Last week on Thursday, June 30th, JAY Z dropped his 13th solo album 4:44. It arrived much acclaim, many praising the albums mature sound and unprecedented introspection. Introspection is something that Jay has shown the ability to do but it has never been on this level and not with this much detail (particularly his admission of infidelity in his marriage with Beyonce). I will you let you know from the beginning, this is not an album review. 4:44 is a good album and I have no interest in going into detail about why it's good but what I am interested in doing is examining a larger truth that the album presents. The idea of being past your prime but still being at your best.
It's no question that JAY Z is past his prime. Since Blueprint 3 (which came out in September 2009) Jay has been plagued with rumblings, some not so quiet, that he is not the rapper he used to be. Even though his place on the Mount Rushmore of Hip Hop will forever be cemented, his place in the current state of affairs has constantly been under review. Mediocre albums (Magna Carta), lazy sounding features (Timberlake's Suit & Tie), and growing references to high art (a fact that even Drake pointed out) have done nothing but add fuel to the fire. On 4:44 he doesn't prove that he is back to the JAY Z of old. His lyrical prowess is not quite what it used to be, his wit is sharp but isn't armor piercing, his ear for production is still amazing but not as iconic as it used to be. However, and this is big, what JAY Z does prove with this album that he is at his best.
Instead of trying to rehash things that he had done before or write a lyrical, overly dense album to prove that he's still the man (there have been times over the years that he has proven his clout as a rapper's rapper but that) JAY Z decided to do something smarter that made all the difference. He swapped wit and lyrical prowess for wisdom. Instead of trying to have us unpack his bars and lines, he lays out his emotions and thought process and has us unpack that instead. "I'll f*ck up a good thing.. if you let me" is a line from the album that exemplifies this for me. The JAY Z of old may be gone but he has been replaced by a wiser, vulnerable and more mature JAY Z. A JAY Z that can speak to the culture in a way he hasn't done before.
This is starting to sound like an album review but I promise you it's not. Like I said it's about the larger truth at hand. I'm only 23 and I'm in my mental and physical prime. I can run as faster than I have ever been able to. I can think more creatively than I have ever been able to before. If you're older than me you're probably thinking that I should enjoy it while it lasts. Ideas won't come as quickly as they used to and I'm going to feel my body wear as the years go by. Trust me I know that. And I will know it more fully as it happens. I'm in my prime right now and I'm enjoying it and if you are older you can probably think back to when you were also in your prime. But that's the thing. Your "prime" is fleeting. Time insures that as fact. What isn't fleeting is the idea of being at my best. Understanding what works for you, what used to but doesn't anymore and using all of the factors to create the best thing you can create. You may not be able to produce or create as quickly, you may have to stare at a blank screen longer and longer for that one great idea to unfold but in an era of nostalgia and golden age mentality maybe what we need isn't you in your prime but you at your best.