I listen to his new to date materiel and find myself totally amazed at his lyrics and ability to stay relevant after 15 years in the industry, but every time I go back to his older material I realise he was more than just amazing back then, he was the god of lyrics and the master of telling a story.
I wasn't happy with him working with Rihanna, in his early days he would have been dissing the hell out of her and now his working with her repeatedly. Give it a rest.