Eric Carter did survive the bullet, and Jay was only a child when this instance took place, but we can see his past mistakes still haunts him to this day. You'll never be enough, let's just keep it real, Jay Zįuck Jay Z, I mean, you shot your own brotherįirst thing off the bat, Jay is dismembering his persona and taking a more self-aware approach. No one knew what to expect from a 2017 Jay album, but it’s safe to say he surpassed any and all that prefaced him.ġ0 seconds into the appropriately titled first track, “Kill Jay Z”, we’re faced with these lines: It wasn’t much longer until more went up with a date (6.30.17) and a name, JAY Z. Curiosity began peaking when billboards and sign began appearing with nothing more that the the numbers “4:44”. With controversy at a high surrounding Jay’s respectability, everyone was hungry to hear what he had to say. And finally, his wife, Beyonce, made an entire album about him supposedly cheating on her. Then his once close friend, Kanye West, ranted against him.
In the time span between 2013 and now, Solange (his sister-in-law), was caught hitting him in an elevator. The party-friendly, trap-influenced, attempt at mainstream pandering was about as interesting as watching paint dry. Although it did touch on serious topics here and there, it was far from what a 40 year old father would sound fitting discussing. Whether that be his collection of Basquiat paintings, designer clothes, or liquor preferences, by the end… well we got the point. Magna Carta Holy Grail, his previous album (from 2013), spent almost an hour telling us about his love for riches. Although there have certainly been instances of him being personal in the past (selling drugs to his mother, shooting his brother, feeling responsible for his nephews death, and so on), the large majority of his music has been braggadocio. This character being Jay Z, Hov, Jigga, but not Shawn Carter. I am not soul purist, and I enjoy many forms of classical and popular music.Throughout all of Jay Z’s past albums, we've come to understand and love this character known for his drug dealing, no-strings-attached sex, and excessive wealth (Jay built his Roc-A-Fella dynasty, became CEO of Def Jam Recordings, and achieved so much more due to his ability to hustle). I quite frequently write and/or record feature vocals for a variety of other artists - soul, house, electro swing, pop, whatever. Plus… you would literally have to be living under a rock in the middle of the desert to have missed JAY-Z’s stuff, right? For sure, I would be happy to work with other artists. It’s not top of my listening list but it’s definitely played a part in my playlist for a long time. That was quite a day for us all! Nobody could have prepared me for that.ĭo you usually listen to rap? Even thought about recording with MCs? If so, who do you want to team up with? We all knew about the “story” at the same time the rest of the world found out on June 30. I didn’t even know it was the title track. I had literally no idea about the story behind the song or the story behind being his vehicle to write the song. How does it feel to be part of something like that? And of course, you play a big part of this, providing the voice that inspired him. No ID said that he did the track that way so he could box Jay into openly talking about those feelings. “4:44” not only is the best song in the album, but also one of the greatest songs by JAY-Z in his whole career. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With '4:44' He didn’t use the additional versions in the end which I am really pleased about as it shows that the original track totally speaks for itself. So I went straight home and called him from my tiny rented house in Winchester and… that was it. Please let me know when you are available for a quick chat. To my absolute shock and disbelief, I had missed calls from a U.S. We were nearly home when I thought to check my phone and let my husband know to come and pick me up. I was on a coach on the way home from the Cathedral’s Group choir festival with about 50 students from the music department I run at the University of Winchester. Z called me 48 hours later to ask if he could have the sessions from our studio recording and to re-record some alternate permutations of the chorus lyrics in case he wanted to diversify from the implied meaning in the original. I was convinced when my drummer and manager Jai called me to tell me “to expect a phone call from JAY-Z” that it was some elaborate wind-up. You had one of the greatest rappers calling you personally. Most of the time, when a big rapper wants to sample a song, the whole thing is handled by agents, managers, A&Rs, that kind of stuff. Nothing makes me want to dance more than those fast, complex polyrhythms. I have to confess that I am not enormously experienced in Brazilian music, but I do know that I love samba. Do you like anything from Brazilian music?