Jay-Z Spikes The ‘Lemonade’ – ‘4:44’ Lyrical Deep Dive Of The Best Songs

4:44 from Jay-Z dropped on Tidal this morning, and we finally received some closure on the Lemonade scandal. 

First of all, yes, I always have looked up to Jay-Z and thought he was a "superhero" of the rap world. That's just my generation, I guess. So when Jay-Z started to plug imagery for 4:44, I was super excited. After listening to the album, I think that if you're not aware of the back story of the Lemonade album, this album is going to confuse you.  After a second, third, and fourth listen, I found that this isn't going to be an album of "singles," and it's definitely not an album for the average rap fan. There's a certain level of intelligence that HOV reaches that isn't going to be generic enough to please the masses - but it is the best attempt at a pairing to Beyonce's visual offering.

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: THE WHOLE SONG.

Jay spills his guts, sharing his thoughts between the birth of his kids, and what it takes for a woman to bear children. He notes that he begged Bey to talk to him after she left and that she matured faster than him since she was 21. He notes that he "wasn't ready," and that he apologized because he didn't deserve her. He says that he toyed with her emotions with other women during their relationship because he was "emotionless." He also says a very poetic line "Your eyes leave with the soul that your body once housed, and you stare blankly into space, thinkin' of all the time you wasted in on all this basic s***." We're pretty sure this correlates with her moment of "Today I regret the night I put that ring on," and we're guessing that he means that it was so painful to watch her lose all her happiness.

The second verse expresses that he feels that their love was supposed to be "for the ages," and they weren't "meant to cry and die alone in these mansions or sleep with our backs turned."  He also says that he "never wanted another woman to know something about me that you didn't know." We suspect when he wrote these verses, Bey might have still been gone, because he ends it with "I will be emotionally available if I invited you over? I stew over. What if? You over? My s***?" It sounded like he knew it was a big possibility he could lose her.

He also shares that it's going to wreck him once his kids find out what he did when they're older. And that his infidelity happened again after Blue was already conceived. "'You did what with who?' What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate? 'You risked that for Blue?'" 

Thank goodness they straightened all of it out.

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "What's better than one billionare? Two."

Beyonce and Jay-Z capitalized immensely off of Lemonade. And though we're not going to find a ton of reports on it - one of my main fact-supported notions is that they took their pain and made it financially viable. So the fact that they both have made Forbes for stacking the cash, I feel like that they knew if they exposed Jay's infidelity, they could ride that to the top.

Stand Out Lyrics: "Yeah, I'll f*** up a good thing if you let me. Let me alone, Becky. A man that don't take care his family can't be rich." 

Becky with the good hair, you're back again! Noting that she was an actual "thing," mentioning her further solidify's Lemonade's accusations.  The fact that Bey also sings on the track adds the cement.

Stand Out Lyrics: "I'll be damned if I drink some Belvedere while Puff got CIROC." 

We don't know what this means, or if this is a jab to Diddy / Puff Daddy / Puffy / P.Diddy / Whatever he's calling himself these days, but considering Sean Combs made #1 on Forbes, and HOV made 2, maybe this was Jay's subtle note that he was coming for the spot.

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "You dropped outta school, you lost your principles. I know people backstab you, I felt bad too. But this 'f*** everybody' attitude ain't natural. But you ain't a Saint, this ain't KumbaYe. But you got hurt because you did cool by 'Ye. You gave him 20 million without blinkin'. He gave you 20 minutes on stage, f*** was he thinkin'? "F*** wrong with everybody?" is what you sayin'. But if everybody's crazy, you're the one that's insane."

Well, well, well, it looks like we also got a response on his supposed feud with Kanye West. And from what it sounds like, he gave Kanye West 20 Million. If you're unfamiliar or if it didn't quite click in your radar, right before Kanye's mental breakdown, he went on stage and ranted during the Saint Pablo tour (for about 20 minutes before leaving) and said (quoted from UPROXX): “I’ve been sitting here to give y’all the truth. Jay Z, call me, bruh. You still ain’t calling me. Jay Z, call me. Aye, bruh, I know you got killers. Please don’t send them at my head. Just call me. Talk to me like a man."

After Kim Kardashian's incident in Paris, we don't know if Kanye was also thinking that the robbery had something to do with Jay-Z, but Ye went off the deep end around that time, so it's hard to tell what he thinks was going on.

