On June 30th, 2017 we were graced by an album the culture needed but was not prepared for.

Veteran rapper, husband of the Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, father of Blue Ivy Carter (and now a set of twins), Jay-Z (Sean Carter) released his 13th studio album, 4:44, that spoke volumes and shook tables throughout social media. The release of the album had followed the latest trend of using very little promotion time to hype up the project. 4:44 was exclusively released on the streaming service Tidal but eventually made available through other platforms such as iTunes.

At the surface of the album, one can see it addresses Jay-Z allegedly cheating and being remorseful. In the album title song, "4:44" lyrics state:

"I seen the innocence leave your eyes I still mourn this death and I apologize for all the stillborns 'Cause I wasn't present, your body wouldn't accept it.." - Jay-Z (4:44-4:44)

This could allude to the couples previous miscarriage, as the stress from Jay-Z allegedly not being faithful lead to complications during the pregnancy.

Jay-Z has various layers on this album as he talks about the importance of being a family man for his children & maturing overtime. In such songs as "Family Feud" and "Legacy". "Family Feud" also addresses situations in hip hop like recent cases of Joe Budden attacking the new generation of rappers and how fighting within doesn't help the culture. Ultimately the feuding within the family leads to a disconnect, that hurts future generations in the long run.

He also throws in some social awareness with "The Story of O.J.", a personal favorite of mine, that very openly addresses the issues of colorism & other prejudice within the black community. The song obviously references a very infamous trial of a black athlete being prosecuted for the murder of his white wife. The song addresses that no matter how much privilege one thinks they have they will always been seen as an "N" word to society.

4:44 Track list With Rating

1. Kill Jay Z 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. The Story of O.J. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. Smile ft. Gloria Carter 🌟🌟🌟
4. Caught Their Eyes ft. Frank Ocean 🌟🌟🌟
5. 4:44🌟🌟🌟 🌟🌟
6. Family Feud 🌟🌟🌟🌟 🌟
7. Bam ft. Damian Marley 🌟🌟🌟
8. Moonlight 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
9. Marcy Me🌟🌟🌟
10. Legacy🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