I know this is a worn-out topic, but I feel like I have to add my two cents to this conversation. Jay-Z used to be one of my favorite rappers, I used to have immense respect for Jay... but he's fell off something crazy lately. Everyone has, I'm not sure if it's the hip-hop culture of today, or what, but everyone seems to be turning on their word. I'm waiting for both Game and Lupe's fourth albums.... because they both will certainly drop at one point or another.
After Jay released "The Black Album", and supposedly his career "died" in a hail of gunfire in "99 Problems"... I was convinced that he was done. He's Jay-Z, he knows how to bow out gracefully, he's not going to be a 40 year old club owner rehashing tales of violence looking for nostalgia in the hip-hop industry. Well he wasn't ready to bow out gracefully, and he released the poorly-received "Kingdom Come". This was supposedly the death of Jay-Z, and the birth of Sean Carter, which is a bullshit principle in and of it's own. The death of one persona and the birth of a more mature one... it's played out. And if Jay-Z is going to release a comeback album to "The Black Album", I'd expect more than "Kingdom Come"... maybe it's just me.
After "Kingdom Come", I hated "American Gangster" out of principle. "Kingdom Come" was poorly received, so he decided to put a modern twist on his "Reasonable Doubt" lyrics... which seemed extremely unnecessary to me. Not only that, but the whole retirement plan just went out the door... and now Jay is planning on releasing "Blueprint 3".

Sadly, after hearing "Swagga Like Us", and some singles off "B3", I have to mourn the career of yet another legend, who has put the hip-hop world through 3 comebacks too many.