Cassandra: His mom came out on a Hip Hop album. That’s definitely a first.
Vernon: I always knew his mom was gay. One of my friends used to live in the same community as him, so when she transferred to our school she was like Everybody know his mom a lesbian. I was just like No we didn’t. Thanks for the news!
Cassandra: What he is doing is so timely.
Logan: Even in taking the risks, and being brave, and putting out truths on this and that, he still did it in the most Jay-Z way possible. He didn’t really say anything that we didn’t already know. We been knew he cheated on Beyonce since the elevator fight. Even in confession he does it in an arms-length Jay-Z kinda way. I think what’s notable is what he DIDN’T say. He gave us NO hints as to who Becky is. NONE. There is no reason to be messy.
Vernon: Thinking of the song “Smile” takes me to conversations I’ve had about how coming out of the closet isn’t just a queer persons thing. Sometimes family members as well have to admit to themselves, like parents have to admit to themselves that their child is gay, like Jay-Z had to admit that his mother was gay.
Logan: He’s up to quadruple entendres at this point. I saw the lyrics written out and it’s really even more poetic than I thought while I was listening. He seemed to really reel himself in. He kept it pure and brought it back to basics.
Cassandra: I think a lot of lyricists could take a master class from Jay on cutting out the bullshit and telling your story. He’s very efficient.
Vernon: One of the things that struck me is when he mentioned Tupac’s nose ring. I think that he’s holding masculinity accountable there. He was saying that we would’ve clowned dudes for wearing a nose ring until Tupac made it cool. And having Frank Ocean on the album to me says he’s breaking down a lot of walls for people.
Cassandra: He was the guy who crossed over the threshold and became SUPER rich, and people were criticizing the fact that he was wearing sandals instead of Tims. Like, you want him to wear Tims to the beach? It’s absurd. Be real. Be a human.
Rohan: Gotta stay hard at all times.
Vernon: People are saying that this album is speaking to “Lemonade”, but I think it’s speaking more to “A Seat At The Table”.
Rohan: I’ve been saying the same thing. It sounds more like "A Seat At The Table", just in its clarity, it’s confession.
Logan: I feel like this whole album is a dig at Kanye West. He used No I.D.’s production for the entire album. NO I.D. was Kanye’s mentor. So that’s Jay saying Look dawg, you are still replaceable. You can see yourself out and we’re still gonna be good over here.
Vernon: There are a few tracks on there that sound like they were produced by Kanye!
Rohan: Did you see the album art? It looks like its referencing The Life of Pablo. Same color scheme and black font.
Logan: No ID produced his ass off. That’s one of the first things I noticed. Production is top notch. It is savant level sampling. It was uncluttered. It was bare bones and simple, yet lush and complex at the same time.
Rohan: It didn’t have the grandiosity of a Kanye record. It didn’t have the anthem.
Cassandra: Jay doesn’t have Kanye’s anger. Kanye’s still at war with himself and it comes through in the music.
On first listen, I paid attention to the music more than lyrics. I’m the same age as Jay, and the whole album felt like a salute to the music we grew up on. So grown. Like Nina Simone. He has enough money to clear those samples, and this is what it looks like.
Rohan: For his whole career he has boasted about dealing and the lifestyle that it afforded him. It’s good to hear him talk about how that haunts him.
Vernon: Like selling drugs to your own community, to family members. HE SAID THAT. And it needed to be said.
Logan: He also alluded to the time he shot his brother. Jay-Z really a crab ass nigga in a lot of ways (laughing), but at least he can admit it.
Vernon: That is a quality that my favorite writers have. The ability to be real with yourself. There is something to that.
Logan: I hear people calling this shit a classic already, on that bullshit, like 48 hour classic. I don’t know if it is or not, but I can tell its an inflection point like the Blueprint was. He’s setting the blueprint for how to be an elder statesman in hip hop and still make relevant music without playing yourself. I don’t know if it’s a classic. All of his classics had that one track. When you think about the album, you think of that track. This one is such a solid work as a unit. Nothing really stands out far enough to take away attention from the rest.
Cassandra: I’m also thinking about the new Tribe album and De la. These are old heads still making relevant stuff. In that company, he’s doing damn well.
Rohan: I think this project, more than any other, showcases Jay-Z’s talent as a poet. No ID’s production gave him so much space. It’s like a superhighway.