Los Angeles - Rapper Jay Z let his music
do the talking with his new album "4:44" on Friday as he
addressed cheating on his wife Beyonce, the birth of his twins
and this year's Oscars best picture.
In the title track, Jay Z admitted in his lyrics that he
"often womanize", more than a year after R&B star Beyonce first
shed light on his infidelities in her album "Lemonade".
Jay Z pens a remorseful ode to his fractured marriage in
"4:44", rapping that it "took for my child to be born, see
through a woman's eyes" in reference to the couple's daughter
Blue Ivy.
He also mentioned their twins, who were reported to have
been born this month but whose arrival has yet to be officially
confirmed, saying it "took for these natural twins to believe in
miracles, took me too long for this song, I don't deserve you".
Jay Z added: "What good is a menage a trois when you have a
soul mate? You risked that for Blue? ... my heart breaks for the
day I had to explain my mistakes."
Fans were left stunned last year when Beyonce made
accusations in "Lemonade" that Jay Z had cheated on her, a rare
crack in the seemingly perfect facade of one of music's
highest-profile couples.
In her song "Sorry", Beyonce referred to a mystery woman,
calling her "Becky with the good hair", which is echoed in Jay
Z's track "Family Feud", a duet with Beyonce in which he raps
"Let me alone Becky".
"4:44" was released exclusively on premium music streaming
platform Tidal, founded by Jay Z, in partnership with U.S.
wireless carrier Sprint Corp, which purchased a 33 percent stake
in Tidal this year and made the album available via a six-month
Tidal subscription to Sprint mobile customers.
It can also be heard throughout Friday across 160 U.S. radio
stations on iHeartRadio, the digital music service for a network
of traditional radio stations.
The 35-minute album features Blue Ivy on the track "Legacy",
in which the five-year-old asks "Daddy, what's a will?" as the
rapper expresses hope that his children use their wealth to
promote "black excellence".
In "Moonlight", Jay Z tackles the impact of the film "La La
Land" being named best picture at this year's Oscars
while in "The Story of O.J.", the rapper explores
black identity in America.