Before the internet, there was the radio. Scrolling through your timeline and finding the most outrageously funny pictures possible was nonexistent; a meme wasn't even thought of in "the time before." Viral videos of pre-pubescent children dancing to the most explicit of hip hop songs weren't even imagined of at the time. We had computers, but even finding music on these monstrous, prehistoric machines was a chore. As an innocent adolescent who's views on music were unwillingly shaped by the 2000's pop movement, I found interest in one particular emcee from Detroit who discussed topics and said things in his songs that made people uncomfortable. At that age, the only thing you hear is what's popular on the radio, and somehow this guy forced his way onto the airwaves with Tom Green impressions; "My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips, and if I'm lucky you might just give it a little kiss, and that's the message that we deliver to little kids, and expect 'em not to know what a woman's clitoris is."
Ridiculous, I know, but most of hip hop was at that time. Eminem was trying to show people the real him, Nelly was giving a course on "Country Grammar", Outkast was screaming "Hey Ya", and Petey Pablo was making you take your shirt off and swing it around your head "like a helicopter." These were crazy times. Whenever I think of this era, these are just a few of the quote unquote "important" songs that pop into my head when I think early 2000's hip hop hits. Some stuck around and some didn't, and the new millennium was an especially interesting take on music because being a one hit wonder still existed; there was no way one single "hot for the moment" song would reemerge unless the radio airways were going to give it spins. And this idea; this crazy, now unfathomable thought at one point in time (that I hate to admit and I know will get me scolded at by my loyal HHU readers)... is what I thought of Jay-Z.
Let me get these thought piece bars off before y'all get to sharpening your internet pitch forks and lighting up your torches! Jay-Z was a hot commodity at the time, yes, but as a strictly RADIO EXPOSED adolescent, I didn't get the exposure to Hov that a self proclaimed hip hop connoisseur probably should have been getting. Could I go back and do my Jay-Z homework and figure out just how incredible The Blueprint is? Today, of course I could (even though other album releases today aren't attempts to be anywhere near as calculated as Jay). But back in an era where there is no album search engine and the best way to even get a glimpse of your favorite music stars was to hope that they put out a music video that made MTV (you know, when they still showed music stuff), buying music was the only available option.
I didn't start this piece this way as a means to save face. My exposure to Jay-Z, or any type of music today for that matter, is to nobody's fault but my own. I've had plenty of time to go back and do my "research" if you will on past projects of his. But there's a disconnect; I've held a spot in my heart for artists and songs that I've grown up listening to, and it's not uncommon for any person to do this; Jay just so happened to not make that list because I was unaccustomed to hearing his music growing up. And after hearing the much speculated and highly anticipated 4:44, I wonder how much of an impact he would have had on my musical tastes growing up. With all of this being said, and to prevent any more rambling, let's get to MY very own observations on what I believe could be regarded as the best hip hop album of the year; Jay-Z's 4:44. (Unfortunately, the only available way to stream the album at this time is on TIDAL).
A Humbling Honesty That Jay Has Never Shown Before
The transformation of one of the world's most well known hustlers into a protective, unrelenting family man is only comparable to the opposite of what happened to Walter White. Jay Z is... Gus Fring (though Gus didn't have his family always in the limelight). It's as if The Most Interesting man had written a tell-all book on how NOT to act when you have the sauce like that. From accepting his mother's being gay on "Smile", to realizing what he did was wrong (also ADMITTING TO CHEATING ON BEYONCE, LIKE WHAT?!) on the coming together anthem "Family Feud" (featuring Beyoncé!), Jay makes "being a family man" music fit for a king, and only a king. The vocal sample on "Family Feud" sounds like nothing short of the world's top family being ripped to shreds by adultery, fueled by rumors to make it worse, then the family walking out of the other side of the flames unscathed, and stronger than ever. On the gritty and humbling title track "4:44", Jay lays it all out in the open, allowing his fans and critics to finally hear his side of the story, and the opening line makes him sound as remorseful as a straight-edged Catholic man admitting to adultery; "I apologize, off the womanize, took for my child being born, to see through a woman's eyes." The haunting sample of Hannah Williams & The Affirmations almost creates a tear-jerking reaction, painting a vivid picture, almost like imagining Beyoncé taking ol' baby Blu Ivy to stay at her mother's house for awhile. Thank No I.D.'s genius sampling for that one (which we'll go more in depth on... right now).
