No I.D. Reveals Jay-Z's '4:44' Was Originally Supposed To Be A 7 Song Album

Today (June 30th) marks the one year anniversary of Jay-Z’s last studio album 4:44 which many have called a “classic.” The 10 song album (3 extra on the CD version) was produced entirely by Hov’s regular collaborator No I.D.

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

0 seconds of 2 minutes, 37 secondsVolume 0%

00:00

02:37

To celebrate the first birthday, the legendary producer has chatted with TIDAL where he breaks down each song on it. While discussing ‘Legacy’, he reveals something interesting: 4:44 was originally supposed to be a 7 song album, something that Kanye West has done with four G.O.O.D. Music albums over the last month or so: Pusha T, Nas, Kids See Ghosts (Kanye & Kid Cudi) and his own LP, ye. Teyana Taylor’s album K.T.S.E. has 8 songs.

“This might have been the second or third record we did, No I.D. says of ‘Legacy’. “And he immediately said this would be the outro. Ironically, we were trying to do a seven-song project. The irony of it all, right?”

“But it just kept spilling over to more songs and he loved Donny Hathaway — that’s another sample off his playlist. Maybe I make that beat and never play it for anybody to be honest. Sometimes I make beats and don’t like it. It’s 2017 and nobody’s making those jazz beats. Ultimately for the sake of art, I was personally channeling the feeling of what’s going on.”

No I.D. also feels that ‘Bam’ is the best beat on the project:

“This is the best beat! And I’ll tell you why I think so. As many times as [the Sister Nancy sample] has been used, I wasn’t supposed to be able to get a good version out of that. That’s a challenge to take something people have used for years and years and create a new expression for it.

Not only did it take a lot of skill, it was actually a lay-up after it was done. That beat was sitting around and I’m telling Jay, “Hey, man you have to use this one.” And I think this was also one that he didn’t have to dig deep and go different places to make it work.”