couple of weeks after Beyoncé reportedly
gave birth to twins — though the family has
yet to release an official statement — Jay- Z
dropped his 13 th solo album. “ 4 : 44 ” debuted
Thursday night at midnight on the rapper ’ s
music streaming platform , Tidal , and the
Internet has buzzed about it all morning . We
know you have questions , so let ’ s get started.
How long have we known about “4 :44 ”?
That ’ s a complicated first question , friend.
The Carters are known for shrouding
upcoming projects in mystery, and “ 4 : 44 ”
was no exception. Peach - colored ads with a
bold “ 4: 44 ” began to pop up in New York
and on the Web in early June , and nobody
had a clue what it meant . Was it a biblical
verse , or perhaps someone ’ s favorite time of
day? Internet detectives traced it to Tidal ,
though , which is when the Jay- Z album
rumors started to float. Tidal then aired a
teaser trailer starring Mahershala Ali and
Lupita Nyong ’ o during the NBA Finals on
June 7 , which led everyone to believe it was
a film.
It wasn’ t until early last week that “ 4 : 44 ” was
confirmed as an album that would be
available exclusively to Tidal subscribers or
Sprint customers .
What's the main takeaway from the album ?
Hov ’ s all grown up . The title track of “ 4: 44 ”
is being interpreted as an apology to Beyoncé ,
as he appears to own up to the
infidelity Beyoncé seemed to condemn in her
album “ Lemonade ” and lament his absence
during critical moments of their
relationship . In an interview with
iHeartRadio , Jay- Z described the song as “ the
crux” of the album, and says it was written at
4: 44 a . m.
“ 4 : 44 ” explores other aspects of the rapper ’ s
personal life as well . His mother , Gloria
Carter , comes out as a lesbian on the track
“ Smile , ” in which he says she “ had to pretend
so long that she’ s a thespian . ”
“ Had to hide in the closet , so she medicate /
Society shame and the pain was too much to
take, ” he raps . “ Cried tears of joy when you
fell in love / Don ’ t matter to me if it ’ s a him or
her . ”
What does this tell us about Beyoncé and Jay - Z’ s
relationship ?
They’ ve been through the wringer , but they
persevered . Emily Nussbaum , the New
Yorker ’ s TV critic , put it well :
What ’ s the deal with those capital letters ?
Jay- Z also revealed this month that he was
changing the stylization of his name from Jay
Z to JAY- Z , much to the annoyance of copy
editors everywhere . ( The Washington Post ’ s
style is to refer to the rapper as “ Jay- Z . ”)
We ’ re not sure whether this changes his
nickname — has “ Jay” been replaced with the
much louder “ JAY”? — but we ’ ve
encountered this issue before. The rapper has
also been referred to as Hov , Jigga , Shawn
Carter and Blue Ivy’ s dad .
What ’ s that I heard about Kanye West ?
Ah , yes. It’ s been almost six years since the
frequent collaborators — and , now , potential
frenemies — Jay- Z and Kanye West put out
their triumphant work “ Watch The Throne . ”
During a Sacramento concert last December ,
West called out Beyoncé and Jay- Z , among
others , and ended the performance early .
“ Beyoncé — I was hurt … because I heard
that you said you wouldn ’ t perform unless
you won Video of the Year over me and over
‘ Hotline Bling , ’” he said about the 2016 MTV
Video Music Awards , according to
Entertainment Weekly. “ Sometimes we be
playing the politics too much and forget who
we are just to win . ”
He later added , “ I ’ ve been sent here to give
y’ all my truth even at the risk of my own life,
even at the risk of my own success , my own
career. I ’ ve been sent here to give y’ all the
truth . Jay- Z — call me, bruh . You still ain’ t
called me. Jay- Z , call me, Jay- Z — I know you
got killers. Please don ’ t send them at my
head. Just call me. Talk to me like a man . ”
On the “ 4 : 44 ” track “ Kill Jay Z , ” which
presumably also refers to the rapper ’ s
stylistic name change , Jay- Z responds .
“ I know people backstab you , I felt bad too/
But this ‘ f — everybody ’ attitude ain’ t
natural, ” he raps . “ But you ain’ t a Saint , this
ain’ t KumbaYe / But you got hurt because you
did cool by ‘ Ye. ”
How can I listen to “4 :44 ”?
That ’ s a right reserved for Tidal subscribers
or Sprint customers only . Tidal offers a six -
month free trial , though . Or, you could
switch to Sprint — the Verizon guy did it .
(iHeartRadio will also stream the album on
its website and a few radio stations
nationwide at various times on Friday. )
Enjoy!!
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