Dispelling the Maturity Myth and Admitting the Lemonade Effect Behind ‘4:44’
Buying into 4:44 as “grown man rap” undercuts the true humanity of the album and ignores the power dynamics (can you say Lemonade?) that necessitated its release.

Right now, pretty much everyone — even Vanity Fair! — wants you to believe Jay-Z’s 4:44 is evidence par excellence of Mr. Carter’s maturity and evolution — a taste of a mature rap sub-genre desperately needed to counter hip-hop’s overwhelming servings of mumble rap.
Don’t believe the hype.
4:44 isn’t really grown man rap; it’s more the inevitable outcome of a rapper’s delayed maturation.
And most notably, 4:44 is proof of a forced hand.
Lemonade Made 4:44’s Creation and Content Inevitable
Let’s think about this for a second.
Jay had to come clean on this album. Lyrical penance was his only move.
Beyonce forced his hand with Lemonade; any subsequent Jay-Z album would have to tell his side of the story — or suffer first degree charges of disingenuous emotional concealment in the court of public opinion.
Imagine Jay puts out a project but doesn’t speak on the infidelity allegations at all. It wouldn’t work for a second. The elephant in the room (or on the album) would be gargantuan proof of a disingenuous Jay, a cardinal sin for a legend to commit in the church of hip-hop.
“Jay-Z had a choice,” according to Monica Lewinsky in her Vanity Fair piece on male vulnerability and 4:44. Lewinsky’s take embodies the hype train reaction to 4:44: “Having been called out publicly by his wife in her fierce 2016 album and video, ‘Lemonade,’ Jay-Z knew that his fans wouldn’t have blinked if his next album skimmed past the allegations. That’s not uncommon for men to do.”
Nah. Jay-Z fans would be blinking FOR DECADES in barbershops across America if he skipped the topic.
(Hip-hop does not always expect morality, decency, or wisdom from our legends, but we do expect and demand authenticity!)
Seriously, what Jay fan could stand to hear a near 50 year old audacious enough to rap/wax nostalgic about slanging crack, but unable/unwilling to address Lemonade’s damning infidelity charges?
Would we still revere Jay if his new album didn’t return volley on the emotional honesty first served inimitably by Beyonce?
(I believe Jay’z 4:44 dream anecdote but it may as well been a nightmare. As in: Damn, I can’t really make anything until I air this out…)
Another thing to consider: To what degree is it really laudable maturity to do the right thing in making amends, saving your marriage, and then recording a pretty good album about said restored marriage, which just so happens to bolster your pockets and (somewhat) keeps your sinking ship of a streaming service afloat? You tell me.
Enjoying 4:44 For What It Actually Is
Many of us want to shout from the rooftops about the maturity and depth of 4:44 not on the merits of the album but because of our treasured Jay-Z narrative. We badly want our favorite rapper and cultural icon to live up to his self-made mythology.
News of Jay’s infidelity exacerbated what time was already doing: slowly deflating the Jay mythos and bringing one of our greats closer to earth.
So in response, many have overstated 4:44's maturity and underplayed the power dynamics that compelled this type of confessional album content.
We really want our legends to remain legends — to the point of ignoring what seems obvious.
I really like 4:44. I commend Jay’s vulnerability and openness — it’s a model worth imitating on and off the mic.
But buying the album’s “maturity” hype while ignoring the context that necessitated the album —the Lemonade effect — only strips Jay of the very thing the hype train is praising 4:44 for: his flawed humanity; his eschewing of the Jay-Z myth in exchange for his embrace of Shawn Carter in content, confession, and honesty.
Meanwhile, admitting the dynamics that likely forced his hand doesn’t diminish his legend; instead it allows me to appreciate my favorite rapper for what he is: a flawed man and musical genius moving toward maturity at his own admittedly delayed pace.
That realization makes 4:44 even more meaningful and important; it kills the Jay Z mythos and gets us closer to the real man.