For a few consecutive weeks Jay-Z was releasing music videos for ‘4:44’ singles every Friday at 4:44 p.m. He eventually slowed that down and took a break from dropping visuals as he focused on his current “4:44 Tour” amongst other things.
Before Black Friday, Hov had dropped visuals for “The Story of OJ,” “4:44,” “Bam” featuring Damian Marley, “Kill Jay Z,” “Moonlight,” and one of the bonus tracks in “MaNyFaCedGod.”
Revisiting his 13th studio album, Jay dropped three new videos for “Smile” featuring his mother Gloria Carter, “Marcy Me” featuring The-Dream, and “Legacy.”
For the 8-minute “Smile” video Jay-Z nabbed Dominique Fishback to play a young version of his mother Gloria Carter, while the real Ms. Carter also shares a poem at the end of the emotional video. The video was written and directed by Miles Jay. It also stars Isi Laborde, Taylor Thomas, and Guy Lockard.
Watch below.
Next up Is “Legacy,” which is essentially a mini-movie that includes a cast of Susan Sarandon, Jesse Williams, Ron Perlman, Aldis Hodge, Kwame Boateng, Edi Gather, Jonathan Tucker, Marque Richardson, and Emile Hirsch. It is written and directed by Jeymes Samuel, who focuses on the prison system, mass incarceration, rehabilitation, and recovery.
Watch below.
Finally is the video for one of my favorite songs on the album, “Marcy Me.” In it a police helicopter is featured throughout the clip giving viewers a bird’s eye view of the Marcy Projects and different boroughs in NYC.
Watch below.
Jay-Z will continue his “4:44 Tour,” which will continue through December 21st when is stops in Los Angeles at the STAPLES CENTER.
@IAMBNYCE