Amaros: The point of Madnis' post was that what Jay-Z accomplished in this song was beyond writing some lyrics to a beat. The two videos posted below the first one show the source of the samples used in the song, and they are NOT simply pasted in. They were clearly found through hard work and research, and would not have been discovered without eclectic tastes and an expansive music library. Additionally, the samples have been tweaked precisely to fit the song and mood. This was done while also writing lyrics around a theme.
Is this song full of guitar solos and complicated drum beats? No. But was it constructed using difficult techniques? Yes. Sampling is just as difficult an art, and in some cases it is much much harder than actually getting people together to play a song you wrote.
And please don't make the mistake of thinking that just because guitar solos and blast beats are hard to do conceptually that they aren't also a subject of scrutiny. Rock isn't the dominant art form not because it is too "deep" for the masses to understand, but it hasn't evolved very much since its inception. Rap most definitely has. Look at the cookie cutter metal bands out there. Sometimes it is difficult even for someone like me, who loves metal, to discern who is who when it comes to them. Especially with some of the more contemptible sub-genres out there, like Death Core....
All I'm saying is don't discount it for not seeming technically proficient. Its the same reason non-musicians think of jazz as not difficult, it's an entire genre of music designed to make superhuman feats seem effortless.
