In an article he wrote for Rolling Stone commemorating the induction of four tracks he was on or featured on to their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Jay Z gives us an insight into what makes a record a classic. Hov says “”A great song doesn’t attempt to be anything — it just is.” He also goes on to say “A great song has all the key elements — melody; emotion; a strong statement that becomes part of the lexicon; and great production.” In the article he writes how hard it is to stay out of his own way while creating a record and if pushed too far a record can be ruined. To Wrap up the article Jay says “Can I Live” was one of his best records, he says “”Some of my best songs aren’t the biggest ones. A song like ‘Can I Live’ is so full of emotion to me — it was better than ‘Hard Knock Life’ or ‘Empire State of Mind,’ but it lacked that accessibility. Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall album may not have been bigger than Thriller, but the songs had better melodies.”
via VladTV
© 2011, @BWyche. All rights reserved.
