Finally: JAY-Z and Beyoncé have released their collaborative album, Everything Is Love. Stream it here and below via Tidal. The streaming service credits the two artists as “the Carters.” Bey and Jay also released a new music video for their track “APESHIT” and an additional single “SALUD!” that doesn’t appear on the project. Find those below. Ricky Saiz directed the visual, which is set in the Louvre and features the couple posing among the art.
Jay disses the Grammys on “APESHIT,” rapping, “Tell the Grammys fuck that 0 for 8 shit.” (Jay was the most nominated artist at the 2018 ceremony, but was completely shut out.) He also confirms the rumorthat he turned down a Super Bowl Halftime Show offer: “I said no to the Super Bowl/You need me, I don’t need you/Every night we in the end zone/Tell the NFL we in stadiums too.”
Beyoncé calls out Spotify on the track “NICE.” She raps, “If I gave…two fucks about streaming numbers woulda put Lemonade up on Spotify. Fuck you,” referencing the fact that her 2016 album has never been available on the streaming platform. Jay refers to Meek Mill’s recent release from prison on “FRIENDS,” and on “HEARD ABOUT US,” Beyoncé sings the iconic line from Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”: “If you don’t know, now you know, nigga.” The couple sample Phoenix Express’ song “You Make My Life a Sunny Day” on “LOVEHAPPY.”
“APESHIT” features Migos and Pharrell, while “BOSS” features Ty Dolla $ign and the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy. She also makes a brief cameo at the end of “SALUD!,” shouting out her twin siblings. Pharrell also helped produce “NICE,” while Cool & Dre contributed additional production to “SUMMER” “713,” “BLACK EFFECT,” and “SALUD!” (with Dre adding vocals to the latter). Nav is listed as a composer and co-producer on “FRIENDS,” while TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek is a producer on “LOVEHAPPY.”
Rumors have long swirled about the creation of a collaborative Bey and Jay album. Last November, JAY also told The New York Timesthat a project with Bey started coming together as they worked on4:44 and Lemonade. “We were using our art almost like a therapy session,” he said at the time. “And we started making music together.” He explained that, because Bey’s music was progressing more quickly, Lemonade ended up coming out “as opposed to the joint album that [they] were working on.”
The couple are on the road for OTR II through the fall. Their most recent collaboration was on DJ Khaled’s “Top Off.” JAY also enlisted Bey for the Grammy-nominated “Family Feud” from 4:44. They last toured together in 2014.
This article was originally published on June 16 at 5:43 p.m. EST. It was updated on June 17 9:19 p.m. EST.
