4:44 is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on June 30, 2017, through Roc Nation as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers. The album is the first in a planned series of music exclusives from the Sprint–Tidal partnership. On July 2, the album was made available for free digital download on Tidal’s site for a limited time. A physical edition was released on July 7, including three additional tracks. On the same day, the album was made available to other streaming platforms, such as Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music.
Like Jay-Z’s previous album, Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013), 4:44 was not preceded by any singles. The album was recorded from December 2016 to June 2017, and produced by No I.D., with additional contributions by Jay-Z himself. James Blake and Dominic Maker also contributed production to the album’s bonus tracks. It features guest appearances from Frank Ocean, Damian Marley, Jay-Z’s wife Beyoncé, and his mother, Gloria Carter. It also has additional vocal contributions from his daughter Blue Ivy Carter, James Fauntleroy, Kim Burrell and The-Dream.
The album was widely acclaimed by critics, who praised its emotional and personal content. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 262,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, making it Jay-Z’s 14th album to top the chart.[2] The album spawned three singles, the title track “4:44“, “Bam” and “Family Feud“, as well as several music videos, directed by a variety of high-profile collaborators. On July 5, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in recognition of one million copies purchased by Sprint and offered to consumers as free downloads.[3] At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year, while the title track was nominated for Song of the Year and “The Story of O.J.” was nominated for Record of the Year.[4]
