When Jay-Z announced he was dropping a new album this year, some people scoffed. At age 47 - and after twelve previous albums - what more did he have to say? On his last one, 2013's Magna Carta Holy Grail, he mostly rapped about designer clothes and expensive paintings. "Nobody wants to hear a new Jay-Z album!" said the Internet. "He's too old, too rich, too predictable."
But the critics were wrong. Jay-Z's thirteenth album, 4:44, was one of the biggest surprises of the year (and leads the
Grammy nominations with seven nods). This time Sean Carter had something to say. He rapped about his personal life in raw detail - revealing that his mother is a lesbian, comparing his dad's infidelity with his own and delivering a heartfelt apology to
Beyoncé for cheating on her. (Suddenly I don't feel bad for
Solange smacking him in that elevator.)
In an interview with The New York Times, the revelations continue. Some rappers might be too embarrassed to see a therapist, because of the social stigma, but not Jay-Z:
“I grew so much from the experience. But I think the most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere. And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a … you’re at such an advantage. You know, you realize that if someone’s racist toward you, it ain’t about you. It’s about their upbringing and what happened to them, and how that led them to this point. You know, most bullies bully. It just happen. Oh, you got bullied as a kid so you trying to bully me. I understand.”
Also, Hov finally admits to cheating on
Beyoncé, saying he was raised to "put on this shell of this tough person:"
"You shut down all emotions. So even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can’t connect… In my case, like it’s, it’s deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity.”Instead of splitting up, the couple chose to work through their problems:
“Most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something ’cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself. So, you know, most people don’t want to do that. You don’t want to look inside yourself. And so you walk away.Initially, Jay and Bey were planning to record a joint album. But after Jay ditched "the baddest bitch in the game" for "Becky with the good hair," those plans fell apart:
"We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together. And then the music she was making at that time was further along. So her album came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on...we were sitting in the eye of that hurricane, but the best place is right in the middle of the pain...and we had a lot of conversations. [I was] really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released.”
Hopefully their joint album still happens! Congratulations to Jay-Z for apologizing to Queen B and repairing their relationship. Or as he might put it: "I've got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one."
