4:44 Review
An Album by Jay-Z
Jay Z is one of the most consistent Hip Hop artists ever. He just released his 13th studio album called “4:44.” This album is huge, and all the songs on it are good or great. On 4:44 Jay Z is confident, personal, and even apologetic. It’s fresh and doesn’t sound anything like his past work, which is good.
4:44 is very personal when it comes to lyrics and topics. Jay Z talks about his thoughts of other rappers, the rap world, and takes shots at Kanye West on the song Kill Jay Z. He also apologizes publicly to Beyonce on the song 4:44, for cheating on her in the past. Some other topics he raps about in 4:44 include generational wealth, business advice, racism, and modern rap artists.
This entire album is pretty solid, and it’s also a very mature and serious album. Jay Z isn’t fooling around on this album too much. He is a little playful with some of his bars on songs like Kill Jay Z, The Story of OJ, Bam, and Moonlight, but this 10 track album is mainly serious.
This project is some of his best work since his album American Gangster in 2007. That’s right, not even Magna Carta or Watch the Throne are as good as this album, even though Watch the Throne was a collaborative effort with Kanye.
No I.D. and Jay Z are the only producers on this album, and I’m glad that’s how it is. All the production is very consistent and it sounds very clear. I love the samples used on this album. Most notably on songs like The Story of OJ, Smile, 4:44, and Bam. No I.D. samples soul and reggae on this album, which goes well with the tone and general feel of the album.
On this album Jay Z really sounds like he wants people to hear what he has to say. When he does this, he makes his lyrics mostly direct and to the point. You can understand what he’s saying and what he’s trying to say in his songs.
I was a little thrown off with songs like Bam and Moonlight on this album. They are generally light-hearted and playful, and it’s good to mix up what the tones of the songs are on an album so it’s not all the same, but it just threw me off a bit. Jay Z also could’ve done a little more with the song Moonlight, it’s a little short and he’s not as strong on this track as he is on the rest of the album.
I was impressed with how Jay Z incorporated the features on this album. Frank Ocean is great on Caught Their Eyes, with his pop-styled singing and hook. Beyonce isn’t exactly a feature on the song Family Feud, but she sounds great on it. The way she was fused into the song was by being put into the instrumental, which sounds very nice.
Having his mother as a feature on Smile was great, since the song talks about her story of living life with the secret of being lesbian. It’s heartfelt and hits home when you listen to it.
I’m glad Jay Z did such a great job with his apology and addressing of his infidelity situation he had with Beyonce. You can tell how broken and sorry he is, and he definitely covered it well.
4:44 is an amazing album. It’s amazing lyrically, and the production is sample-heavy and gives the listener a touch of modern old-school rap. The album has a ton of highlights and doesn’t ever get stale, it’s a great listening experience that keeps you thinking after you hear it. I find myself listening to his project non-stop and I haven’t gotten tired of it.
Album Grade: 9/10