JAY-Z’s new album 4:44 shows that the legendary rapper still has it; in fact, JAY-Z is where he’s always been—on another level. The 13th studio album by the all-time great is one of JAY-Z’s most personal—likely the most personal since very early in his career. 4:44 is basically 36+ minutes of commentary from JAY-Z on a number of subjects, including his life as a near-billionaire.
The album starts with the track, “Kill Jay Z”. In an interview with iHeart Radio, the rapper explains that “it’s about killing off the ego, so we can have this conversation in a place of vulnerability and honesty.” The opening to the song (and album) starts:
“Kill Jay Z, they’ll never love you
You’ll never be enough, let’s just keep it real, Jay Z
F— Jay Z, I mean, you shot your own brother
How can we know if we can trust Jay Z?”
He instantly brings memories to his early life before rap and an event that we were privy to from his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, on the track “You Must Love Me”, when he explained he shot his brother in the shoulder over basically nothing. The track is filled with references and insight from the past, setting up the entire album.
In another sense, the title “Kill Jay Z” also has to do with JAY-Z recently changing his name from Jay Z (he originally changed it to Jay Z, dropping the hyphen, around the time of his last album, the 2013 Magna Carta Holy Grail).
Also, JAY-Z seems to have distanced himself further from Kanye West. Looking at JAY-Z versus West is quite the juxtaposition, and at this point, JAY-Z might not want Kanye to bring him down. After all, JAY-Z read 48 Laws of Power and Law 10 is to avoid the unhappy and unlucky.
“The Story of O.J.” is the second song of the album, and yes, the “O.J.” is O.J. Simpson, the former star running back that many people believe killed his wife. While JAY-Z sarcastically pokes fun and indifference towards O.J. famously saying, “I’m not black, I’m O.J.,” it’s sort of in line with the song.
The next track, “Smile”, goes over both the good and the bad that comes with life. JAY-Z talks about getting rejected by the record labels back when he was trying to get on in the 1990’s, but now he’s “Hall of Fame Hov” and set to put “a billion on the board.” He might not be where he’s at now without going through some of the tough times: “Appreciate the pain, it’s a blessin’”. The third verse is long one that he explains how he runs things now; the verse seems effortless for the genius that is JAY-Z.
In “Caught Their Eyes”, Hov makes a reference to having “eyes wide shut” for the second straight album. It’s almost a track that expresses how much JAY Z stays “woke.” He’s laser focused (you can just hear it is his tone) and it’s showing with his recent business deals—and his music remaining great.
As JAY-Z tells iHeart Radio, the song “4:44” is “the crux of the album, just right in middle of the album.” After all, it’s the title track of the album. JAY-Z says he woke up 4:44 in the morning to write the song (that explains the name of the album) and that it’s “one of the best” songs he’s ever written. It’s basically an open letter and confession to Beyonce for cheating on her, and it’s one of JAY-Z’s most personal songs ever.
JAY-Z then directs his commentary to rap more specifically, with “Family Fued”. He talks of rappers needing to come together, while also hitting some of the new school rappers (calling them that might be an insult to those like JAY-Z) for being whack. JAY-Z also gets in a Godfather reference, showing that he still references movies better than any other musician ever.
“Bam” is a banger with JAY-Z flexing, while delivering one of the best parts of the album with excellent word play as usual:
“Uh, y’all make me turn up all this talkin’ down
Uh, ****** is skippin’ leg day just to run they mouth
I be skippin’ leg day, I still run the world”
As explained in the interview with iHeart Radio, “Moonlight” is a “subtle nod” to when La La Land won the Oscar and then it turned out to be a mistake and Moonlight actually won. It’s parallel to the progress JAY-Z himself has made as being a top-level business man as he’s made nearly a billion dollars, including uncommon deals with Samsung and Sprint in the past few years.
“Marcy Me” is a nostalgic song for JAY-Z, as he’s from Marcy. It’s almost like Hov is looking back at his 1997 song “Where I’m From” and looking back to do a current day—a lot of experiences and millions later—version.
4:44 ends with the tenth track, “Legacy”. While JAY-Z’s rap legacy is not in any question whatsoever, as he’s been an all-time great musician and this album did nothing but solidify that, this is, as JAY-Z explains, a will. It’s also a look at what’s going to happen after he’s inevitably gone. JAY-Z no doubt has set up his family (and not just his immediate family) for a comfortable life without him, and there’s a lot he can leave them. While because of him, his family is set, JAY-Z’s legacy is far reaching and will be remembered forever.
In a time where rap music is getting worse, this JAY-Z album was needed. No I.D. produced every single track of 4:44 and delivered on every one. It was refreshing to hear JAY-Z stay away from politics in a time where the “cool” thing to do is to whine or attack the other side. It was also refreshing that the album was under 40 minutes. More music from JAY-Z would have been great and accepted, but it was right to the point and felt like the perfect length for his project.
4:44, like Magna Carta Holy Grail before it, shows that while Hov might not put out music close to as often as earlier in his career, when he does put it out it’s still great. For someone that started his career 21 years ago with the classic Reasonable Doubt, JAY-Z is somehow still in his prime—he’s just that good.
There simply aren’t many people out there like JAY-Z. He’s a special and gifted person with a photographic memory, putting those gifts to use. He’s made two separate business deals with both Samsung and Sprint on his last two albums, and he is in a tenable position as someone that owns his own streaming company and record label.
Hopefully we get more music from JAY-Z a few years from now. It’s not like it wouldn’t be great. But 4:44 would be a fitting end if JAY-Z decides to call it quits.
4:44 grade: A
straight fire
crazy good 36 mins of music
One of the best albums I’ve ever heard…. Hov ….. back on his shit