More confessions. Jay-Z got real about his marriage to Beyoncé in a “footnotes” video for his album’s title track, “4:44,” which was released on Tidal on Monday, July 10.
In the track, the 47-year-old rap legend seemingly apologizes for cheating on the superstar, with whom he shares 5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy and newborn twins Rumi and Sir. “’You did what with who?’ / What good is a ménage a trois when you have a soulmate? / ‘You risked that for Blue?’” Jay-Z raps.
In the addendum video, the Tidal founder and several friends, including Chris Rock, Will Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Aziz Ansari and Mahershala Ali, discuss relationships with women and family. Jay-Z talks about why his relationship with Beyoncé, 35, reached a breaking point. “This is my real life. I just ran into this place and we built this big, beautiful mansion of a relationship that wasn’t totally built on the 100 percent truth, and it starts cracking. Things start happening that the public can see,” he says. “Then we had to get to a point of, ‘OK, tear this down and let’s start from the beginning.'”
He says that fighting for his marriage was harder than his childhood growing up in Brooklyn. “Remember we just talked about me: I’m from Marcy Projects. I’ve been shot at. But nothing is harder than this. By far. I’m telling you, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he continues. “Most humans, us, you know what I mean? We’re not willing to put ourselves through that. Most people give up.”
The “Marcy Me” rapper goes on to recall a vacation where he begged Beyoncé to stay longer. “I was on a boat, and I had the best time,” Jay-Z says. “I was like, ‘Man, this is great.’ Then she had to leave. I was, like, crushed: ‘Man, I don’t even feel like this. What is happening to my body right now?’ I was like, ‘Don’t go.’ I was like, ‘Did I just say … ‘Don’t leave?'”
The Grammy winner also confirms he played his 13th studio album for the “Single Ladies” singer early in the recording process. “We just got a place where, in order for this to work, this can’t be fake. Not one ounce,” Jay-Z says. “I’m not saying it wasn’t uncomfortable because obviously it was.”
