If Lemonade was the accusation album, 4:44 is the apology.
Jay-Z's new record was released on Thursday night, with fans immediately delving into the lyrics to search for possible responses to wife Beyonce— and they did not come up empty handed.
In at least three of the tracks, the 47-year-old appears to address infidelity, and not subtly, either.
In Kill Jay-Z, addressing himself, he raps 'You almost went Eric Benét / Let the baddest girl in the world get away.'
Eric Benét famously cheated on then wife Halle Berry.
'I don't even know what else to say / N***a, never go Eric Benét / I don't even know what you woulda done / In the future, other n***s playin' football with your son.'
Fans were quick to realize the last line referenced fellow rapper Future's attack on footballer Russell Wilson for being a stepfather to his son, Future Jr.
In the same track, Jay-Z also appears to reference his infamous lift fight with his sister-in-law, admitting it was his fault.
'You egged Solange on knowin' all along / all you had to say you was wrong,' he raps.
In the track Family Feud - which bears the refrain 'Nobody wins when the family feuds' - even name-checks 'Becky' with the good hair, whom many believed was Jay-Z's mistress after Beyonce's Sorry.
'Yeah, I'll f*ck up a good thing if you let me / Let me alone, Becky / A man that don't take care his family can't be rich,' he raps.
Beyonce meanwhile provides backing vocals on the track.
His title song of 4:44 however appears to contain several lines of regret and apology for infidelity.
'Look, I apologize, often womanize / Took for my child to be born / See through a woman's eyes.
'Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles / Took me too long for this song,' he raps, claiming his children made him see the error of his ways.
'Like the men before me, I cut off my nose to spite my face / I never wanted another woman to know / Something about me that you didn't know.
He continues: 'And if my children knew, I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would prolly die with all the shame.
'"You did what with who?" / What good is a ménage à trois when you have a soulmate? / "You risked that for Blue?".
The chorus concedes: 'I'm never gonna treat you, never gonna treat you like I should.'
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