The self-proclaim king of hip-hop has dropped a brand new album this week. 4:44 is here but actually only on Tidal.
Some may think I have a love-hate relationship regarding Sir Shawn Corey Carter aka Jay Z. And maybe you are right. For me, he has always been rapping about his so-called gangster envies and his bling-bling lifestyle. I have never been attracted to that. I did enjoy a few of his songs like every teens that saw the great Tupac and Biggie leaving this world in the late 90’s. I was hoping that maybe some knowledge and words of wisdom will come eventually…
I’m still waiting.
I’m a girl that grew up analyzing and loving the lyrics and musicology of the songs of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Guru, A Tribe Called Quest, the French legendary group IAM and Nas. Those guys never proclaim they were the best there is but we all know they were. Some of them did talk about the gangster life but they never quite glorified it as some artists did. But they manage to write some poetic lyrics with some mystical beats.
At first, Jay Z was the promising one. But I think he got lost in this corporate world and his self proclaimed throne with his queen.
The Beatles, The Stones, James Brown, Tina Turner didn’t have to sing that they were the best there is. We all know before they knew.
An artist doing an album that will be only streaming on his platform but you better be register before his baby album was drop, I find it a little bit snobbish.
And if you want to apologize to your wife about “Becky woman” or whatever, please don’t put it in a song that seems to be a marketing strategy like everything regarding this relationship.
Authenticy is a word that I wrote a lot about on The Chronicle. I’m inspired by authentic artists. Rappers “like the ones I mention earlier” are one of the most authentic ones because they are not afraid to talk about the struggle and the little victories.
Now, everything is about branding and profiling.
Talking about your beefs has been in the hip-hop community since ever. But I was thinking in 2017 maybe we had passed this stupid way of dealing with it. Guess what, Jay did dissed Kanye. I taught he was a little bit more mature for that. It was his chance to be the bigger man of the situation. Oh well, here we go again.
There is some hope.
I really do appreciate the song “Smile”. It’s a hymn about a son that he is proud that his mother is finally and in love regarding what society may think. I find it to be sweet and beautiful.
I enjoy the first 3 albums of Mr. West. For some of us, he was relatable. This guy that went to college, rap about his everyday life with an originality with perfectly well written lyrics.
Like you know the guy is a smart ass by his writing. Jay Z and him were the perfect combinaison. And the world of fame and hashtag destroyed it.
A guy like Jay Z could have help more the up and comers artists in a bigger way. He is a smart business man but I won’t say one of the best artists of all time but clearly an artist that put his footprint on the 20th and 21th century.
To be a good business man, you don’t have to be authentic but instead you have to be smart, sharp as a knife and opportunist. You got to grab every opportunity to make money.
And this album seem to be the goal but we did had some glimpse of real germs. Maybe the next one album will shine in his fullness like a diamond.
