Four years have passed since Jay-Z dropped his thirteenth studio album, 4:44. Marketed as a response to Beyonce's critically acclaimed 2016 album Lemonade, Hov's last album treated Hip-Hop fans to a side of Jay-Z that they had never seen before. From the self-deprecating intro "Kill Jay-Z" to the reflective album closer "Legacy," 4:44 was perhaps Jay-Z's most candid, introspective, and transparent album to date, and one could argue that four years later, it may even be a classic album.
While that will likely be up to debate for several years to come, one thing is certain about Jay-Z's eye-opening 2017 album — you can't talk about it without talking about reminiscing on its magnificent fifth track, titled "4:44."
Jay-Z himself has revealed that "4:44" is essentially the crux of his last solo album, and everything about the song masterful. From the fact that Jay-Z literally woke up at 4:44 a.m. to write the song to the song literally being four minutes and 44 seconds long, "4:44" is an incredibly written and intentionally crafted song.
Revisit the title track to Jay-Z's thirteenth studio album below. Four years later, which song from 4:44 is your favorite?
Quotable Lyrics
I apologize to all the women whom I toyed with your emotions
'Cause I was emotionless
And I apologize 'cause at your best, you are love
And because I fall short of what I say I'm all about
Your eyes leave with the soul that your body once housed
And you stare blankly into space
Thinkin' of all the time, you wasted it on all this basic shit
So I apologize
