Tag: 4:44

‘4:44’ QUOTABARZ: The Hottest Lines From Jay-Z’s 13th Studio Album [PEEP]

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With Jay-Z dropping his 13th studio album this week, I’ve dedicated this week’s QUOTABARZ to the 10-tracks on the album. ‘4:44’ is a solid offering for Hov, who really doesn’t miss on the album. This album is like no-other Jay album.

On this one Hov really lets you into the life of Shawn Carter by tackling the issues surrounding him, realizing the mistakes he’s made in life, showing maturity, and preaching black enterprise, while also addressing social issues.

In no particular order I’ve lined up the hottest BARZ Jay brings on ‘4:44’. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks, given the kind of quality this album manifests from front-to-back. Check them out below, shoutout Genius for transcribing.

1) “KILL JAY Z”

“And you know better, nigga, I know you do / But you gotta do better, boy, you owe it to Blue / You had no father, you had the armor / But you got a daughter, gotta get softer”

“Cry Jay Z, we know the pain is real / But you can’t heal what you never reveal”

“You got high on the life, that shit drugged you / You walkin’ around like you invincible / You dropped outta school, you lost your principles”

“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, fuck was he thinkin’? / “Fuck wrong with everybody?” is what you sayin’ / But if everybody’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane”

“You almost went Eric Benét / Let the baddest girl in the world get away / I don’t even know what else to say / Nigga, never go Eric Benét! / I don’t even know what you woulda done / In the Future, other niggas playin’ football with your son”

2) “THE STORY OF OJ”

“I’mma play the corners where the hustlers be / I told him, “Please don’t die over the neighborhood / That your mama rentin’ / Take your drug money and buy the neighborhood / That’s how you rinse it”

“Financial freedom my only hope / Fuck livin’ rich and dyin’ broke / I bought some artwork for 1 million
2 years later, that shit worth 2 million / Few years later, that shit worth 8 million / I can’t wait to give this shit to my children / Y’all think it’s bougie, I’m like, it’s fine / But I’m tryin’ to give you a million dollars worth of game for $9.99”

“I turned that 2 to a 4, 4 to an 8 / I turned my life into a nice first week release date”

“Y’all on the ‘Gram holdin’ money to your ear / There’s a disconnect, we don’t call that money over here”

3) “SMILE” FEAT. GLORIA CARTER

“Kept the tray on me like Chris Paul then / Drinkin’ Ace of Spades like it’s codeine now / Tryna put a million on the whole team now / Push through the pain so we can see new life / So all the ladies havin’ babies, see a sacrifice”

“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 / I just wanna see you smile through all the hate / Marie Antoinette, baby, let ’em eat cake”

“A loss ain’t a loss, it’s a lesson / Appreciate the pain, it’s a blessin'”

“Anita Baker’s “You Bring Me Joy” / Slappin’ out of the toy, the separation is clear / In my rear-view mirror, objects is further than they appear”

“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” – GLORIA CARTER

4) “CAUGHT THEIR EYES” FEAT. FRANK OCEAN

“Invisible ink, I had to read things that wasn’t there / Memories may sneak down my cheek / But I could see a side-eye in my sleep”

“They eyes hide, they eyes high / My eyes wide shut to all the lies / These industry niggas, they always been fishy / But ain’t no Biggie, no lazy eye, huh”

“Don’t big bro me, don’t “Big Homie” / I’ve seen pure admiration become rivals / I’ve been to Paris at least two times / I’ve seen the Eiffel, I’ve seen a eyeful”

5) “4:44”

“Look, I apologize, often womanize / Took me too long for this song / I don’t deserve you / I harass you out in Paris / “Please come back to Rome,” you make it home / We talked for hours when you were on tour”

“We’re supposed to vacay ’til our backs burn / We’re supposed to laugh ’til our hearts stops / And then meet in a space where the dark stops / And lets love light the way”

“I never wanted another woman to know / Something about me that you didn’t know / I promised, I cried, I couldn’t hold / I suck at love, I think I need a do-over / I will be emotionally available if I invited you over”

6) “FAMILY FUED” FEAT. BEYONCÉ

“Kid that used to pitch bricks can’t be pigeonholed / I cooked up more chicken when the kitchen closed”

“All this old talk left me confused / You’d rather be old rich me or new you? / And old niggas, y’all stop actin’ brand new / Like 2Pac ain’t have a nose ring too, huh”

“Fuck rap, crack cocaine / Nah, we did that, Black-owned things / Hundred percent, Black-owned champagne / And we merrily merrily eatin’ off these streams / Y’all still drinkin’ Perrier-Jouët, huh / But we ain’t get through to you yet, uh”

“Yeah, I’ll fuck up a good thing if you let me / Let me alone, Becky / A man that don’t take care his family can’t be rich / I’ll watch Godfather, I miss that whole shit”

“My consciousness was Michael’s common sense / I missed the karma that came as a consequence / Niggas bustin’ off through the curtains ’cause she hurtin’ / Kay losin’ the babies ’cause their future’s uncertain”

“Al Sharpton in the mirror takin’ selfies / How is him or Pill Cosby s’posed to help me? / Old niggas never accepted me / New niggas is the reason I stopped drinkin’ Dos Equis”

