Jay Z’s 13th studio album, titled “4:44,” has dropped and voracious fans and internet users have already extracted juicy bits after just an hour with the material.
An exclusive to the mogul’s own streaming service Tidal, the record consists of ten songs with titles like “Kill Jay Z,” “Family Affair” and “Legacy.”
The album’s title track, however, has people raving as it seems to address the speculation over his fidelity to wife Beyonce — something she sang about on her juggernaut 2016 album “Lemonade.”
“You did what, with who? / What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soul mate? / You’d risk that for Blue?” Jay raps on the track, referencing he and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
“I’ll fuck up a good thing if you let me, let me alone Becky,” another line allegedly says (TheWrap could not immediately verify it in the version Tidal provided). That would be a reference to one of the most popular “Lemonade” lyrics, in which Beyonce advises her cheating lover to go call “Becky with the good hair.”
“HE CHEATED. JAY Z CHEATED. HE FUCKING CHEATED,” screamed one tweet with a snippet of the song (hear it here, though Tidal may remove the clip under of its exclusive streaming rights).
Other fans admired his perceived coming clean, as “Lemonade” was an endless, yearlong conversation about the couple’s bond and the fate of their family, which now includes two just-born twins.
“The fact that Jay Z admitted to his infidelity makes me want to go and listen to Lemonade,” wrote one user. “They’re playing off each other’s art. Iconic.”
Another incendiary lyric is an alleged jab at longtime friend and collaborator Kanye West and his wife, reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian.
“And I never was a fan, my wife a Queen, not a Kardashian,” Jay Z is said to rap according to hundreds of tweets, again on the title track to “4:44.” Some fans immediately contested, saying they couldn’t hear the line on the song. It was not included in the snippet made available to TheWrap.
Another immediate takeaway was a stunning and somberly drawn animated video for the song “The Story of O.J.,” which Jay co-directed with prolific music video Helmer Mark Romanek (who also contributed to “Lemonade”).
If “Lemonade” taught us anything, this is only the beginning of the conversation. Read on for the some of the best first-blush tweets over Jay’s return:
https://twitter.com/RealLifeKaz/status/880644154312728576
Solange, we really appreciate you sis. #444 https://t.co/LLtpkSPC7S
— 🫶🏽 (@the__prototype) June 30, 2017
Barack & Michelle are definitely bumping this loud as hell & all types of carefree right now at home. #444
— Sam White (@samwhiteout) June 30, 2017
Bumping Jay-Z's album even tho he basically confirms he cheated on Bey. #444 https://t.co/GutbfSlg7n
— 🫶🏽 (@the__prototype) June 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/WSTU_RADIO/status/880659738836570112
https://twitter.com/Marcus_Bldn/status/880658529400610816
"What's better than one billionaire?" – Jay Z #444 pic.twitter.com/Z20BDSTGXi
— ASTHTC (@theASTHTC) June 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/FlowsAndolini/status/880660205528383489
When Hov said "My wife a Queen not a Kardashian" #JayZ #JayZ444 #444 pic.twitter.com/0YtX1j1f43
— Yuri (@rampageys) June 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/CyntTate/status/880657031258091520
https://twitter.com/amayaa17/status/880656922139140100