JAY-Z made his return to music on Friday (June 30) dropping his first solo album in four years exclusively on TIDAL.
In comments made to iHeartRadio, a network he partnered with to play the album on repeat for 24 hours straight, JAY gave the fans some behind-the-scenes info on each track.
Read on for his track-by-track breakdown.
“4:44”
“‘4:44’ is a song that I wrote, and it’s the crux of the album, just right in the middle of the album. And I woke up, literally, at 4:44 in the morning, 4:44 AM, to write this song. So it became the title of the album and everything. It’s the title track because it’s such a powerful song, and I just believe one of the best songs I’ve ever written.”
“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.”
“Caught The Eye”
“‘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.'”
“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.”
“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?'”
“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.”Â
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Funny he calls this insight with zero to say about his cheating ways.
Actually, that’s what the title track is about. Why don’t you listen to the music before forming an opinion?
They don’t listen to music, they just skim through it.
Did you read the read the article 2 Stooges? He did not say a damn thing about where he stuck his dick during his breakdown.
Do your research…
he could just say: is boring personal stuff
How you know it’s boring if you’re not gonna listen to it? Do you listen to music or skim through it? Idiot.
This guy is so overrated.
“Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?”
this site needs more articles about this jagoff. is it fuckin national dick ride jay day?
uhmmm, where do you get the assumption nas is my hero? need a tissue? of course someone like you will consider him king cause you only know whats on the radio. sad little man.
I know who you are.
k. should i be worried or where you goin with this? should i cut your face off and wear it while i fuck your mom and dad? wait. do you know who you are?
“JAY-Z Breaks Down Every Song On 4:44 For All The Dummies” is what the headline should read. All real King HOV fans know what he’s talking about.
“Eminem murdered you on your own shit”
exactly. and has he ever done a track with him since? 😀
Is that you em?
uhm, since he likely doesnt hit this site, how should i answer that?
Eminem murders everyone on their own shit!!
Yea that kinda kills the fun. Btw he and 50 went bar for bar on “Psycho”. That was a dope track
First of all, “Renegade” wasn’t King HOV’s song to begin with. It was a collaboration between Royce and Eminem. Then Em erased Royce’s vocals for some reason(beef, I’m assuming) then let King HOV buy the beat with Eminem’s verses still on it and spit over it for his album. If it was a new beat with new Eminem verses, then that would be a stronger debate. Second, what’s worse, being out-rapped by Eminem or being out-rapped by your bodyguard?
lol @ you new heads obsessed with Jay & Nas still after 20 years of wack music.
All I see is “yea this track is what it is” and “it’s really what the title says”. What makes it a breakdown?
ask fuck queensbridge. he has jayz in his lungs. either from ridin that hard or suckin that hard.
Nah got jay z balls in his mouth lmao
He sucks harder than this breakdown lmao
Cant twerk too this you lil dumb fucks…….respect greatness