7) “BAM” FEAT. DAMIAN MARLEY

“Shawn was on that gospel shit / I was on the total fuckin’ opposite”

“Y’all be talkin’ crazy under them IG pictures / So when you get to hell you tell ’em Blanco sent ya / I can’t take no threats, I got a set of twins / Those were just the words you’ll never hear again”

“My advice is just don’t be too nice to niggas / Just set the price so niggas’ll live your life, my nigga”

“Who they effin’ with, and we got FN’s too / Before we had A&R’s, we had AR’s too / We the only ones really movin’ like y’all say y’all do / We still movin’ like y’all niggas say y’all did / Emory passed you niggas and he did a bid / Ty Ty jumped over niggas and he’s like 5’6”

“Uh, niggas is skippin’ leg day just to run they mouth / I be skippin’ leg day, I still run the world / I pressed ahead of your team with one finger curled / I’ll line you all up with one finger wave / Make niggas weave, niggas is out here fake”

8) “MOONLIGHT”

“Glorified seat filler, huh? / Stop walkin’ around like y’all made Thriller, huh? / Fake Dracos all in the videos / We sure we shoot ’em in my city though / I don’t post no threats on the Internet / I just pose a threat, blame Lenny S for that”

“I don’t be on the ‘Gram goin’ ham / Givin’ information to the pork, that’s all spam / Please don’t talk about guns / That you ain’t never gon’ use / Y’all always tell on y’all self / I’m just so fuckin’ confused”

“Y’all niggas still signin’ deals? Still? / After all they done stole, for real? / After what they done to our Lauryn Hill? / And y’all niggas is ‘posed to be trill?”

“Lucian is cool but Lucian don’t write / Doug ain’t this tight, so / Fuck what we sellin’ / Fuck is we makin’?”

9) MARCY ME FEAT. THE-DREAM

“Back when ratchet was a ratchet and a vixen was a vixen / And Jam Master Jay was alive I was mixin’ / Cookin’ coke in the kitchen / Back when Rodman was a Piston / Mike was losin’ to Isiah, but he soon would get his sixth one”

“I’m from Marcy Houses, where the boys die by the thousand / Back when Pam was on Martin / Yeah, that’s where it all started / When Denzel was blottin’ carpet, I’ll pack a… nine millimeter / When Slick Rick made “Mona Lisa” / When Lisa Bonet was Beyoncé of her day, I had divas, y’all”

“Old Brooklyn, not this new shit, shift feel like a spoof / Fat laces in your shoe, I’m talkin’ bustin’ off the roof / Hold a Uzi vertical, let the thing smoke / Y’all flirtin’ with death, I be winkin’ through the scope”

10) “LEGACY” FEAT. BLUE IVY CARTER

“My stake in Roc Nation should go to you / Leave a piece for your siblings to give to their children too”

“TIDAL, the champagne, D’USSÉ, I’d like to see / A nice peace-fund ideas from people who look like we”

“Generational wealth, that’s the key / My parents ain’t have shit, so that shift started with me / My mom took her money, she bought me bonds / That was the sweetest thing of all time, uh”

“You see, my father, son of a preacher man / Whose daughter couldn’t escape the reach of the preacher’s hand / That charge of energy set all the Carters back / It took all these years to get to zero in fact”

Tell me what your favorite lyric is in the comments below.

@IAMBNYCE

No I.D. Confirms Three Bonus Songs On Physical Copies Of ‘4:44’ & More [PEEP]

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A lot of people have been buzzing and talking about Jay-Z and his 13th studio album, ‘4:44’. For those who may not know the album is produced entirely by No I.D. The producer has probably had a career as successful as Hov’s for a producer. Kanye West has called him his mentor and he’s helped jump start the careers of Vince Staples and Jhene Aiko.

Aside from the hits he’s produced (which I’m not naming here for the sake of keeping this brief), No I.D. has served as President of G.O.O.D. Music, while simultaneously being Executive Vice President of A&R at Def Jam. That’s not even half of what the talented producer has done in his long, illustrious career.

Before entirely producing Hov’s entire ‘4:44’ album he worked with the legend on songs from ‘The Blueprint 3’ like “Run This Town” and “D.O.A.” With all the early success of ‘4:44’ No I.D. sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about the album. Read some Q&A below and check out the full story here.

How did you first start working on 4:44?
Maybe a year ago I saw Jay-Z at a restaurant. He goes, “You got any music for me?” And I go, “Nope.” He goes, “What are you working on?” I said, “Getting better.”

The thing that made me want to get better was I heard a quote by Quincy Jones where they asked him, “What do you think about music nowadays?” He said, “four-bar loops.” It really affected me. I said, “Wait a minute, that’s not what I want to be a part of.” So I went and did some studying with the intention of growing.

At what point in the improvement process did you feel like you were ready to take the music to Jay-Z?
I humbly studied and read. I went to people from my friend Adrian Younge to Puff [Daddy] and Dr. Dre. The thing that was holding me was reading a lot of Quincy Jones’ story and his words. He was an incredible producer and musician for so many years but people didn’t really give him full credit because he was in jazz. I understand that feeling. At a certain point, I remember reading that he took some years in his forties to go out and get better. That resonated at this point in my career.