Unbelievable Sampling
4:44 is entirely produced by long-time Jay collaborator No I.D., and a better producer could not have been picked for the tall task of Jay's long-awaited 13th studio album. Jay's idea of having 1 producer for an entire album is almost a lost art nowadays (though not completely lost, thanks to Run The Jewels, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, etc.), and you wonder why based on the chemistry you hear between the two throughout the album. 4:44 could almost be recognized as a grown man's musical; some of the jazziest vibes we've heard in hip hop since Jay Dilla (maybe that's a stretch) force you to imagine Jay performing these songs in small clubs like Frank Sinatra & The Rat Pack; this staggering amount of class on a hip hop album is something never before heard. We've discussed the incredible sampling on the title track already, and "Smile" is the audio representation of family being full circle, and the sample comes back around just so. The classic Stevie Wonder "Love's In Need Of Love Today" sample seems to be fitting on a track where Hov does exactly what Hov does best; talk copious amounts of stylistic shit over a soulful, warming track. "Caught Their Eyes" is an easy listening, "so smooth your grandparents would jig to it" number that features (who doesn't at first sound like) Frank Ocean's lightweight, float-worthy vocals, and the sample on "Moonlight" sounds very eerily similar to the sample on DJ Khaled's Nas-assisted "Nas Album Done" (and it turns out it is the same sample, from The Fugees' "Fu-Gee-La"), and though it doesn't bounce as much, it flips the sample in a day-dreaming vibe that only No I.D. could, and it's made to sound as heavenly as only Jay could make it heard.
There are so many jewels and gems to pick from 4:44 that listening to it almost sounds like robbing Jay of his secrets, and ultimately, his multi millions of dollars. Jay offers things more rare and valuable than a unicorn with his 13th studio effort; quality, and perspective. The pain throughout the record that Shawn Carter has felt through an immense amount of scrutiny is then brought back around in a momentous and glorious comeback story that only Jay-Z could expound upon. And not only in Shawn's darkest moments does he shine the brightest, but the significant amount of time he's taken off (with it being 4 years since his last solo effort, Magna Carta Holy Grail) has allowed Jay to plan, coordinate, and drop watermelon sized amounts of wisdom and perspective in abundances. It's like Jay is inside Truman's Show; except this time Jay is the one who sees the world as opposed to the world seeing him, expounding upon every important topic in the most political and socially conscious music that Jay has released to date. Jay is rapping as if his "give a fuck" button is broken, speaking with clear cut, "if I said it, I meant it" tones, causing you to rewind a countless number of lines and rhymes in a manner that hip hop (and maybe even the world) needs more than anything else right now. In a hip hop world where albums have turned into bad sitcoms, Jay's 4:44 is like a blockbuster movie years in the making, and will probably be regarded as the best hip hop album release of 2017 when the year's over.
So what do I think of Jay-Z now? I think the guy should take out and bring the hyphen back every year. It's odd how a rapper can be so colossal in stature, in both music and business ventures, and some 90's babies still wouldn't be able to give you one quote from an early Jay-Z album. Admittedly, this was, scratch that, still is the case for me. The times have changed, and when the times change, the greats adapt to the climate. Such is the case for Jay-Z. The flooding of music releases that hip hop has seen over the past 3 years (give or take) has shown a huge hit in it's value, both in theory and in actual price (just think of the countless albums and mixtapes you get from a streaming service for just $9.99 a month... any album, anywhere, any time), but Jay returned like Jordan, except this time wearing the 45, with the most quality hip hop release we've seen in years; fans will still be picking apart messages and lines from this album next year (hopefully they'll still be listening). Jay set the example again, this time proving that it's okay to take time off between albums and letting the world wonder what your next move is. As Yoh over at DJ Booth put so eloquently; "Jay Z is a quiet man. He is proof that a giant can walk without making the Earth shake. He is proof that when a giant decides to stomp, the Earth will tremble." Check out the stream of 4:44, which is still only available on TIDAL (with a subscription), but will be available on all streaming services as early as next week, so non-TIDAL subscribers, be on the look out for that.
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