Another subtle theory: The constant repetitiveness of mentioning his name in the third person alludes potentially to "I Love Kanye" by Kanye West off of The Life Of Pablo. 

Stand Out Lyrics: "You egged Solange on, Knowin' all along, all you had to say you was wrong. You almost went Eric Benét. Let the baddest girl in the world get away."

After almost losing Beyonce over infidelity, and Solange Knowles, Bey's sister, attacking Jay in an elevator, we finally know that this is why it all went down. Jay also makes reference to Eric Benét cheating on Halle Berry, which seemed to be such a scandal back in the day because it's HALLE BERRY!

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit."

Personally, I can't comment on most of the song out of respect for African Americans (lyrical content), but this line stuck out to me because a lot of the song also notes that Jay-Z made some bad "investments" or blowing money trying to stunt. He makes mentions to buying artwork for millions, how he could have purchased a building for 2 Mil and it would have been worth 25 Million now, which honestly isn't relatable on face-level, but if you think about typical Americans, many will blow money on superficial items instead of trying to build their future.

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian. Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian. Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate. Society shame and the pain was too much to take. Cried tears of joy when you fell in love. Don't matter to me if it's a him or her. I just wanna see you smile through all the hate. Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake."

I personally found this to be a BIG STEP in Hip-Hop. Though people like Frank Ocean have come out in the rap world, there's a huge stigma when it comes to Gay and Lesbian themes. The fact that Gloria Carter, Jay-Z's mom came out as a Lesbian, it creates a safe space for people to begin talking about it in the community. Because if you're gonna diss HOV's mom, he's gonna come after you.

Stand Out Lyrics: "Living in the shadow. Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live? In the shadows, people see you as happy and free. Because that's what you want them to see
Living two lives, happy, but not free. You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love. The world is changing and they say it's time to be free. But you live with the fear of just being me. Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be. No harm for them, no harm for me. But life is short, and it's time to be free. Love who you love, because life isn't guaranteed. Smile."

This was actually a poem that Gloria Carter read at the end of the track, and that was also super powerful.

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "We stuck in La La Land. Even when we win, we gon' lose."

This is a direct mention of when La La Land the movie was awarded "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards when the actual winner was Moonlight. Though the movie Moonlight, which was an achievement in Black Cinema was the actual winner, the story became how La La Land lost, rather than the achievement of Moonlight itself. Barry Jenkins, the director of Moonlight sent out a tweet at around 2:45 this morning with just an "O.M.G." and many are taking that as he heard about the track.

Jay shared in a recent interview according to Entertainment Weekly that "It’s like a subtle nod to La La Land winning the Oscar, and then having to give it to Moonlight. It’s really a commentary on the culture and where we’re going.”

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "I sat down with Prince, eye to eye. He told me his wishes before he died. Now, Londell McMillan, he must be color blind. They only see green from them purple eyes."

Roc Nation / Tidal was attacked by Londell McMillan after Prince's death to get Prince's catalog on other streaming services. Prior to Prince's death, he never let anything on YouTube or any other streaming sites to protect his rights as an artist. Tidal was the first to house anything, and that's why after his death, Prince's former camp came after Tidal to spread the seed.  To read more on that feud, visit Rolling Stone. 

Check out (probably) the deepest dive on Jay-Z's 13th studio album, song by song on our favorite 4:44's tracks below. We didn't cover every track on the album, but most of the tracks had some great Easter eggs. Check it out by clicking to the next page to see each deep dive of the songs.

Stand Out Lyrics: "Take those moneys and spread 'cross families. My sisters, Hattie and Lou, the nephews, cousins and TT. Eric, the rest to B for whatever she wants to do. She might start an institute. She might put poor kids through school. My stake in Roc Nation should go to you. Leave a piece for your siblings to give to their children too. TIDAL, the champagne, D'USSÉ, I'd like to see a nice peace-fund ideas from people who look like we. We gon' start a society within a society."

Jay talks about what he wants his legacy to mean and do once he's gone, even with an intro from Blue Ivy saying "Daddy, what's a will?" We're sure that HOV has covered himself when it comes to what he wants to do with his legacy and his money when he's gone, but it's nice that he decided to share that with us, that he hopes that he can leave a mark after he's gone.

What did you think of the album? Have you listened yet? If not - YOU SHOULD! But for some context, if you haven't listened to Lemonade from Beyonce, you may want to tackle that first.

Amy Cooper is the type of journalist that when asked "What do you bring to the table," she replies "I am the table.