Jay-Z: Sell Out. Beyoncé: Sold Out.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are having a pretty spectacular year. Dropping her self-titled fifth album seemingly out of nowhere, Beyoncé attempted—and likely succeeded—to revolutionize the pop music industry. More importantly, she inspired several Housing Day videos, including Winthrop’s incredible “Love on Throp” and Kirkland’s slightly less astounding, though certainly interesting in its own regard, “Flawless.”

Jay-Z did not do too badly either. After signing a promotional deal with Samsung, Jay-Z released his 12th studio album, “Magna Carta…Holy Grail,” with much mainstream success; the album went platinum in its first week. He also hopped on some of the hottest tracks of the year, including Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie,” Drake’s “Pound Cake,” and his wife’s “Drunk in Love.” Most importantly, though, he is still married to Beyoncé, which is an accomplishment in itself.

But how the heck are they married? I don’t mean from a pure looks perspective—there are very few men good-looking enough to date Beyoncé—but from a music perspective. Though both artists released albums within the past year, their approach to their respective albums, both musically and commercially, could not have been more different.

Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta…Holy Grail,” released on July 4, was the epitome of a commercial album. Backed by a $5 million Samsung deal and a massive TV campaign, Jay-Z’s album was mass-marketed and featured a commercial with Rick Rubin, Timbaland, and Pharrell, among others. Ultimately, though, the hype leading up to the project’s release came across as a promotional stunt. To many, the album’s gaudy partnership with a corporation was surprisingly uncool for the cigar-smoking rap god Jay-Z.

The release of Beyoncé’s most recent album was entirely different. Without any warning, Queen Bey dropped her self-titled fifth album. Popping up as an iTunes exclusive album around midnight on Dec. 13, the album quickly gained steam on social media and news outlets. Critics praised Beyoncé’s groundbreaking, hyper-minimalist publicity strategy, which not only included her uncovetional album drop but also correspondingly simple album art. Beyoncé took an enormous leap of faith, and it paid off with one of the most exciting album releases in recent memory.

The power couple’s publicity strategies were not, however, the only area in which the artists took drastically different approaches; the quality of music on Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s respective albums also greatly varied. Beyoncé’s album was one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of 2013, selling over 3 million copies around the globe and receiving top-notch reviews from Pitchfork, Spin, and the New York Times.  Beyoncé’s newfound and innovative minimalist approach to production didn’t hinder the album from having radio hits, including the infectiously catchy “Drunk in Love,” “Partition,” and “XO.” After a few listens, Beyoncé’s self-titled album is not only her most refreshing and innovative; it is also perhaps the best album of her career.

Jay-Z’s album, on the other hand, was remarkably lacking in originality. Despite featuring an incredibly talented cast of producers and a few memorable guest features, “Magna Carta…Holy Grail” was ultimately forgettable save for a few songs (particularly “Holy Grail” featuring Justin Timberlake, which plays in the Winthrop dining hall every day at lunch. Every. Single. Day.). While it’s not quite as bad as some of his other recent albums, “Magna Carta…Holy Grail” sounds somewhat like an album thrown together at the last minute to earn a major corporate sponsorship.

Indeed, it’s painfully unfortunate that Jay-Z has let his business aspirations seep into his artistic career. Of course, Jay-Z’s deep interest in business does not come as much of a shock; back in 2005, Jay-Z rapped, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man. Let me handle my business, damn.” But Jay Z’s turn to corporate-backed music is precisely what diminished the quality of his music.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s separate careers reveal that music is much more inspiring and natural when it’s largely removed from the influence of the business world. By separating herself more from outside corporate influence, Beyoncé afforded herself both the luxury of time and artistic freedom. Not only did she gain credibility by dropping an album with virtually no outside corporate hype, but her album was likely better because of that independence.

Of course, corporate publicity is not necessarily a bad thing. But when Jay-Z partnered up with Samsung specifically for an album release, he quite possibly reduced his own artistic freedom. Furthermore, the business-savvy Jay-Z had much less financial drive to create an album that could sell well. Of course, it’s hard to blame him. Who would turn down $5 million to make an album?

Yet Jay-Z’s songs and albums—with lyrics about the hardships of fame and wealth—lose some bite and profound meaning when they are sponsored by enormous corporate deals. Despite Jay-Z’s suave presence in pop culture, Beyoncé is the cooler and more musically interesting, innovative, and creative artist. But with the two of them raking in so much money and so many Grammy Awards, maybe I should just let Jay-Z handle his business, damn.