Jay Z has made his first public comment on Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” and being Jay Z, there’s only one way he was going to respond — on a new track.
The hip-hop mogul released a new tune called “All the Way Up,” featuring Fat Joe, Infared, Remy Ma and French Montana, on Tidal Tuesday night.
In the song, