Is Jay's 13th studio album a response to Beyonce's album 'Lemonade'? Is it all a marketing scheme? Or is it 100% authentic - INDEX takes you track by track through Hove's latest release '4.44'. Back in 2014, in the hours after the MET Gala in New York Beyonce, Jay Z and Solange emerged from an elevator. Seemingly normal, happy (although slightly dazed from the paparazzi) the trio left the Standard Hotel. Unbeknown to the world, moments before the elevator doors opened and the paps started snapping an event happened that would shift popular culture and be the ‘Big Bang’ behind 3 albums - ‘Lemonade’, ‘A Seat at the Table’ and the album in review - ‘4.44’. Grainy CCTV footage showed Beyonce’s sister Solange attacking Jay Z in a brutal and aggressive way. With rumours circulating of cheating, the internet was sent into meltdown as the TMZ footage spread. In his latest release since his last album ‘Magna Carter…Holy Grail’ in 2013, Hove addressed all the speculation of that night…according to him, yes - he did cheat on Beyonce with Becky. Kill Jay Z Jay Z and Kanye used to be the Kings of Rap - untouchable in their collaboration, so what went wrong? In the album opener Jay hints through Kanyesque references such as ‘Ye’ (Kanye’s nickname), the inclusion of ‘Saint’ (Kanye’s son) and the entire egotistical theme of the track. On Kanye’s album ‘The Life of Pablo’ Kanye titled a track ‘I Love Kanye’ to which he raps about himself in the third person, similar to Jay Z’s album opener. The Story of OJ With only one mention of OJ Simpson this track doesn't live up to the expected hype. Rapping more about American materialism and failed business ventures the name outlives he hype (rather like the Kardashian name that is so closely associated with OJ). The jazz style piano underneath the track is worth a notable mention. Smile Sampling Stevie Wonder the track ‘Smile’ showcases Jay’s lyrical storytelling ability alongside his wit and sampling prowess. The lyrics talk about materialism, ego and business - but they seem meaningless compared to the outro by Gloria Carter. In which the poetic lines: "The world is changing and they say it's time to be free. But you live with the fear of just being me.” close the track. Caught Their Eyes (ft. Frank Ocean) In recent times it seems that every track associated with Ocean has a Summer vibe attached and Caught Their Eyes is no different. Talking about nobility and celebrity together "Prince looked me in the eyes, told me his wishes before he died." As always it is filled with playful puns and double entrendees - went to the Eiffel and saw an eye full. In a track by track listen this is one of the strongest on the album so far - this could be because of the Ocean feature. 4.44 This track opens with future forward vocals by Hannah Williams before introducing Jay’s apologetic verses. Many have said ‘4.44’ is a response to his better half Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ album. It is easy to see why on this track with lyrics such as: "Look, I apologize, often womanise. Took for my child to be born. See through a woman's eyes Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles.” With rumours and inclinations of affairs ever since that infamous Solange/Elevator incident it seems that Jay himself has cleared up the rumours within the title track of his unfaithfulness. One must question the verisimilitude of the whole ‘Becky’ concept - is it all just a huge marketing ploy? Or are the Carter’s really airing their laundry on the paparazzi filled line? Family Feud (feat. non other than, yes, you guessed it - Beyoncé) It is no surprise then that the following track features Hove’s wife - Beyoncé, and it so happens to be titled ‘Family Feud. Lyrically this track is Jay at his most contemporary level as the track is littered with cultural references. The pairing seem strong with lines such as: ‘What’s better than one billionaire? - Two.’ whilst Beyoncé’s strong vocal harmonies of ‘Amen’ echo behind. Also, the track replies to Beyonce’s ‘Sorry’ lyrics - ‘He better call Becky with the good hair.’ with the lyric - 'Yeah, I'll fuck up a good thing if you let me. Let me alone, Becky.’ Bam (feat. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley) Despite being the latest release of 2017 this one transports us back to the early 2000’s. This sounds like the classic Hove - back to the ‘Black’ album in a sense. Collaborating with Damian Marley, ‘Bam’ combines two genres Rap and Reggae with surprising effect creating a fresh sound but still being classic. Jay shows his songwriting comical and egotistical style with lines such as: ‘I be skipping leg day, I still run the world.’ Moonlight Inspired by the mishaps of the 2016 Oscars in which ‘La La Land’ was mistakenly announced as Best Picture over ‘Moonlight’ - Jay draws on the parallels between the staleness of the music industry with vibrancy of the Academy Award Winning (albeit mistakenly at first) ‘Moonlight’. If you excuse the title of the track the rest is pretty dull - one to skip. Marcy Me ‘Marcy Me’ is a nostalgic look at Hove’s past - walking through Marcy. Once again on this track the highlight is not actually Jay himself it is his collaborator ‘The Dream’ who sings the outro of the track. Soothing sonically, this outro is a break from some of the harsh sounds in previous songs. Legacy The track opens with the vocals of 5 year old Billionaire heiress Blue Ivy Carter - ‘Daddy, what’s a will?’. On ‘Legacy’ Mr. Carter discusses exactly that - What will he leave behind? One of the most inspiring tracks on the album in which Jay Z shows how his success will help black culture with the freedom that his wealth can grant. closing the record with a Donny Hathaway sampling: "Day, someday, someday we'll all. Someday we'll all be free." Jay Z's '4.44' is available to stream on Apple Music right now.
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