Listen: Jay-Z – “Open Letter”

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Hov is back. Or, “the Bob Dylan of rap music”, if you let him tell it.

As his critics have been quick to point out, Jay-Z has been more or less sleep walking through his verses for quite some time now, but anyone who knows Hov is aware of his habitual slumber – and inevitable awakening.

He’s not flowing too hard here, but this is certainly the most alive he’s been in some time, speaking directly (as the title suggests) about topics from his New York Nets ownership, Chief Keef, to his Cuban visit. The track is co-produced by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, no complaints there, you’d just think somehow would have learned to keep Swizz off the ad libs by now. Check it out below. “Fuck this Zoolander shit.”