When I was putting my recent "Tribe Called Quest" post together last week it occurred to me that I have never written a proper review of anything by Jay-Z for this site. I wrote some dumb jokes about a promo picture for Watch the Throne, and I've written things for other sites, but nothing for my own blog. It's high time that changed, friend.
But what does this have to do with my Tribe called Quest post? Well, while I was thinking about Tribe's song "Can I Kick It?", I was reminded of Jay's song "22 2's" since it uses almost the same chorus. I never liked the J song. Sure, he uses Tibe's chorus "Can I kick it?" and waits for the crowd to call back "yes you can", and that's all good. I considered it a sign of respect and no big deal, except that Jay didn't include the end of the chorus, the "GO OOOON THEN". Which still drives me nuts. But I still appreciated the lyrics to 22 2's. Yeah, he says "to" or "two" or "too" a lot. That takes planning and is pretty good rapping. But I wouldn't call that song out as anything special since I loath the chorus, but this version of "44 4's", his more recent update, hits this shit on the head, mainly because he pulls the beat from the original song and get's all technical with it. He even starts with a callback to the original "22 2's", then it get's good.
Let's kick it. Go on then...
See? Nobody can deny that Jay knows his stuff. Especially with his 44 4's shit. He does say "four" or "for" a lot! Mad technical skills. This is a lot better than 22 2's, it's very good. Classic.
roc-a-fella 4 ever, Hov 4 life
first debut classic, first album 4 mics
i shoulda got a five but n*ggas lacked 4sight
but i don’t give a fuck, i ain’t do it 4 the hype
i did it 4 the hustlas, 4 the ghetto, 4 their plight
4 the struggle, 4 those who bubble white,
4 fly 4×4s, roofless cars, flawless ice,
4 the pain so y’all can feel what it’s like
4 all the times it rained 40 days 40 nights
4 all the promise made that never came to the light
i get my own 40 acres:
give me 4 nights, 4 o’s, a glock .40 4 the jackers and i’m spike
4 the .44 will suffice
a 14 year-old to look out 4 the vice
and y’all can sit back and just wait 4 the flight
ya boy’ll take off like i been strippin’ all my life
that’s the type of meta4s I write
to let n*ggas know I was real b4 the mic
4 front rows had the fur at the fight
no PETA on my peter left some room 4 the divas
in a suite we’ll meet ‘em if you wild 4 the night
i’m on the rampage champagne pours on the floor
4 all those who ain’t make it here and lost they life
i’ll never 4get y’all 4 any price
not 4 no hoes, not 4 no ice, not 4 no fame,
nor 4 bright lights
so i’ma end this here this fly ass kite
44 4’s MUTHAFUCKA I’M NICE!!!!!
first debut classic, first album 4 mics
i shoulda got a five but n*ggas lacked 4sight
but i don’t give a fuck, i ain’t do it 4 the hype
i did it 4 the hustlas, 4 the ghetto, 4 their plight
4 the struggle, 4 those who bubble white,
4 fly 4×4s, roofless cars, flawless ice,
4 the pain so y’all can feel what it’s like
4 all the times it rained 40 days 40 nights
4 all the promise made that never came to the light
i get my own 40 acres:
give me 4 nights, 4 o’s, a glock .40 4 the jackers and i’m spike
4 the .44 will suffice
a 14 year-old to look out 4 the vice
and y’all can sit back and just wait 4 the flight
ya boy’ll take off like i been strippin’ all my life
that’s the type of meta4s I write
to let n*ggas know I was real b4 the mic
4 front rows had the fur at the fight
no PETA on my peter left some room 4 the divas
in a suite we’ll meet ‘em if you wild 4 the night
i’m on the rampage champagne pours on the floor
4 all those who ain’t make it here and lost they life
i’ll never 4get y’all 4 any price
not 4 no hoes, not 4 no ice, not 4 no fame,
nor 4 bright lights
so i’ma end this here this fly ass kite
44 4’s MUTHAFUCKA I’M NICE!!!!!
IN CONCLUSION: I call Jay on his bullshit a lot. And I wouldn't ever call him the nicest. But the
44 4'S SCORE 9/10
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