On Friday, JAY-Z released his new album, 4:44, and the title track contains several lines that are a clear apology to his wife, Beyoncé, for the way he has treated her and their relationship.
“I apologize, often womanize/Took for my child to be born to see through a woman’s eyes,” JAY-Z says in the lyrics to “4:44.”
JAY-Z had previously said in an interview with iHeartMedia that the title track was “one of the best songs I’ve ever written.” It’s dripping with brutal honesty and remorse, something that the Beyhive is probably happy to see after Beyoncé dropped Lemonade and heavily hinted that JAY-Z had cheated on her.
The 47-year-old rapper admitted to immaturity and to not appreciating Beyoncé enough: “Said ‘don’t embarrass me’ instead of ‘be mine’/That was my proposal for us to go steady/That was your 21st birthday.”
In a different track, “Family Feud,” JAY-Z even referenced the infamous “Becky with the good hair,” the fictional woman referenced in Lemonade that is rumored to be an amalgamation of women that JAY-Z has cheated on his wife with.
“Yeah I’ll f–k up a good thing if you let me/Let me alone Becky,” JAY-Z promises, seeming to indicate that his cheating days are in the past.
The ten-track album is available exclusively through TIDAL.