It has been just shy of four years since Jay-Z released his most recent album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, and A LOT has happened since then.
With everything from the ongoing push for Tidal, to Beyonce’s landmark Lemonade album, to the couple having a set of twins, it has been all go.
What it hasn’t been – at least from Jay-Z’s side – has been full of new music, but that may be about to change. Or it may not, nobody is quite sure yet.
Just like Lemonade, a viral-y promotional campaign began a little while ago, with random 4:44 posters showing up all over New York.
The first thing that came to mind for us was this:
Clip via Andy McCoolname
Next up, we got a mini-movie starring recent Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as a boxer, and Danny Glover as (maybe?) his (dead?) father, and we’re told that Lupita N’yongo is also involved in some capacity, but there’s no sign of her here.
Clip via Jay Z
This led people to believe that maybe the project wouldn’t be an album after all, but may in fact be a movie.
Some code-cracker lead into reading that 4:44 meant “For 44”, or the 44th U.S. President, aka Barack Obama. But that is just some guesswork at this point.
But whatever it is, this week we found out when we can expect it to arrive:
Jay Z finally sets release date for 4:44 ??? pic.twitter.com/WN6Y3DsR0S
— Rappers Said (@RappersSaid) June 16, 2017
30 June is a Friday, and movies and albums both arrive on Fridays, so that doesn’t clear anything up.
Just like Lemonade, the project will be a Tidal exclusive, so if you are hoping to get your eyes on a Jay-Z produced movie or your ears on his new album, best expect to sign up to the streaming service before long.
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