An age when you’re proud of your achievements (“Family Feud”), yet still have days when you want to burn it all down (“Kill Jay Z”). An age when transgressions feel heavier and less important to defend (“4:44”). And he was finally ready to be himself.Īnd while circa-2017 JAY-Z existed on a plane high above us mere mortals, the ideas and anxieties underpinning 4:44 are surprisingly relatable.

He’d spent 20 years thawing out in front of millions. The benefits of keeping up the front-his career, his artistic legacy, money-had dominated Jay’s public life by the time of 4:44. “Because that’s what you want them to see/Living two lives, happy, but not free.” Jay could no doubt relate. It’s a song that lets you into Jay’s family-and offers an analogy for his own experience: “In the shadows people see you as happy and free,” Gloria notes on the song’s outro. You can hear that relief on a track like “Smile,” in which he raps about seeing his mother Gloria accept her sexuality late in life. But there’s a sense of naturalness here that feels unmatched in his catalog, the unclenched jaw that comes before a long sigh of relief. The hustler was compelling on his earlier efforts, and his ascent from the street to the boardroom changed rap. There are moments on 4:44 that might make you sit up and wonder why JAY-Z hasn’t been rapping like this all along.

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