I disagree with the threads premise. He didn't have to go study those albums and come up with 4:44, especially considering how that album is better than all of those as a huge fan of both.
Jay and Nas are Ken and Ryu of this shyt...they mirror each other, not necessarily on purpose either. They are two different people approaching similar time periods and issues in their respective lives.
A good contrast between Jay and Nas for me is a song like "Hollywood" and "Blunt Ashes". You go and tell them to write a record about the cautions of fame and that's what you get. Love both of those songs by the way.
Oh and fukk the grammys.