I wasn’t going to write this review. I’ve been a Jay-Z fan for over a decade, and while that doesn’t necessarily make me a loyalist, there was certainly a divide between Nas and the Hova world that left me feeling a bit… unqualified. Besides, the controversy over the title was all we heard about the album for months. By default, it’s usually the death rattle for a record when anything but the music itself gets such advance hype.

But not this time.