How many rappers have outed their own mothers on record? Gotta be fewer than 50, right? Which is what makes this line all the more startling, as Hova reveals that his mother Gloria “ had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian/Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take”.

“Heroin flow, I spaz on the stove” – ‘Smile’ Not that Jay loves her any less of course: “cried tears of joy when you fell in love,” he continues, “don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her/I just wanna see you smile through all the hate”. “I sat down with Prince, eye to eye/He told me his wishes before he died” – ‘Caught Their Eyes’ Not entirely sure what he’s getting at here, but it certainly isn’t ‘oh, look at the controversy Kanye caused by using this offensive word in ‘Four Five Seconds’. Jay did indeed sit down with Prince, and his wishes apparently included putting his music exclusively on Tidal. “After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognise and applaud the effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry,” Prince said of the agreement. “Look, I apologise, often womanise” – ‘4:44’īeyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ album appeared to tackle Jay’s alleged womanising, and here he seems to hold his hands up, spending the entire title track of the new album admitting to his roving eye in reply to Beyonce’s accusatory track ‘Sorry’. “What use is a ménage a trois when you have a soulmate/’You risked that for Blue?’” – ‘4:44’ Discussing how he’s seen “the innocence leave your eyes” until “you stare blankly into space”, the miscarriage that tested them both and the on-tour phone calls Beyonce wouldn’t answer, he even goes on to confess “I never wanted another woman to know something about me that you didn’t know” and that “I promise, I cried… I suck at love, I need a do-over”.

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