JAY-Z is used to collecting epic moments during the NBA Finals. Twelve years ago, the Roc Nation founder took advantage of the hype surrounding the Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs. He dropped an ad during the game that announced his album Magna Carta… Holy Grail.
JAY-Z established new rules in June 16, 2013 for dropping an album. This is after he released a three-minute Samsung ad that revealed the title of his 12th studio album. As he spoke with iconic producer Rick Rubin about the album, the ad brought viewers into the studio with Hov. He also connected with Swizz Beatz, Pharrell Williams, and Timbaland. Together, they worked on some of the album’s hottest tracks, including “Holy Grail” featuring Justin Timberlake, “Picasso Baby,” “BBC,” and “Tom Ford.”
In the ad, JAY-Z said, “We don’t have any rules. Everyone’s trying to figure it out. That’s why the Internet is like the wild West… the Wild, Wild West. We need to write the new rules.”
Details about JAY-Z’s groundbreaking deal with Samsung spread across the internet like wildfire as soon as the commercial aired. Samsung paid $5 million to giveaway 1 million copies of Magna Carta… Holy Grail exclusively to users of the mobile company’s Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note II as part of the agreement.
On July 4, the album dropped on the phones which was numerous days before the public release of the album. Users were able to download the 16-track album for free from an app in the Google Play store. Various people had trouble accessing their downloads on the phones which had fans upset on the day in question. Hov kept it real in an interview with The Breakfast Club. He spoke openly about how he felt about the album’s release.
