Back in 2009, months away from crossing the 40-year-old threshold, Jay-Z seemed determined to freeze time. “Young Forever,” the closing track to The Blueprint 3, relished in the present moment while pondering the future and his legacy’s place in it. It seemed to be a proper career bookend — but life doesn’t stop when the beat does. Hov’s fifth decade ushered in fatherhood, well-documented business moves, and marriage ebbs and flows that played out on TMZ. It all served as fuel for a musical victory lap that’s yielded two or three classic albums, depending on who you ask. (The smash hits, of which there have been several, are a bonus; child’s play for one of music’s best to do it.) Jay-Z’s musical life and times in middle age have delivered grandiosity (“Niggas in Paris”), introspection (“4:44”), philosophical musings (“No Church in the Wild”), and social commentary (Meek Mill’s “What’s Free”). Long ago, Jay wondered aloud, “What more can I say?” Eventually, the answer always seems to reveal itself. We’re all ears. — PC
