4:44
4:44 is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on June 30, 2017, through Roc Nation as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers. The album was the first in a planned series of music exclusives from the Sprint–Tidal partnership, which never came to fruition due to Sprint's demise in 2020. On July 2, the album was made available for free digital download on Tidal's site for a limited time. A physical edition was released on July 7, including three additional tracks. On the same day, the album was made available to other streaming platforms, such as Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music.
This article is about the Jay-Z album. For other uses, see 4:44 (disambiguation).4:44
June 30, 2017
December 2016 – June 2017
No I.D.'s studio
(Hollywood, California)
36:11
46:16 (with bonus tracks)
Like Jay-Z's previous album, Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013), 4:44 was not preceded by any singles. The album was recorded from December 2016 to June 2017, and produced by No I.D., with additional contributions by Jay-Z himself. James Blake and Dominic Maker also contributed production to the album's bonus tracks. It features guest appearances from Frank Ocean, Damian Marley, Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé, and his mother, Gloria Carter. It also has additional vocal contributions from his daughter Blue Ivy Carter, James Fauntleroy, Kim Burrell and The-Dream.
The album was widely acclaimed by critics, who praised its emotional and personal content. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 262,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, making it Jay-Z's 14th album to top the chart.[2] The album spawned three singles, the title track "4:44", "Bam" and "Family Feud", as well as several music videos, directed by a variety of high-profile collaborators. On July 5, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in recognition of one million copies purchased by Sprint and offered to consumers as free downloads.[3] At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year, while the title track was nominated for Song of the Year and "The Story of O.J." was nominated for Record of the Year.[4]
Background and recording[edit]
In June 2017, 4:44 posters in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami, as well as internet banner ads, teased the release of the album.[5][6][7] A one-minute teaser ad was aired during the NBA Finals on June 7 featuring actors Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong'o, and Danny Glover, ending with "4:44 – 6.30.17, Exclusively on Tidal".[8]
On June 18, Father's Day, a clip titled "Adnis" was posted on Sprint's YouTube page.[9] Adnis was Jay-Z's father's name.[10] A second teaser trailer was released on June 27 titled "Kill Jay Z", which featured a young man with a "Stay Black" T-shirt.[11] A third teaser followed on June 28 titled "ManyFacedGod", featuring Lupita Nyong'o crying "hysterically" on the floor.[11]
No I.D. says Jay-Z approached him about working together, and initially declined.[12] He cited feeling "uninspired" and "didn't think [he] had anything at the time". However, he researched Quincy Jones as inspiration to begin work with Jay-Z. No I.D. states he "began to play the samples like I would play an instrument." To get inspiration for 4:44, No I.D. pointed to albums such as What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, Confessions by Usher, The Blueprint by Jay-Z, Illmatic by Nas, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West, saying he "analyzed the mistakes and tried not to make those mistakes."[12]
The album was largely recorded in No I.D.'s home studio in Hollywood.[13] Its recording began in late December 2016, according to No I.D.[13] It was finished shortly before the album's release.[14] "4:44" was written when Jay-Z woke up one morning at 4:44 am,[15] and recorded at his house using Beyoncé's microphone.[12]
Composition[edit]
4:44 is a hip hop[16] and conscious hip hop[17][18] album. It contains samples from many genres, like funk, progressive rock, reggae, hip hop and soul.[19] These include Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today", The Clark Sisters's "Ha Ya (Eternal Life)",[20] Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free", Fugees's "Fu-Gee-La",[21] and Nina Simone's "Four Women" and "Baltimore".[22] While most of the samples span previous decades, the title track to 4.44 is sampled from the 2016 record 'Late Nights and Heartbreaks' from independent British group Hannah Williams and The Affirmations. Complex Networks premiered the official music video to the original record, directed by British Hip-Hop video director Nick Donnelly[23]
Elia Leight of Rolling Stone notes 4:44 is "sample-heavy at a time when so much of rap has moved away from that sound".[12] Jay-Z and No I.D. created a playlist based on Jay-Z's taste, and sampled some songs of it in the album.[24][13] Later, Jay-Z posted the playlist, titled 4:44 Inspired By, on Tidal.[25]
On the album, Jay-Z touches on a wide array of topics, such as the ongoing hip hop culture, his family life, his relationships, stereotypes and racism.[26][27][28] Many critics have noted that 4:44 is a response to Lemonade, with Jay-Z referencing lines from the album.[29][30][31] For example, the "You better call Becky with the good hair" line on Beyoncé's "Sorry", with Jay-Z retorting, "Leave me alone, Becky" in "Family Feud".[32][33][34] However, No I.D. said that to make the entire album a response to Lemonade was not the intention. Instead, Jay-Z wanted to focus on an album "where I talk about the things that I've never talked about".[35]
"Kill Jay Z" is about "killing" his ego Jay Z (without hyphen), featured in his previous album Magna Carta Holy Grail.[28] The song references his friendship with Kanye West,[36][37] as well as an incident in which he shot his brother. He also references his rumored extramarital relationships.[28] "The Story of O.J." references racism, stereotypes and the experience of being a black person in America.[38] "Smile" discusses his mother being a lesbian,[15][39][40] while featuring a poem from her. "Caught Their Eyes" references Prince; before his death, Prince befriended Jay-Z, giving exclusive streaming rights for his catalog to Tidal.[28] "4:44", the album's title track, is "one long, tearful, soul-ripped-open apology" dedicated to Beyoncé.[15]
"Family Feud" is about a "separation within the culture" and "tensions in the black community and at home".[28] The track also references his infidelity.[34] The "reggae-tinged" song "Bam" features Damian Marley's vocals, with a four-piece horn section and guitar.[28] Jay-Z said about the track: "it's just jammin', it's just like the song. But it's secretly Shawn Carter saying, 'Man, you need a bit of ego.'"[41] "Moonlight" references two films nominated to the 2017 Oscars for Best Picture, Moonlight and La La Land, as a "commentary on the culture and where we're going".[28]
Commercial performance[edit]
4:44 debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 262,000 album-equivalent units, (of which 174,000 copies were pure album sales) in its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[2] This became Jay-Z's 14th number one album.[2] The album was a Tidal exclusive for the first week and the streaming numbers on Tidal were not reported. On July 5, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million units.[87] The album was certified only a week after its release.[87] During this period, it was reported that mobile company Sprint, a major share-holder in Tidal,[88] had bought a million copies of 4:44 and provided subscribers free downloads of the album.[88] In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, earning an additional 87,000 units.[89] In its third week, the album dropped to number seven on the chart, earning 45,000 more units.[90] In its fourth week, the album climbed to number five on the chart, earning 33,000 units.[91] By the end of 2017, the album had accumulated 639,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, with 399,000 as pure sales, not including the one million copies given away.[92] In 2017, 4:44 was ranked as the 36th most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.[93]