z to the possibility that his songs may not become radio hits. Intelligently, the success of the album was already deemed as having "a million units sold" because of Jay's deal with Samsung and the subsequent downloads from the app.
In Jay-Z's universe, sales are not necessarily the issue. It's about staying relevant. Furthermore, with cerebral lyricism, as well as rap songs about his progression as an individual living an upper class lifestyle and able to purchase high art, for instance, he is giving critics the proper fodder they need to continue to claim that Jay-Z still holds on to his mantle of superstar.
For example, if 50 Cent had continued to make lyrically complex albums like his early work, citing "Power of the Dollar" and "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" (which had great lyricism in it) he could have continued to have success and become an evergreen superstar like Jay-Z. However, 50 Cent let his lyricism slip and switched from the aggressive persona he once was to having songs like "Baby By Me" and trying to appeal to the same Ja Rule female demographic he claimed to hate. This was his downfall. Jay-Z stuck to his roots and is still relevant as a rapper -- which furthers his personal mythology, while 50 Cent is simply a has-been who happens to be a good businessman.
In any regard, I think this was a win for Jay-Z on multiple levels. He viewed his album as a loss-leader that helps appreciate the value of his own personal brand.
That's what I believe is the true reason Jay-Z is still recording. He maintains his relevancy.
