Rapper Jay-Z let his music do the talking with his new album “4:44” on Friday as he addressed cheating on his wife Beyonce, the birth of his twins and this year’s Oscars best picture.
In the title track, Jay-Z admitted in his lyrics that he “often womanise”, more than a year after R&B star Beyonce first shed light on his infidelities in her album “Lemonade”.
Jay-Z pens a remorseful ode to his fractured marriage in “4:44”, rapping that it “took for my child to be born, see through a woman’s eyes” in reference to the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy.
He also mentioned their twins, who were reported to have been born this month but whose arrival has yet to be officially confirmed, saying it “took for these natural twins to believe in miracles, took me too long for this song, I don’t deserve you”.
Jay Z added: “What good is a menage a trois when you have a soul mate? You risk that for Blue? … my heart breaks for the day I had to explain my mistakes.”
Fans were left stunned last year when Beyonce made accusations in “Lemonade” that Jay Z had cheated on her, a rare crack in the seemingly perfect facade of one of the music’s highest-profile couples.
In her song “Sorry”, Beyonce referred to a mystery woman, calling her “Becky with the good hair”, which is echoed in Jay Z’s track “Family Feud”, a duet with Beyonce in which he raps “Let me alone Becky”.
“4:44” was released exclusively on premium music streaming platform Tidal, founded by Jay-Z, in partnership with U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp, which purchased a 33 percent stake in Tidal this year and made the album available via a six-month Tidal subscription to Sprint mobile customers.
It can also be heard throughout Friday across 160 U.S. radio stations on iHeartRadio, the digital music service for a network of traditional radio stations.
The 35-minute album features Blue Ivy on the track “Legacy”, in which the five-year-old asks “Daddy, what’s a will?” as the rapper expresses hope that his children use their wealth to promote “black excellence”.
In “Moonlight”, Jay Z tackles the impact of the film “La La Land” being named best picture at this year’s Oscars while in “The Story of O.J.”, the rapper explores black identity in America.
