4:44 by JAY Z
4:44 is the fourteenth studio album and thirteenth solo album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on June 30, 2017 through Roc Nation. The album is solely produced by No I.D. with additional production from Jay-Z. The album features guest appearances from Frank Ocean, Damian Marley, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's mother, Gloria Carter. 4:44 was released as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers, and is the first in a planned series of music exclusives from the Sprint-Tidal partnership. A physical release has been confirmed and will include the three bonus tracks. 4:44 was teased after posters were displayed in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as banner ads started appearing on the Internet. A one-minute teaser ad was aired during the NBA Finals on June 7 featuring actors Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong'o and Danny Glover, ending with "4:44 – 6.30.17, Exclusively on Tidal". On June 18 (Father's Day), a clip titled "Adnis" was posted on Sprint's YouTube page. Adnis was Jay-Z's father's name. A second teaser trailer was released on June 27 titled, "Kill Jay Z", featuring a young man with a "Stay Black" T-shirt. A third one followed on June 28 titled, "MaNyfaCedGod", featuring Lupita Nyong'o crying hysterically on the floor. No I.D. says Jay-Z approached him about working together, and initially declined. He cited feeling "uninspired" and "didn't think had anything at the time" but talks about researching Quincy Jones as inspiration to begin work with Jay-Z. It is the first time Jay-Z has worked with one producer for an album. No I.D. states he "began to play the samples like I would play an instrument." To get inspiration for 4:44, No I.D. pointed to albums such as, What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, Confessions by Usher, The Blueprint by Jay-Z, Illmatic by Nas, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West, saying he "analyzed the mistakes and tried not to make those mistakes." "4:44" was written when Jay-Z woke up one morning at 4:44 AM, and recorded at his house using Beyoncé's mic. Stereogum writer Tom Breihan calls the track, "one long, tearful, soul-ripped-open apology. In April 2016, Beyoncé, Jay-Z's wife, released her sixth studio album, Lemonade. Lyrically, it alleged that Jay-Z was unfaithful. Many critics have noted that 4:44 is a response to Lemonade, with Jay-Z referencing lines from Lemonade, such as the "You better call Becky with the good hair" line on Beyoncé's "Sorry", with Jay-Z retorting, "Leave me alone, Becky" in "Family Feud". Rolling Stone writes, "Jay-Z takes a pro-black stance, addresses intergenerational conflicts in hip-hop and talks about marital troubles after many had interpreted lines for his wife Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade as alluding to infidelity". The album contains samples such as, Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today", Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free", and Nina Simone's "Four Women" and "Baltimore". Elia Leight of Rolling Stone notes 4:44 is "sample-heavy at a time when so much of rap has moved away from that sound". Lyrically, Jay-Z touches on an array of topics such as his friendship with Kanye West, his infidelity, his mother being a lesbian, and the people in charge of Prince's estate, among others.
There are moments on <i>4:44</i> that might make you sit up and wonder why JAY-Z hasn’t been rapping like this all along. The hustler was compelling on his earlier efforts, and his ascent from the street to the boardroom changed rap. But there’s a sense of naturalness here that feels unmatched in his catalogue, the unclenched jaw that comes before a long sigh of relief. You can hear that relief on a track like “Smile,” in which he raps about seeing his mother Gloria accept her sexuality late in life. It’s a song that lets you into Jay’s family—and offers an analogy for his own experience: “In the shadows people see you as happy and free,” Gloria notes on the song’s outro. “Because that’s what you want them to see/Living two lives, happy, but not free.” Jay could no doubt relate. The benefits of keeping up the front—his career, his artistic legacy, money—had dominated Jay’s public life by the time of <i>4:44</i>. He’d spent 20 years thawing out in front of millions. And he was finally ready to be himself. And while circa-2017 JAY-Z existed on a plane high above us mere mortals, the ideas and anxieties underpinning <i>4:44</i> are surprisingly relatable. We all get to a certain age, you know. An age when transgressions feel heavier and less important to defend (“4:44”). An age when you’re proud of your achievements (“Family Feud”), yet still have days when you want to burn it all down (“Kill Jay Z”). An age when you’re wiser, for sure, and more humble in how you show it (“Legacy”)—but still stubbornly hanging onto hard conversations like a bulldog (“The Story of O.J.”). But if <i>4:44</i> is a mid-life self-portrait, it’s one that coincides with a shift toward rappers excavating their personal messes as a show of artistic nerve. The consistency of the sound—soulful, understated, classic but interestingly fragmented—doesn’t just provide the album with a spine. It tells you that we’re all in one head, sharing one living, breathing perspective. For listeners familiar with <i>The Sopranos</i>, think of Tony squirming in Dr. Melfi’s chair. For everyone else, think of the middle-aged man who laughs because he’s too nervous to cry, and who knows he isn’t fooling anyone—and then, when you least expect it, lets it all go.
