Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake Face the Consequences of Fame in “Holy Grail”

What happens when you achieve the ultimate goal only to find a dark consequence hiding behind it? This is what Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake confront in “Holy Grail”, the 2013 collaboration between two superstars facing the many downsides of enormous fame.

Clearly, both Jay-Z and Timberlake have survived celebrity culture since the release of this track. But the music business is full of casualties who weren’t so lucky. One of whom is name-checked in the lyrics below.

Why I Love You So Much

Timberlake begins by describing the fickle nature of fame. It becomes like a beast the star feeds, but that beast also devours. He finds that pop stardom comes with a cost: the erasure of anonymity, privacy, peace.

You’d take the clothes off my back, and I’d let you,
You’d steal the food right out my mouth.
And I’d watch you eat it; I still don’t know why,
Why I love you so much.
Oh, you curse my name,
In spite, to put me to shame.
Hang my laundry in the streets, dirty or clean,
Give it up for fame.
But I still don’t know why,
Why I love it so much, yeah.

He thinks he’s figured out the riddle of his fans. But “fan” is short for fanatic, which is an extreme form of irrationality. So good luck trying to make sense of this devoted lot.

And baby, it’s amazing I’m in this maze with you,
I just can’t crack your code.
One day you’re screaming you love me loud,
The next day you’re so cold.
One day you’re here, one day you’re there,
One day you care, you’re so unfair.
Sipping from your cup till it runneth over, Holy Grail.

I Feel Stupid and Contagious

Jay-Z raps about how others have been destroyed by fame. But he also acknowledges that he likes the spotlight. No one to blame but himself, he says before echoing Kurt Cobain’s anthem, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

And we all just entertainers,
And we’re stupid and contagious.
No, we all just entertainers.

Produced by The-Dream, Timbaland, J-Roc, and No I.D., “Holy Grail” appears on Jay-Z’s 2013 album Magna Carta Holy Grail.

Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for M2M Construction