keeping up with the Carters...Beyoncé & Jay Z

Say what you want about the Carters. A lot of people don't like them...but there are more that do like them. And they are loved by more than a few.

The Carters...Shawn Carter (Jay Z) and his wife Beyoncé Carter.

And their daughter, Blue Ivy.

2013 has been a great year for them.

Jay Z's latest album, "Magna Carta Holy Grail," wasn't popular among music critics. But the promotion of the album, his 12th, has been a intriguing ride to say the least.

First there was the unveiling of a massive, $5 million business deal he secured with Samsung, in which the telecom company bought 1 million copies to be released a few days early through an exclusive Samsung app. The maneuver caused the RIAA to change its rules on how it counted its album sales and "Magna Carta Holy Grail" went platinum before the album was even officially released.

More than just the $5 million upfront, it got people talking about the album – which was announced only a few weeks ahead of its release, in a summer already packed with big rap albums from Kanye West, Wale and J. Cole – without hearing much of anything about its actual music. The fact that business story trumped all early buzz for the album had some feeling cynical. No matter, the deal gave Jay-Z the best first week sales of his career.

Beyoncé has managed to outdo her husband.

Last Friday, Beyoncé dropped her new self titled album, Beyoncé, with NO marketing and no promotion on iTunes. The move set social media on fire across the globe. She broke some ground with her straight-to-iTunes surprise album, and now she is also reaping the benefits of her strategy.

According to Billboard, the self-titled album "is all but guaranteed a No. 1 debut."

On Monday, iTunes announced the album has become the fast-selling worldwide on its site "with an unprecedented 828,773 albums sold in just its first three days." "Beyoncé," which is the superstar's fifth studio album, also broke iTunes' first-week sales record in the United States, with more than 600,000 copies sold.

Most artists WISHED they could sell they could sell music like this. The Carters are ahead of the curve. I'm a HUGE Jay Z fan and I was amazed at the marketing of his album. I didn't like the album. I thought it ranks as one of his worst. But that doesn't take away from what he accomplished. Conversely, I'm not a fan of Mrs. Carter. I can't name 10 songs that she's done. However, I respect her hustle as an artist. I gained a new found respect for her after viewing an HBO documentary on her this summer. I think they are a great couple. One of the things that impresses me most about them is that we know very little about their marriage. They don't speak on it publicly. Rarely do they speak about their love for each other. It's hard for most of us to keep others out of our business...I can't imagine how hard it is for them.

Like them or not...the Carter Administration ain't going anywhere.