West wanted the two songs to appear on Watch the Throne, but Jay-Z chose to keep them for his upcoming studio album and they were replaced with "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America".
[9] Jay-Z lyrically sampled rock group Nirvana's single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" after receiving permission from Courtney Love, who owns the rights to the original song.
On August 2, 2013, Jay-Z revealed to Power 106 that he and fellow tour mate Justin Timberlake had begun shooting the music video for "Holy Grail".
[12] The music video was directed by Anthony Mandler and was released on August 29, 2013, on Facebook, making social media history as the first time a clip from major artists debuted exclusively on the site.
[14] Andy Gill of The Independent described the song as "smooth and mellifluous,"[15] while Rolling Stone's Simon Vozick called it a "surprisingly moody opener.
"[18] Criticizing the song as "laughably overblown", Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media writes that Timberlake "cycles through every tortured artist cliché short of a crucifixion metaphor.
"[19] Cohen further stated that the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" interpolation "becomes just another forgettable status symbol" and commented: "Where Kurt Cobain felt compromised by his fame, Jay and Timberlake are doing everything in their power not to offend the money people—whether it's Samsung, Target, or someone dropping $250 to see them at the Rose Bowl.
[23] During the concert at Barclays Center as part of Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience World Tour on December 14, 2014, Jay-Z joined him on stage to perform the song.