Jay-Z Apologizes to Beyonce, Throws Shots at Kanye on New Album
Jay-Z dropped 4:44 last night and let me tell you, as someone who stayed up until 4:44 AM to listen to it, it’s really good. It’s 47-year-old Jay-Z making a grown man album and I can’t get enough of it.
On the album, Jay’s mother comes out as a lesbian, Jay admits to cheating, laments the state of current rap, takes shots at Kanye West, and says a lot of other things that I can’t do justice to.
On the track “Smile,” which features Jay’s mom, Gloria, Jay lets the world know that his mom is a lesbian and is proud that she no longer has to hide:
Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian
Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian
Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate
Society shame and the pain was too much to take
Cried tears of joy when you fell in love
Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her
The track ends with Gloria delivering a powerful message:
Living in the shadow
Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?
In the shadows people see you as happy and free
Because that’s what you want them to see
Living two lives, happy, but not free
You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love
The world is changing and they say it’s time to be free
But you live with the fear of just being me
Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be
No harm for them, no harm for me
But life is short, and it’s time to be free
Love who you love, because life isn’t guaranteed
Smile
And, as for those cheating rumors that gave us Beyonce’s Lemonade? Yup, they were true.
You egged Solange on
Knowin’ all along, all you had to say you was wrong
You almost went Eric Benét
Let the baddest girl in the world get away
I don’t even know what else to say
N***a, never go Eric Benét !
I don’t even know what you woulda done
In the Future, other n****s playin’ football with your son
That’s the from the opening track “Kill Jay-Z.” Jay actually opens up a bit more on the title track “4:44”:
And if my children knew, I don’t even know what I would do
If they ain’t look at me the same
I would prob’ly die with all the shame
“You did what with who?”
What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate?
“You risked that for Blue?”
Even “Becky with the good hair” gets a shout out on the track “Family Feud”:
Yeah, I’ll f**k up a good thing if you let me
Let me alone Becky!
But, because I love a good rap feud, my favorite part is Jay taking shots at Kanye West. Here’s what he has to say on “Kill Jay-Z”:
I know people backstab you, I felt bad too
But this ‘f**k everybody’ attitude ain’t natural
But you ain’t a Saint, this ain’t KumbaYe
But you got hurt because you did cool by ‘Ye
You gave him 20 million without blinkin’
He gave you 20 minutes on stage, f**k was he thinkin’?
“F**k wrong with everybody?” is what you sayin’
But if everybody’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane
I don’t think Jay-Z has it in him to beef like he used to, but this man is hurt by what his brother did to him. And I’m 100 percent ready for Kanye’s response.
If you haven’t listened to 4:44, go do it. Even if you don’t like Jay-Z, you’ll like this album.