4:44
Finally! A new album from Jay-Z.
So Jay released his 13th studio album titled, "4:44" on June 30th. From my listening ears, it's an album that represents the growth and somewhat evolution of who Jay-Z is. At some point throughout the album, it seems as though the man behind the character was having a 'finding yourself' moment. Egos are stripped away and a vulnerability aspect is presented. The album speaks to certain points in this one man's life. It seems he realises that the haunting issues from his past, helped to play a part in his issues presently. This allows him to pretty much wake up and start taking responsibility because he only now understands that everything is at stake unless there is some kind of change.
I sat with the album for a week to give it an honest listen and I'll share my breakdown of each song.
1. KILL JAY Z - The album opens up with Jay basically shunning his ego. It's like the person who is Shawn (Jay's real name) is trying to say his side of things for once and the only way to do that is by getting rid of this giant off his back. The character Jay Z we know as this person who is on top of the world. That person is usually described as arrogant or cocky; this untouchable force to be reckoned with. But now the person behind all of that wants to show that there is more to him than that high on life person. I like that this is the first song because it definitely set the tone for the rest of the album.
2. THE STORY OF O.J. - I love the Nina Simone sample that was used. In this song, he talks about status and being a black person (I think black male specifically) in this country. In only a few words saying that no matter what your identified status is as a black person, at the end of the day you will always be seen as worthless and less of a person or human being in the eyes of society and the majority. He also talks about seeing poor practices with money and tried to offer some wisdom on how to stop giving what little we do have away and use it build us and communities. I like this song a lot. It speaks to the thing that we want the most for ourselves, which is financial stability; which I think is pretty much the key to most of our individual problems. A great song with a lot of gems.
3. SMILE - On this song, he talks about a bunch of things. He makes a nod to his recent induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame - which is a great honour considering his style of writing. He also touches on the legalisation of Marijuana and how black people are being denied in starting up businesses in the field. If you know what's happening around you, you'd understand why it is an important matter; not because it's coming from him, but because it is a serious problem within the black community and elsewhere. I think the most standout part of the song, was him revealing that his mother is a lesbian. I remember seeing on Twitter, people were surprised that a lot of us didn't know that small fact. Regarding his mother, he shares a little about her struggle and how who she loves is of no great importance, he just cares that she's happy. The end of the song features his mother reciting a beautiful poem, reminding us to smile and be happy while we still have breath in our bodies.
4. CAUGHT THEIR EYES (Feat. Frank Ocean) - I like this song. Frank has always delivered as a feature. He talks about the two-faced ways of the music industry. Not much to talk about except that whole situation with Prince and how the people running the show after he died screwed him over and went against his wishes all to make a dollar. It happens all the time when artists or other creatives die and the greedy people who take over always do the most to make as much money as they can.
5. 4:44 - The title track, Jay-Z puts all of his business out there. He admits to being unfaithful to Beyonce and to causing her a lot of pain within their entire relationship. He breaks down and apologises for all he's done. He talks about how Beyoncé left him before because of his reckless behaviour and how he had to get it together real quick or else he would have been a without a wife and family. The song is very self-explanatory and you can listen to it to get the full details for yourself. I will say I'm not surprised to hear about the cheating because I low-key think we knew, we just weren't completely sure. The shock factor is that both him and Beyonce so openly talked about it. They're usually very private, so this new direct way of spilling the beans is pretty interesting. And I feel like it must have been some serious shit happening over there if they both decided to talk about it. You can only hold on to hurt and negative feels for so long. I'm guessing the fighting between them is over now and they're in a much better place. I wish them the best.
6. FAMILY FEUD (Feat. Beyoncé) - Another song that has a lot of grown gems that you can learn from on it. The main reason I like this song is, of course, Beyoncé in the background. I've been saying for a long time now that I want a gospel-ish, inspirational album from Beyoncé because I truly feel like it would change my life. Hearing her with them "Amen"s got me feeling like giving my life over to God and I appreciate it, I truly do. The sample that was used is really good too.
7. BAM (Feat. Damian "Jr Gong" Marley) - My personal favourite song on the album, for obvious reasons. They sampled Sister Nancy's iconic song "Bam Bam" and another old school song to make this record. The song slaps. I can see it being a highlight when performed on tour (By the way, who's going and which one of ya'll wanna take me???) One of my favourite parts of the song is when Jay says "Fuck all this pretty Shawn Carter shit, n*gga HOV". It wouldn't be a Jay-Z album without some ignorant shit on there and this song is just that. Jr Gong delivers his feature, of course, helping to bring the song alive. I feel like Jay sought out this feature for more personal reasons. It all ties back into the whole finding yourself aspect, but I could be wrong and reading too much into shit.
8. MOONLIGHT - This song makes a nod to the whole debacle that happened at the Oscars when Moonlight won the award for Best Picture but it got announced that the movie La La Land won and then they realised it was wrong and gave Moonlight the award. It was a whole thing, but that's what he's talking about amongst other things. I think this song also kinda connects to The Story of O.J. a little bit, just in terms of the messages, they co-relate in a sense.
9. MARCY ME - He talks about where he's from, his birthplace in Brooklyn. Mostly reminiscing on who he was and his life at the time and basically talking about where it all started from. I got that even though he's no longer physically there, he'll never forget where he's from because that's the place that made him who he is and he'd never change it. I think a lot of us can relate to that. No matter where we go in our lives, we'll always rep where we're from because that's where we learned some of our life lessons, things that helped to be the people we are, good or bad.
10. LEGACY - Blue sounds so cute asking her dad about a will. This song talks about building a family legacy and establishing generational wealth for his children and their families in the future. You can tell this sort of this is very important to Jay as it is mentioned repeatedly throughout the album. He dives into some more personal stories about his life and the life of those around him. It shows how the past bubbles over into the present and how he had to deal and cope with the situation in order to find some clarity to move forward in his life.
I give the album 8/10. I do plan on buying the physical album, one because it's a good body of work and two, I'm trying to have a copy of Blue Ivy freestyling with me forever. I heard it on Twitter and to be honest, I'm a fan. I'm truly ready and waiting for her album. Can you imagine that when she gets older she can sing like her mother and rap like her father? The world would not be ready. Outside of Blue's awesomeness, I really enjoyed the album. It shows another side of Jay-Z; one that's more honest than usual and a little softer. I like it better than the last one he put out. It has a vibe to it that I can rock with, which is good. Hopefully, he won't until he's having another kid to put another album out.
Until then.