The album features guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Nas, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé.

The album spawned three successful singles, "Holy Grail", "Tom Ford" and "Part II (On the Run)" featuring Beyoncé.

It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 528,000 copies in its first week, making it Jay-Z's 13th consecutive studio album to top the chart.

[7][8][9] The opening song, "100$ Bill" by Jay-Z contains a chopped and screwed beat, electro-rap elements and is written in the perspective of a modern-day Gatsby, it was both co-written and produced by E*vax one half of electronic rock duo Ratatat.

Following the end of the tour, the main bulk of recording sessions for Magna Carta Holy Grail took place at Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz' Jungle City Studios in New York, where Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé Knowles were also working on their albums at the time.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Jay-Z stated that while the two have recorded many songs in the past, it was not until Magna Carta Holy Grail that they got the chemistry to collaborate for a whole project.

Hit-Boy created the instrumental for "Somewhereinamerica", a song that was initially supposed to appear on the debut album of Grand Hustle artist Travis Scott.

[16] Overall, Jay-Z worked extensively on the album's production with producers such as Swizz Beatz, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams who were also featured in the Samsung commercials promoting Magna Carta Holy Grail.

[22] The final track listing revealed guest appearances by Timberlake, Frank Ocean, Nas, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, Rick Ross and Beyoncé among others.

[23] On June 16, 2013, during the fifth game of the 2013 NBA Finals, Jay-Z was featured in a new commercial by Samsung where he announced that his twelfth studio album would be titled, Magna Carta Holy Grail and would be released on July 4, 2013.

This included "Holy Grail", "Heaven", "Oceans", "Part II (On the Run)", "BBC", "Jay Z Blue", "Versus", "La Familia", "Tom Ford", "Beach Is Better", "Crown", "Picasso Baby", "F.U.T.W.

[48] The music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, was released on August 29, 2013, making social media history as the first time a clip from major artists debuted strictly on Facebook.

[48] "Part II (On the Run)" featuring Beyoncé was serviced to contemporary hit radio stations on February 18, 2014 as the album's third single.

[53] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote that Jay-Z was trying to transition from his pop sensibilities but had not yet found a "reliable alternative" on Magna Carta Holy Grail, where his raps were often mismatched with rigidly produced tracks.

[64] AllMusic's Andy Kellman believed the record was hastily produced and despite occasionally impressive lyrics, Jay-Z's pop culture references sounded reflexive.

[54] Spin magazine's Jordan Sargent said the songs sounded at once overly elaborate and unfinished, along with similar but less momentous themes in comparison to Watch the Throne.

[62] Jesse Cataldo from Slant Magazine deemed it a self-important album marred by shallow name-dropping, while accusing Jay-Z of becoming disinterested creatively because of his increased success.

[55] The Daily Telegraph's Helen Brown found his boastful references heavy-handed and the album unchallenging, albeit enjoyable for "the lazy listener".

[56] Greg Kot wrote in the Chicago Tribune viewed that, apart from well-written moments on "Oceans", "Jay-Z Blue", and "Nickel & Dimes", most of the album was inconsequential.

[66] In a generally positive review, Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times was impressed by the production's energy and samples, even though he thought the album was not as intellectual or adventurous as its title suggests.

[57] Uncut wrote that it mostly succeeded as an attempt by Jay-Z to "balance his great wealth, tough history and news responsibility while retaining his grit.

"[67] NME critic Louis Pattison said it lacked a radical presence such as Kanye West to complement Jay-Z's mature ruminations, but nonetheless showed him as a sagacious lyricist comparable with Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan.

[58] Magna Carta Holy Grail was met with many accolades and was named in multiple "Albums of the Year" lists by major publications.

[69] Rolling Stone named it the tenth best hip hop album of the 2013 saying, "The legendary MC explored of-the-moment sounds, textures and tempos in ways only he could [...] Even on a bit of an off day, Jay is still plenty impressive.

[73] Magna Carta Holy Grail was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on the day of its release due to a deal with Jay-Z and Samsung, where they agreed to purchase one million copies of the album to offer to their users for free.

[77] It also became the first rap album to spend two consecutive weeks on top since Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV (2011), despite the 76% drop in sales.