4:44
In the title track, Hova came clean about his past infidelity in what is a powerful response to his wife Beyonce's latest album, Lemonade. "I suck at love, I think I need a do-over / I will be emotionally available if I invited you over / I stew over what if you over my s--t?" he rapped. "And if my children knew / I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would probably die with all the shame / You did what with who? / What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate? / You risked that for Blue?"
"I harass you out in Paris / Please come back to Rome / You make it home / We talked for hours when you were on tour," the bussiness mogul pleated. "Please pick up the phone, pick up the phone / Said don't embarrass me instead of be mine / That was my proposal for us to go steady / That was your 21st birthday / You mature faster than me / I wasn't ready / So I apologize."
"I apologize to all the woman whom I / Toyed with you emotions because I was emotionless / I apologize 'cuz 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 / Thinking about all the time you wasted in on all the basic s--t so," he noted. "I apologize."
In one of the more powerful moments, the now father-of-twins addressed the Sorry singer’s multiple past miscarriages and puts the blame on his absence. “I apologize, often womanize / Took for my child to be born / See through a woman's eyes / Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles / Took me too long for this song / I don't deserve you," JAY-Z rapped. "So I apologize / I've seen the innocence / Leave your eyes / I still mourn this death," he rapped. "I apologize for all the stillborns / 'Cuz I wasn't pressing / Your body wouldn't accept it." When talking about the inspiration of the track, the rapper admitted that timing was literally everything.
“4:44 is a song that I wrote, and it's the crux of the album, just right in the middle of the album. And I woke up, literally, at 4:44 in the morning, 4:44 a.m., to write this song. So, it became the title of the album and everything," he said to iHeartRadio. "It's the title track because it's such a powerful song, and I just believe one of the best songs I've ever written."
Photo: Getty Images
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