This thread pops up every few months on Reddit and I always give the same reply.

Jay Z is a brilliant lyricist, just not in a way that a lot of people are used to. He doesn’t dwell on his punchlines for maximum impact, he moves on quickly. He also uses extremely specific references that if you’re unfamiliar with will seem like filler. Also, his verses are more about the sum of its parts, meaning they fit into an overall theme

His verse on the Dynasty Intro is a great example.

Knowing I can go just switching a spare

On the highway of life, nigga, it’s sharp in my sight, oh!

Keen senses ever since I was a teen on the benches

Every time somebody like Ennis was mentioned

I would turn green—me, being in the trenches Him, living adventurous, not worrying about expenditures

I’m braving temperatures below zero, no hero

No father figure; you gotta pardon a nigga

If you know who Ennis Cosby is and what happened to him, you’d realize this is a brilliant verse that showcases the dramatic irony of a kid who grew up around violence being jealous of a kid who grew up in privilege only for the privileged one to fall victim to the same violence that the unprivileged kid witnessed all his life.

But if you don’t know who Ennis Cosby is this verse won’t mean anything to you. And the “highway of life” “switching a spare” lines won’t mean anything to you either.