Beyoncé Reportedly Had Input on Every Single Track on JAY-Z’s New Album
With JAY-Z’s new album, 4:44, dropping on Tidal, everyone’s been blown away by the confessional nature of the tracks. Fans have already noted that the personal songs on the record seem like a response to Beyoncé’s groundbreaking visual album, Lemonade, but now we’re also learning that the Queen Bey herself had major input into the project.
According to the album’s lone producer, No-I.D., Beyoncé had more input than anyone else while Jay was making his emotional record. “I always call Bey our de facto A&R. Pillow talk is the strongest conversation on the planet. Every song has to get past her ears, in my eyes,” he said. “She came by [the studio] a lot and played a good part in helping us get over hurdles on certain records. Of course she’s genius-level with that.”
The producer went on to talk about how rare it is in rap music to have a single producer on an album, and said that helped make 4:44 as intimate as it is. “It was a real artist-producer relationship on a traditional level. I think it’s something we need more of in all music. It wasn’t until the mid-90s that we even started this concept of multiple producers on projects.”
The now-father of three used his latest album to reflect on his life. No-I.D. disclosed that in an email with the rapper, he mentioned “smiling no matter what,” and from there, Jay’s emotional confession about his mother’s life (“Smile”) came out.
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(h/t E!Online; photos via Dimitrios Kambouris + Larry Busacca/Getty)