JAY-Z - 4:44
Critic Score
Based on 33 reviews
2017 Ratings: #98 / 940
Year End Rank: #10
User Score
2017 Rank: #35
Liked by 779 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Telegraph

Jay Z has always been the most grown up of rap stars but on this he reaches new heights. It’s a highly personal work bravely opening up the artist’s very human flaws as an example to others, locating in his own suffering a path towards forgiveness, redemption and, ultimately, a better world.

100
Highsnobiety
Jay-Z's '4:44' proves vulnerability still makes for the best art.
91
A.V. Club

4:44 represents a sort of third act for the rapper, a return to earth after a decade-plus of flawed flights of fancy.

90
The 405

For those who had counted off Jay-Z the rapper, thinking Beyonce's recent renaissance would constitute the artistic future of the Carter clan (this writer included), 4:44 presents a renewed Jay-Z.

90
Clash

‘4:44’ is a deceptively multi-layered listen, revealing more and more to the listener upon multiple listens.

90
The Young Folks
It’s simply Shawn Carter: a heartbroken, pissed-off rap music fan trying to come to grips with where he is in life.
90
Albumism

It's a "grown folks" album, with mature themes: he addresses his infidelity, fiscal responsibility in the Black community and the relationships in intergenerational hip-hop.

90
PopMatters

This is Jay-Z walking onto the stage alone, standing contritely in front of the world, and speaking from the heart, revealing himself in order to heal.

88
HipHopDX
There are several JAY-Z albums that are superior in terms of musical creativity, but never has the man behind the Roc chain been more prolific in thought. It’s catharsis on steroids, walking the tightrope between FYI and TMI.
84
GIGsoup
The ‘4:44’ we have at this moment in time is an unexpected highlight from an artist who’s seen and done it all before, a businessman (you can add even more emphasis on the “man” now) who fooled us into believing he had nothing left up his sleeve.
84
Pitchfork

4:44 may lack the Cohiba panache of Jay’s greatest albums, but it’s by far his most thoughtful one.

83
Consequence of Sound

Even though it’s only 36 minutes long, 4:44 is the first JAY-Z album where you’re hanging on every single word from start to finish, because the words have about four times as many meanings as they did on any of his dozen solo albums prior.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

This is a better comeback album than Kingdom Come, and though JAY-Z hadn’t officially retired before 4:44, he might as well have.

80
Drowned in Sound

Examined in totality, the emotional vulnerability and naked transparency of 4:44 contrasts heavily with the infallible image JAY-Z has built over two decades. While 4:44 may not be his greatest album, it is a much valued deviation from the norm, a surprising feat considering his kaleidoscopic catalog.

80
Record Collector
A mere 36 minutes in length, it’s an all-killer no-filler triumph.
80
The Observer

It is a short, sharp album, produced entirely by Kanye West’s former mentor No ID – a rarity in hip-hop, and an interesting choice – with just three guests.

80
The Needle Drop

Mr. Carter kills his ego and spills the beans on his most intimate album yet.

80
Slant Magazine

Jay-Z made 4:44 with producer No I.D., whose beats luxuriate in burnished soul and jazz samples; combined with the relatively light feature roster and the short running time, this makes for the most focused Jay-Z album since The Blueprint.

80
Rolling Stone

Jay-Z's unusual vulnerability elevates 4:44 to something more than just a tawdry reality show.

80
XXL

While this project falls short of his more seminal offerings, 4:44 is among JAY-Z’s more meaningful bodies of work to date and showcases another dimension of the greatest rapper alive.

80
Exclaim!

There aren't too many MCs from Jay-Z's era who had the opportunity to reach their full potential. In that sense, 4:44 is a refreshing, full-circle moment for hip-hop lovers — and a true pleasure to hear.

80
NME

These heartfelt, confessional apologies are delivered via Jay’s most concise, straightforward album in years. 10 tracks and 36 minutes long, this is a filler-free return to form after 2013’s patchy and bloated ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’.

80
AllMusic

Filled with references to profit and forms of pride granted by birth and earned by hustling, 4:44 nonetheless is an unglamorous set well suited for solitary and reflective late-night listening.

78
Paste

What makes 4:44 powerful is that Jay Z isn’t preaching from a gilded throne: He’s speaking from the position of someone who’s overcome numerous struggles and wants to give others the keys to do the same.

75
Spectrum Culture
Before its release, the prevailing narrative was that Jay-Z couldn’t survive in the current climate anymore and should stay retired. With this set of songs, droves of listeners are happy to be proven wrong.
70
Crack Magazine

The infotainment of 4:44 finds him delivering messages of black empowerment through the lens of commerce, with seminar-quality lessons about credit, spending and generational wealth straight outta the hotel near the airport.

70
FLOOD Magazine

It may be due to his reflection on the past four years specifically; it may bear significance to the perils of a forty-something; but if JAY-Z’s three undeniable classics are currently Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album, 4:44 can certainly be argued as his fourth.

70
The Sydney Morning Herald

4:44 was most anticipated as a response to Lemonade but what it unfortunately has ended up being is a bitter Kanye diss album.

65
The Line of Best Fit

Even if all of this leaves 4:44 feeling a little musically thin, it’s still a relief not to hear him effectively drowned out by the kitchen sink mess of ideas that was Magna Carta, or the hyper-polish of The Blueprint 3.

60
The Guardian
What is on offer for the rap fans who simply don’t care about Jay-Z’s personal life? Truthfully, not much.
60
NOW Magazine

Against all those conditions, 4:44 is intimate, refined and mature – fascinating partly despite its flaws and partly because of them.

60
Q Magazine
It's 10 tracks are produced by veteran Chicagoan No ID, who provides a consistently soulful feel for the rapper's reflection on family, fatherhood and fidelity.
54
Sputnikmusic

More or less, 4:44 sounds like a late career JAY-Z album (because it is,) replete with the total blankness of the man's performance.

CameronFriezer
94

500 REVIEWS!!!!!
Thank you everyone for your support over the last 6 months or so, I loved my time doing pretty much daily album reviews! For my 500th Review I've decided to do an album from my second favourite artist of all time Jigga Jay-Z! Pretty much every album I've ever heard I've submitted to this website for you guys to a read of my thoughts. However this album and a few others I've saved for other milestones I will hopefully reach whilst on this page. Once again Thank you for spending ... read more

plowo
78

Jay-z, stop trying to make Tidal happen! It's not going to happen!

Favs: Kill Jay Z, The Story of O.J., Smile (featuring Gloria Carter), Family Feud, Bam (featuring Damian Marley) and Moonlight.

maryfreegirl
85

Pretty cool samples, i really liked jay z's performances

Bir9
84

There is a unique element any artist must consider when setting out to create a piece of art, why. This album seems like a very good reminder of that, yes everything about this album, production, flow, writing, and storytelling is amazing, but above all, Jay-Z knows why he made this album, he knows why, and in turn, he knows how. It blends together to create this ever-fluid experience of an album wherein on every single track you are reminded Jay-Z is good at what he does, really good, he oozes ... read more

BOYSDONTCRY09
100

Jay-Z shows a sense of maturity and growth in both a human and music artist.

monkeking
82

yeah, this guy is still a thing.

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Track List

1Kill Jay-Z
2:58
88
2The Story of O.J.
3:51
95
3Smile
4:49
89
4Caught Their Eyes
3:26
87
54:44
4:44
97
6Family Feud
4:11
feat. Beyoncé
86
7Bam
3:54
82
8Moonlight
2:23
80
9Marcy Me
2:54
90
10Legacy
2:57
87
Total Length: 36 minutes
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Added on: June 19, 2017