Jay-Z has never really been one for interviews so when he does take part in one it’s something special. Just a few days ago he was featured in an interview with Rap Radar that ran over an hour long and discussed the process of making 4:44, as well as various issues surrounding his personal life and business decisions.
Of particular interest to me was his creative process during the creation of what is definitely one of his most impressive releases, which is saying a lot because he has a stellar body of work. No I.D.’s production sparked some creativity in Jay and upon recording “Kill Jay-Z” and “4:44” in a short period of time the sonic direction of the album was mapped out. Jay stated that “Kill Jay-Z” was written from the perspective of Sean Carter speaking soberly and honestly towards his rap alter ego and telling him to kill the ego so that they can speak honestly for the rest of the album. Jay noted that this song was very important during the recording phase because it set the tone for the rest of the album to be vulnerable and open.
He also talked about his decision to keep the project very minimalistic and conversational in nature because he did not want the message to be overshadowed by technical things and lyrical gymnastics. He stated that a lot of people have taken his lyrics out of context (notably Future), but in time Jay believes this project will be heralded as an important album. That is a sentiment that I personally agree with.
A lot was covered during the interview pertaining to the music, Tidal, the release models he used for his two most recent albums as well as his general dissatisfaction with the way record sales are being tracked and reported by the industry. He mentioned that the decision to start Tidal came about due to the fact that he believes the people creating and affecting culture should own a piece of the platform that distributes, it and therefore have more control and get a larger piece of the pie that they rightfully deserve.
You can watch the interview in its entirety in the video below. It really is worth it to make some time to watch it as it’s not often that someone gets to pick the brain of one of hip hop’s most iconic figures.
