Jay z 444 album vinyl
“Me and you / Yo momma and your cousin too” - Outkast “Elevators (Me & You)”Į: You bring up a good point. We know he loves headlines and the resulting market share. I could see this guy masterminding such a thing, wagging the dog and making the internets salivate. Let’s say the whole Carter marriage drama was just Jay and Bey (and Solo?) creating their own National Enquirer, or Keeping Up with the Carters. Folks got real conscious since that elevator footage came out. Where does 4:44 rank in his catalog?ī: I have no idea, but it sits comfortably on the family mantle next to A Seat at Table and Lemonade. The raw, honest confessions and social observations make this some of JAY’s best work.
Nas’ Life Is Good is what happens when a couple refuses to kill ego JAY’s 4:44 is the narrative when you humble yourself, apologize, and hopefully evolve. This album definitely connects with me personally, and I would imagine any married man or woman can understand the death of ego that has to occur for a marriage to endure. You know me well brother, and you know the concept and practice of marriage has forced me to confront the worst me and best me over the years. As a mid-aged father, husband, and scholar, do you sense a stronger personal connection to the content on this one?Į: Dammit Vu! I knew this was coming. Agreed? Has the messaging changed? I assume young adults and up are listening. But the perceived promise of the new messaging - reaching down to the common folk (on stripped down sound beds) - that seems to stand out. He puts emcees in check and sets himself apart as usual. These are two of several capitalism tutorials on 4:44, which is appropriate because Jay is speaking directly to his expertise of embodying major scale black business, ownership, and building wealth, power, scope, etc. He’s schooling a wealthy lawyer and chiding a wealthy Ye on 21st Century corporate skills, specifically ethics and social responsibility. Did you catch the lines about Prince and his estate? Jay is really trying to revolutionize the master/slave dynamic between artists and labels. Musically and lyrically, 4:44 is a message to Ye (and a few others) to sit down, be humble. tapped into a production style his protege and JAY-Z’s lil bro-turned-rival was trying to conjure on The Life of Pablo. From the way he chopped the samples by playing them like instruments, to the way he mixed the vocals, No I.D. was the right producer to hand 4:44 over to.
When he felt like he had unlocked another chamber, he called JAY-Z. Interestingly, he descended into a cave and challenged himself to create 500 ideas to see if he could lay down a new approach on the old Hip Hop tradition of sampling. Then there’s the sound…Į: In a Rolling Stone article, the sole producer of the album, No I.D., reveals his process of composing 4:44. Notably, he expands his perspective beyond superiority and stunting to a higher degree of vulnerability and starts to share a bit more of his superpowers with listeners. He opens up personally, positions himself as an LGBTQ ally, claps back at little brother, and drops jewels squarely within the framework of the U.S.
He hasn’t invented anything lyrically here, but he’s still an extraordinary rapper and, more importantly, defying public expectation by going beyond just bragging about being a burgeoning billionaire businessman. What do you think?ī: I think you’re right about the business side, so we’ll have to see if and how the actual tunes endure. And none of them are the most successful artist to emerge from the mecca of Hip Hop. Were Eazy E, E-40, Master P, and Tech-N9ne first? Yes but none of them have released 13 #1 albums that have all gone platinum and better. I think his ascension as a mogul is a perennial influence on what young and veteran artists are doing with their success and finances. Personally, since he bought his masters and name back (right before or after Blueprint 3), he’s been influencing the conversation of artistic ownership within Hip Hop. Can we expect 2017 Hip Hop and/or pop artists to be influenced… to emulate this sonically or thematically?Į: From our convos I know this is what you’re most interested to see - can JAY-Z still set trends. JAY-Z has gone from a musical and cultural trendsetter to an innovative business trendsetter. Most music is still released in response to public demand, or through a gradual promotional campaign. B: It’s the second consecutive JAY-Z project released from rarefied air: leveraging corporate sponsorship and relationships to market a project from the heavens.