Rapper JAY-Z's Footnotes for 4:44
Following the release of his already platinum album, 4:44, JAY-Z shares a brief film focusing on the motive and lyrics for the song entitled "4:44."
Monday, Rapper JAY-Z revealed an 11-minute video capturing various male celebrities--such as Chris Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Chris Paul, Anthony Anderson, Jesse Williams, Will Smith and more--who acknowledged their mistakes and struggles within their relationships and offered advice for healing.
"You mature faster than me, I wasn't ready.. "
Are the first lyrics discussed in the video. After nine years of marriage, JAY-Z admits that although he wanted to move to the next step (marriage), he wasn't sure how to do it. He even mentions his inability to love in relation to the absence of his father; assuming he did not have the proper foundation for building a relationship, or in his words, a mansion.
"I just ran into this place and we built this big, beautiful mansion of a relationship that wasn’t totally built on the 100 percent truth and then it starts cracking."
"Things start happening that the public can see,” he continued. “Then we had to get to a point of ‘Okay, tear this down and let’s start from the beginning' … by far it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Rapper Kendrick Lamar related to JAY-Z's relationship challenges describing it as the most excruciating thing you can feel as far as a lost. Lamar also advised to use perspective to understand where the other person is coming from in order to create a bond or connection with your partner.
The footnotes episode also featured actor Jesse Williams expressing the end of his 13 year marriage as the most painful experience he had in his life.
JAY-Z and wife, Beyonce', were admired by the public for both their overload of success in the music industry and scandal-free relationship up until April of 2016, when Beyonce's Grammy Award winning album, LEMONADE, alleged disloyalty on JAY-Z's end. However, with 4:44 not only addressing the allegations, but openly apologizing, their fan-base seems to only increase. Listeners now sense the vulnerability and truth in JAY-Z's lyrics which makes the album more resonant.
Twitter reported over 810,000 tweets were posted regarding the rapper within hours of the album dropping. Since then, 4:44 remains a trending topic on social media and cable television including ABC's daytime talk show "The View" where co-host Whoopi Goldberg stated the following:
"The thing with them, and relationships in general, is that you know what you're getting yourself into when you're with someone; so you deal with it until you can't take any more..But what I like about them is that we see them go through this hard time which helps their careers grow and now we get to watch their babies grow too!"
Fans can expect a series of similar videos, further explaining each track listed on the 4:44 album via Tidal accessible for subscribers and Sprint, cellphone carrier, customers.
