Rapper Jay Z’s new album “4:44” did the talking on Friday as he addressed the issues of cheating on his wife Beyonce, the birth of his twins and this year’s Oscars best picture.
In the title track, Jay Z admitted to having “often womanized“, more than a year after R&B star Beyonce first shed light on the topic of his infidelities in her album Lemonade.
Jay Z raps a remorseful ode to his fractured marriage in “4:44”, saying that it “took for my child to be born, see through a woman’s eyes” in reference to the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy.
He also mentioned their twins, reported to have been born this month but whose arrival has yet to be officially brought out in the open, saying it “took for these natural twins to believe in miracles, took me too long for this song, I don’t deserve you.“
The singer added, “What good is a menage a trois when you have a soul mate? You risked that for Blue? My heart breaks for the day I had to explain my mistakes.“
Fans were stunned last year when Beyonce made accusations in Lemonade penning that Jay Z had cheated on her, referring to a mystery woman calling her “Becky with the good hair”; this was a rare crack in the purportedly perfect facade of one of the industry’s highest-profile couples.
The 35-minute album features Blue Ivy on the track “Legacy”, with the five-year-old asking “Daddy, what’s a will?” as the rapper voices his hope that his children use their wealth to promote “black excellence” in the future.
“4:44” was released exclusively on premium music streaming platform Tidal, founded by Jay Z, in partnership with U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. It can also be heard throughout Friday across 160 U.S. radio stations on iHeartRadio.
