There’s A Disconnect

Jay-Z “The Story of OJ”

Interesting how Jay-Z’s discography since the late ‘90s ping-pongs back and forth between good albums and weak albums. It’s a clear pattern at this point. I have no theory about this, but I would offer that this suggests that he’s an artist who thrives when he’s got something to say. He’s certainly got something to say on 4:44. Sure, yes, some of that is an admission of guilt and shame for cheating on his wife. That was expected, and gets the attention because people always care about celebrity gossip. But that’s just a bit of what he’s saying on the record, and even that is tied in to a deeper meditation on what’s been driving him all his life, this burning need to elevate his station.

“The Story of OJ” hits this head-on; the reality that no matter how successful he is, he’s still black, and that’s always going to be a barrier. He’s addressed this before – with contempt on Watch the Throne, and with a touch of bemusement on Magna Carta Holy Grail – but now he sounds entirely resigned and exhausted. This is, for me, a more interesting contrast with Beyoncé’s Lemonade than the he said/she said angle – there’s an optimism in her “the future is female” call for solidarity and action on a track like “Formation,” but all you hear on “OJ” is realism and pessimism blurring until they’re totally indistinguishable. Jay-Z was always a guy with a cynical view of humanity, and he doesn’t sound pleased to discover he was right to feel that way.

Buy it from Amazon.