Was there any fear on your part that you would push too far into his life?
No, no, no, no. By this time, we had established the relationship of trust and knowing that what we both were doing was a labor of love. It was at a pure point. He knew what I was saying by playing it. And I knew that it would help him as a human to say it and get it over with and get it out of your system.

So the concise 10-song length was important for that purpose?
Yes. There’s three more songs that are coming out as bonuses. James Blake came in and joined into the process. There’s more coming shortly that’s equally as revealing.

@IAMBNYCE

New Video: Jay-Z – “The Story Of OJ” [WATCH]

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Less than 12-hours since Jay-Z dropped his highly-anticipated 13th studio album ‘4:44’, he releases the video for “The Story of OJ.” The animated visuals show Hov walking around and interpretaing what the songs says in a cartoon, which also shows OJ while a running back at USC.

Watch the video below and stream ‘4:44’ here.

@IAMBNYCE

Jay-Z Drops His 13th Studio Album ‘4:44’ [STREAM]

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Hovi’s Home!

It’s been a long four years since Jay-Z last dropped an album. Through that time many people thought Hov might’ve been done with the music and solely focused on business moves. Sure he released a few loosies in that time and was featured on songs, but the people wanted a whole album and with ‘4:44’ Hov delivers.

Prior to the official announcement of the new album, there wasn’t much notice or even a real rollout of an album. All we had were some photos of Jay at the studio. Rather than releasing singles to hype the album and properly rollout the album, Jay released short snippets with videos of “Adnis,” “Kill Jay Z,” and “maNyfaCedGod.”

This album marks his first since 2013’s ‘Magna Carta…Holy Grail’. With 10-tracks, the album is produced entirely by No I.D. and features from wifey Beyoncé on “Family Fued,” Hov’s mother Gloria Carter on “Smile,” Frank Ocean on “Caught Their Eyes,” Kim Burrell on “4:44,” Damien Marley on “Bam,” The-Dream on “Marcy Me,” and Blue Ivy on “Legacy.” Hov also does justice on Nina Simone, The Fugees, and Sister Nancy samples that No I.D. works in.

Hov broke down each track on ‘4:44’. Check it out below.

https://twitter.com/laleakers/status/880668654182043648

‘4:44’ is currently only exclusively available to Sprint and TIDAL subscribers. It’s a smart business move for Hov, because not only will he get revenue from sales, but subscribers have also increased once the public learned the exclusivity. This year Jay signed a $200-million between TIDAL and Sprint.

There’s no telling when ‘4:44’ will hit other streaming services or if it even will. Earlier this year Hov removed his entire catalog on Apple Music and put it exclusively on TIDAL.

Stream the entire ‘4:44’ via TIDAL below.

“Welcome back, Carter.”

@IAMBNYCE

TIDAL Shares A New Trailer For Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ Album [WATCH]

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This Friday Jay-Z will drop his first album since 2013’s ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’. To add extra hype to the forthcoming “4:44” album, which probably isn’t needed, TIDAL drops a new trailer for it. The trailer shows an African-American kid wearing a t-shirt that says, “Stay Black” and includes a snippet of a track called ““Kill Jay Z.”

Watch below

@IAMBNYCE

Learn More About Jay-Z’s Forthcoming “4:44” Album [PEEP] [UPDATED]

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UPDATE (6/19)

A few days ago we got a release date for Jay-Z’s mysterious “4:44”. However, the mystery has continued and speculation the over what “4:44” is can be put to rest with Hov making it official it’s an album. There’s not too many details over the album, although some things are unfolding.

Filmmaker Chris Black announced on Twitter today that “4:44” will be “produced entirely by No I.D.” We also already know the album will drop exclusively through TIDAL and Sprint. As far as features go, let your imagination run wild.

In a new trailer Jay-Z, who recently became a father to a pair of twins, teased a single off the album, where he talks about his father. Watch below.

@IAMBNYCE

For a few weeks now people have been speculating on what Jay-Z’s “4:44” actually is. During the NBA Finals a commercial trailer appeared showing credited Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danny Glover, which made people think it’s a film. Maybe it is a film, but can it also be an album? Either way a release date has been set for the mysterious project.

HipHopDX shared on their socials new posters that have popped up in Hollywood with Jay’s name and the “4:44” title. The poster includes a release date of June 30th and text that reads, “exclusively on TIDAL.”

Perhaps “4:44” can be a film given Hov’s contract with The Weinstein Company. It’s not farfetched that the film can be accompanied by a new Hov album. After-all, June 30th happens to be a Friday, and as we know, album are released on Fridays.

To add fuel to the fire, photos of Hov in the studio with Beyoncé, Swizz Beatz, Damien Marley, an Zaytoven have surfaced online. If it is a album, it would be Jay’s first since 2013’s ‘Magna Carta…Holy Grail’.

This week was an monumental one for Hov, who became the first rapper ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Him and Bey are also expecting twins, who should be coming any day now.

@IAMBNYCE