Jay-z - Kill Jay Z

Music 5 years ago

Jay-z - Kill Jay Z

A notoriously guarded figure who for decades has embodied the definition of hip-hop success, JAY-Z lays it all out on 4:44: his ego (“Kill Jay Z”), his infidelity (“4:44”) and his trauma (“Legacy”).

In the same way his mother was able to finally come to terms with her own truth (“Smile”), it’s in this very vulnerability that Hov finds peace, clarity and his best album since The Blueprint.

Complemented by No I.D.’s classy, cohesive production—the way he splices in those Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Hannah Williams samples is the work of a director, let alone a producer—4:44 is the sound of a 47-year-old rapper aging more


gracefully than any rapper over 40 ever has; if you cannot take offense at the money phone line, there’s enough game in here for you to follow suit. 4:44 is JAY-Z’s 13th studio album, but more importantly, it’s Shawn Carter’s first album.