It looked as though Jay-Z's next album already had the number one spot wrapped up before it was even released, however the powers at the Official UK Chart have decided that if Jay-Z wants a number one album he's going to have to do it the old fashion way; by selling Magna Carta Holy Grail, rather than just giving it away.

The rapper signed a $5 million deal with phone manufacturers Samsung to provide fans with early access to his upcoming album as well as a free download to the rapper/businessman's newest release. Samsung has purchased a million copies of the album that will be distributed amongst a million Samsung smartphone users on July 4th and should the free downloads count in the charts then it will all but guaranteed it a place at No. 1. Only thing is, now that this won't be the case in the UK, will other countries follow suit?

The Official Charts Company said this week: “Music which consumers receive free of charge, either as physical releases or downloads, have never counted towards the Official Charts and this release will be no different. Legitimate purchases of Jay-Z's album will count, however, as usual.”

Jay unveiled the plans for Magna Carta Holy Grail during the weekend's NBA Championship Game when he aired a behind-the-scenes trailer for the album. The promo only teased a few songs from the album, but it did give us a look at some of the collaborators on the release, including Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beats and Timbaland. Yes, we agree, the album should be call JeHova.

The new album will be out July 4 for the lucky Samsung users and the app will be available to use June 24. The album is officially released on July 7, but with his new ploy it's likely that the album will be available for free for everyone a few hours after it becomes available for the Samsung users (thank you internet).

Jay Z NBA
Jay has already been paid for 1 million sales, but they wont count as legitimate sales in the Album Chart

Shawn Carter Meeting
The album will compete with Kanye West's Yeezus