STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Here's What Jay-Z Has to Say About Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' on '4:44'

You'll need to have a seat before listening to these two tracks.

Beyoncé’s ceremonial testament to Black womanhood, musically known as her sixth album, Lemonade, has sat with our ears for over a year now. Of all the curiosity fans had about the heaviest, most sensitive of her lyrics, there’s still one burning question: Did her husband of nine years, one of hip-hop’s top-tier moguls, Jay-Z, actually cheat on Beyoncé?

In just two tracks of his 13h hip-hop opus, 4:44, Hov has not only answered, but apologized as well.

Spoken in four minutes and 44 seconds of the “4:44” track of the 4:44 album, Jay enlists the vocals of gospel songstress Kim Burrell to help his apology-driven bars along. From the song’s intro, Burrell croons a wallowing, regret-ridden ode on Jay’s behalf that opens up some of Lemonade’s wounds. He wastes no time getting to the point either, shooting straight into his plea for forgiveness in the first verse.

“Look, I apologize, often womanize/ Took for my child to be born, see through a woman’s eyes,” Jay spits. “Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles/ Took me too long for this song/ I don’t deserve you.”

Jay continues his confessional to his wife, bringing them all the way back to her 21st birthday where he acknowledges his immaturity in asking her “not to embarrass him” instead of courting her to “be his.” The bars that followed may be the most personal Jay’s ever gotten before, touching on the power couple’s struggle with miscarriages before the birth of their firstborn daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, and even Jay’s playboy vices of his past.

“I've seen the innocence leave your eyes/ I still mourn this death, I apologize for all the stillborns,” Jay rapped. “'Cause I wasn't present, your body wouldn't accept it/ I apologize to all the woman whom I, toyed with your emotions because I was emotionless.”

One track later on “Family Feud,” the Roc Nation herald now recruits the cherished vocals of the even more cherished Queen Bey for a priority reminder of the Carter family importance. Oh, and Lemonade’s Becky with the good hair” gets her 15 seconds, or one bar, of fame also.

“Yeah, I’ll f**k up a good thing if you let me/ Let me alone, Becky,” Jay spits. “A man that don’t take care of his family can’t be rich/ I'll watch ‘Godfather,’ I miss that whole sh**/ My consciousness was Michael's common sense/ I missed the karma and that came as a consequence.”

Make sure you have a seat and pour yourself a nice, cool glass of lemonade before hitting play on this one. 

See the Lemonade boomerangs fans caught in the posts below.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.