Lupe Fiasco chose a creative way to impart his thoughts on 4:44, on Friday, July 14, when he took to Instagram to share his review of Jay-Z's 13th studio album. Rather than articulate his view of the project with any sort of academic language or industry jargon, the retired Chicago rapper instead took time out of his travels to present his take in rhyme form.
As would be expected with any Lupe verse, there were plenty of metaphors to go around in the two part review. At one point he went from citing the holy Bible's golden calf reference while characterizing Jay's work in part as "black witchcraft," to likening his dominance to the Chicago Bulls dynasty. Later on, he described the feel of the beat as something comparable to Sanaa Lathan's hair. The actual subject matter of the review touched on Jay-Z returning to form as a subliminal diss spitter, capable of recording tracks off of the head; the personal journey the listener is taken on, and the intelligence of some of the tracks. Lupe also addresses the hip-hop divide between old acts and newer acts, with him appearing to side with Jay-Z in the final line. "10/10 Stop Hiding Behind Hooks & Fill Up A Rhyme Book," he advises raps new wave.
"In slow motion, next to the ocean, wordplay gorgeous, 5 mics no sources, I ain't publicly leaned back bopped in a while especially to this style of a portrait, vulnerable but not tortured, a fortress ain't gotta force it, real time classic, a revival of the corpus, the Tribeca Jay cool but he like for the masses, the Brooklyn Jay a ghoul only suitable for the masters," Lupe wrote for followers who might be interested in how he'd evaluate 4:44.
Source: hotnewhiphop.com
