7 burning questions about Jay-Z’s new album
7 BURNING QUESTIONS WE HAVE ABOUT JAY-Z’S NEW ALBUM
Jay-Z is back for an encore. The rap titan is making a long-awaited comeback with his 14th album, 4:44, which will be exclusively released to Sprint customers and Tidal subscribers Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET. It’s his first full-length effort since 2013’s
Magna Carta Holy Grail, which weathered a messy Samsung-sponsored roll-out to sell 2.1 million equivalent album units to date, according to Nielsen Music. But with scant details revealed about the imminent release, and no information about when the album will be available outside of Sprint and Tidal, fans have been left to speculate about what’s in store on 4:44. We take a stab at some of the biggest questions.
1 WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE?
Sean and Beyoncé KnowlesCarter, his wife of nine years, have a long-standing connection to the No. 4: his birthday is Dec. 4, hers is Sept. 4, April 4 is their wedding anniversary, and she titled her 2011 album 4. But 4:44 could also be a nod to the couple’s good friend Barack Obama, the 44th president of the USA.
That might “speak to what we can expect in terms of the content of the album, this combination of personal, introspective (music), but also wider political commentary,” says Erik Nielson, an associate professor at the University of Rich- mond, where he teaches classes on hip-hop culture and African American literature. “He seems to be devoted to Barack Obama, so one of the things I’m curious about is what he does and doesn’t say about Obama’s successor,” Donald Trump.
2 HOW POLITICAL WILL HE GET?
Socially conscious hip-hop has made a resurgence in the years since Magna Carta, with rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Run the Jewels shedding light on mass incarceration and racism. Jay-Z released one-off track Spiritual last summer, which tackled police brutality, and hit the campaign trail with
Hillary Clinton — a noticeable course-correction after Harry Belafonte said in 2012 that the rapper and his wife “turned their back on social responsibility.”
“I am curious to what extent he wades into those political waters,” Nielson says. “I expect if he does, it will be biting and clever. That’s something he’s very good at.” But historically, “he seems more interested in capitalizing on business trends, and right now, politics and social commentary are a business trend in rap.”
3 IS THIS HIS RESPONSE TO ‘LEMONADE’?
Beyoncé stopped the world when she dropped her sprawling, sonically adventurous Lemonade last April, launching the most critically acclaimed era of her career. But the hours and days after the visual accompaniment’s premiere on HBO were dominated by heated speculation over the state of the Carters’ marriage, with several hints about possible infidelity by Jay-Z peppered throughout its 12 songs. The rapper has only briefly referenced
Lemonade’s success on a remix of Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s All the Way Up, meaning that he could be saving his side of the story for 4:44.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a ‘response album’ per se, but I think he’ll definitely touch on it,” says Bill
board music editor Jason Lipshutz. “More than anything, what Jay-Z has done throughout his career is show the moment in time that he’s at. We saw that with Magna Carta
Holy Grail. It was an album about still being on top and entering a different phase of his career, so it’ll be interesting now that he just became a father again. He’s definitely at a different point than he was even five years ago.”
4 WHAT WILL THE VISUAL COMPONENT ENTAIL?
Part of what made Lemonade such a landmark achievement was its arresting hour-long film, which included the now-iconic video for lead single Formation. Jay-Z appears to be aiming for an equally cinematic effort, teasing a black-and-white visual starring Oscar winners Mahershala Ali and Lupita Nyong’o. But aside from its apparent boxing ring and prison settings, we know nothing of the video’s concept or running time. “Even if it is a full-length like Lemonade, I don’t think that’ll decrease its value. I think people will be even more into it,” Lipshutz says. “Lemonade was so singular, it’s hard to recreate that moment in time and the effect that had. But if anyone understands how to do it, it’s definitely Jay-Z.”
5 WHO ELSE IS ON THE ALBUM?
4:44’ s guest roster is shrouded in mystery. But past releases can give us a good idea of who we might hear this go-around. “Going back to The Blueprint 3, you have major stars like Rihanna, Kanye West and Alicia Keys, but you also have a (then) brand new Drake and Kid Cudi,” Lipshutz says. “Jay-Z has always done a good job of intermingling the established artists with the up- and-comers. I would expect that to continue with this one.”
6 WHAT DOES ‘4:44’ MEAN FOR STREAMING EXCLUSIVES?
Major stars including Beyoncé, Drake, Chance the Rapper, Rihanna and Frank Ocean released their albums exclusively on streaming platforms Tidal and Apple Music last year. But the practice has almost evaporated in 2017, with many record labels fearing that it cuts into sales and streams when audience interest is highest. 4:44 will premiere on the flailing Jay-Z-owned Tidal, which has the potential to buck or bulldoze the trend.
“This exclusive release does not seem like it’s one step ahead, but that’s not necessarily a predictor of how successful it will be,” Nielson says. Adds Lipshutz: “It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact, if any, 4:44 makes, because (exclusives) seem to be dwindling and Jay-Z is a major artist. He has his own platform that he co-founded, so it’ll be interesting from a business standpoint.”
7 IS JAY-Z BACK AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME?
Perhaps the biggest question looming over 4:44’ s release is what caliber of rapper we should expect. Will we hear the audacious, uncompromising rhymes that endeared Jay-Z to fans on
Encore, Takeover and 99 Problems, or the clunkier verses that bogged down Picasso Baby and Kanye West’s Monster? “Jay-Z is a legend in the industry,” Nielson says. “I do not think, however, you can rank him among the top MCs producing music today.”
But as one of the most enduring artists in hip-hop, “Jay-Z has nothing left to prove,” Lipshutz says. “As an entrepreneur and all-around personality, he doesn’t need to create new music. We’ve seen some mixed results over the past decade, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t need to keep doing this and has produced some really great songs over the past decade, too. Will this be a return to form in terms of some of his better albums? Will this be something of a political statement? The fact that everybody’s really excited about this is a testament to his artistic credibility and what he brings to the table every time.”