Giving Nas less than 24 hours to bask in the glory of his Kanye West-produced Nasir release, JAY-Z and wife Beyoncé — collectively known as The Carters — unexpectedly dropped their long-prophesied collaboration project Everything Is Love. With incredible production and plenty of Easter eggs for fans to decode, the project more than lives up to its potential, with enough flame emojis to satisfy hip-hop heads and the Bey-hive alike.
Cool & Dre, Pharrell, Mike Dean, Boi-1da, !llmind, and more contributed to the nine-song platter. Led by the single "Apeshit," featuring Offset and Quavo from Migos, the billionaire power couple traverse braggadocios bars, speak to long-held internet rumours, take subtle veiled jabs at frenemies and expand on the infamous infidelity already visited on Lemonade and 4:44.
Jigga assesses Rymir Satterthwaite, alleged illegitimate son on the song "Heard About Us," where he raps "Billie Jean in his prime, for the thousand time, the kid ain't mine." Elsewhere on the song "Boss," he raps "Ni—as rather work for the man than to work with me, just so they can pretend they on my level, that shit is irkin' to me" — which fans have wildly theorized is a jab to either Drake or his former bestie Kanye West.
It's the back-and-forth scheme on "Lovehappy," a public dragging where we see them at their best, candidly discussing Jigga man's cheating, with Bey adding "We keepin' it real with these people, right?"
Be clear, this is a rap album, and Beyoncé holds her own (whether she actually wrote the bars is irrelevant). The timing of the release was savage, but that's hip-hop. And so is this project. Nothing is off limits, and their chemistry on wax continues to be just as powerful as it is in real life. It's not only a top-to-bottom banger, but it's also relationship goals.
(Roc Nation/Sony)Cool & Dre, Pharrell, Mike Dean, Boi-1da, !llmind, and more contributed to the nine-song platter. Led by the single "Apeshit," featuring Offset and Quavo from Migos, the billionaire power couple traverse braggadocios bars, speak to long-held internet rumours, take subtle veiled jabs at frenemies and expand on the infamous infidelity already visited on Lemonade and 4:44.
Jigga assesses Rymir Satterthwaite, alleged illegitimate son on the song "Heard About Us," where he raps "Billie Jean in his prime, for the thousand time, the kid ain't mine." Elsewhere on the song "Boss," he raps "Ni—as rather work for the man than to work with me, just so they can pretend they on my level, that shit is irkin' to me" — which fans have wildly theorized is a jab to either Drake or his former bestie Kanye West.
It's the back-and-forth scheme on "Lovehappy," a public dragging where we see them at their best, candidly discussing Jigga man's cheating, with Bey adding "We keepin' it real with these people, right?"
Be clear, this is a rap album, and Beyoncé holds her own (whether she actually wrote the bars is irrelevant). The timing of the release was savage, but that's hip-hop. And so is this project. Nothing is off limits, and their chemistry on wax continues to be just as powerful as it is in real life. It's not only a top-to-bottom banger, but it's also relationship goals.
