It’s been four years since the world experienced a new JAY-Z album and today (June 30) has already been quite a treat. Following a strategic campaign that saw promo ads spread across major cities and primetime television commercials, JAY-Z’s 13th studio album is here.
Jay-Z’s new album ‘4:44’ has officially arrived
At midnight, the Roc Nation giant released 4:44 , his latest studio LP, on Sprint and Tidal’s platforms to much fanfare.
But before theories and fan breakdowns flood the net, Jigga took it upon himself to deliver a play by play for the 10 songs on the album. In an exclusive with iHeartRadio, which will be playing on-air every hour until July 1st, JAY-Z explains the meaning behind every track off 4:44. See below:
“Kill JAY-Z”
“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.“
“The Story of OJ”
“‘The Story of OJ’ is really a song about we as a culture, having a plan, how we’re gonna push this forward. We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger.”
“Smile”
“‘Smile’ is just what it is. There are gonna be bad times, and those bad times can do two things: they can get you in a place where you’re stuck in a rut, or it can make your future that much better because you’ve experienced these things.“
“Caught Their Eyes”
“‘Caught The Eye’ is a song that’s dealing with just being aware of your surroundings. There’s a line in it, and it says, ‘Your body language is all remedial, how could you see the difference between you and I?’ Just being so sharp about your surroundings.“
“Family Feud”
“‘Family Feud’ is about separation within the culture. Like, new rappers fighting with old rappers, saying all these things. So, the line is, ‘Nobody wins when the family feuds.’“
“Bam”
“The song ‘Bam’ with Damian Marley, it’s just jammin’, it’s just like the song. But it’s secretly Shawn Carter saying, ‘Man, you need a bit of ego.’ It was because of me and the things that I’ve done, this is JAY-Z saying you needed a bit of ego for us to arrive at this point.“
“Moonlight”
“The hook is ‘We stuck in La La Land/Even if we win, we gonna lose.’ It’s like a subtle nod to La La Land winning the Oscar, and then having to give it to Moonlight. It’s really a commentary on the culture and where we’re going.“
“Marcy Me”
“‘Marcy Me’ is a nostalgic walk through Marcy, and it’s about that hopefulness, that feeling of ‘Man, can I really do this? Can I really be one of the biggest artists in the world?’ You have these dreams, ‘Can I be one of the biggest basketball players?’ We have these dreams.“
“Legacy”
“The song is just about what it is, it’s like a verbal will. Just a song about speaking to my daughter. She starts the song off, and she says ‘Daddy, what’s a will?’“
For those who don’t have Tidal and Sprint, the album will be Roc Nation, iHeartMedia and JAY-Z teamed up to for a one-of-a-kind historic radio launch of 4:44, which will be premiered in full on the air to tens of millions of listeners nationwide on more than 160 Pop, Rhythm and Urban stations with a record-breaking 43 million total audience spins.