A couple of weeks ago rap icon Jay Z added fuel for the second half of 2017 & released his thirteenth studio album 4:44. Just a week after it 's release the album has received general acclaim from critics & has already gone platinum, thanks to the assistance of Tidal & Sprint, providing another reason why 2017 has been a good year for hip hop.
The entire album is produced by legendary hip hop producer No I.D., who creates soulful beats that share the same color of emotion that each track displays, making sure the samples are parallel to the themes. By sampling from The Alan Parson Projects an intro like "Kill Jay Z," can sound like a second moment of clarity for Jigga Man as he embraces the impact of his ugly truths. Even Caribbean elements
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Jay Z surprises listeners on "Smile" by bringing his own mother, Gloria Carter, to recite a beautiful poem about how one can only smile when they feel free to be who they want to be. Singer/songwriter Frank Ocean adds melodies to Jay 's lyrics on "Caught Their Eyes," & show how the truth can be spotted in the eyes of the fraudulent. Reggae singer Damian Marley gives "Bam," a rude boy attitude with his tunes while Hov does what he does best, gloating over beats & reminding people why he 's still king. Singer/songwriter The Dream assists the native New Yorker on "Marcy Me" which can be best described as a Hall of Fame speech from one of Brooklyn 's hometown heroes. Even the help of his wife 's, iconic singer Beyoncé, angelic voice on "Family Feud," the respected MC takes both the old & new generation to church to call out both sides of their nonsense towards one another in hopes that they learn to win together instead of fighting one …show more content…
The content throughout 4:44 feels like the blueprint from a concerned old head who wants the next generation to learn from his past & avoid the mistakes that he 's made. Take for instance on "The Story of OJ," you have veteran player encouraging younger players to think bigger than he did at their age & play the game of "wealth" instead of "rich" with lines like "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/I bought every V12 engine/Wish I could take it back to the beginnin '." Jay even gives advice about love on the self titled track "4:44," by simply being honest about the past errors he 's made in his marriage. Hov showed that even a God can feel pain once he senses that he 's close to losing the love of his life, verbally illustrating the emotions of Marlon Brandon crying for Stella 's return or Denzel Washington begging Indigo to save his life. The final track "Legacy," is the conclusion of Jay Z 's blueprint for the youth. By destroying his own generational curse of poverty, Hov expresses the importance of passing down wealth to the next generation in order to keep the family name alive for generations to come. The discussion of legacy that he has with his daughter, Blue Ivy is similar to Mufassa showing Simba his birthright of Pride Rock for