Jay-Z’s Latest Album ‘4:44’ Has Arrived

After years of speculating whether or not Jay-Z would release another album, that day has arrived.

At midnight EST, Jay-Z’s newest album 4:44 was released exclusively on Tidal. In addition, the album is available to Sprint users as they will receive 6 months of Tidal free when signing up for the streaming service.

The album, which is Jay-Z’s 13th, is 10 tracks long and produced solely by No I.D.. While the tracklisting may seem rather short, Mr. Carter did not disappoint.

The album begins with the track “Kill Jay Z,” which sees Jay weaving through thoughts of feeling undesirable, untrustworthy, and the want to do better as a parent given the situation he was raised in.

“Kill Jay-Z, they’ll never love you/You’ll never be enough Let’s just keep it real, JAY-Z
Fuck JAY-Z, I mean, you shot your own brother/How can we know if we can trust JAY-Z?”

Despite the subject matter, there is no need to believe Jay is in an unstable place mentally. In an interview with iHeartRadio’s The Beat, Jay-Z not only explained what the song “Kill Jay Z” is all about but the place internally it came from.

“The first song is called ‘Kill JAY-Z’ and obviously, it’s not to be taken literal. It’s really about the ego. It’s about killing off the ego, so we can have this conversation in a place of vulnerability and honesty.”

While some tracks on the album are introspective in their relation to Jay, others are rooted on what he sees from sitting atop the hip-hop world. As per usual, his flare for being able to kick game as a narrator to the listener is just as golden as a bottle of Ace of Spades.

On the second track of the album, titled “The Story of O.J.“, Jay raps about the hip-hop culture and how playing chess and not checkers will be better in the long run.

I told him, “Please don’t die over the neighborhood, That your mama renting/Take your drug money and buy the neighborhood, That’s how you rinse it”

Take a look at “The Story of O.J.” below.

Throughout 4:44 Jay touches upon his internal thoughts of the culture, maturation through adulthood, marriage, and parenthood, as well as the Oscars Best Picture mishap from earlier this year.

It may remain undecided for sometime whether this album from Jay is worthy of being in his top 5. One thing is for certain: whenever he does drop, the world stands still.

What do you think of 4:44? Let us know in the comment section below!

Related Articles:

https://respect-mag.com/2017/06/444-jay-z-tidal-sprint/

https://respect-mag.com/2017/05/jay-z-beyonce-billion/

#Jay-Z

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Melvin Taylor II

Melvin Taylor II is a writer, producer, host, actor, and Chicago native living the New York City dream. He studied education and journalism at Knox College and writing at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) New York and The Magnet Theater. His writing is grounded in the experiences of being from the south side of Chicago while also juggling careers there and in the Big Apple for multiple years. He currently hosts his radio show #TheAltWithMel on WHCR 90.3FM-NY every Monday night at 11:55pm EST. Additionally, his weekly YouTube videos have garnered over 2 million views. You can find him monthly at The Magnet Theater and UCB-NY performing improv and sketch comedy or writing for RESPECT Magazine. Find him everywhere: @MelvinTaylorii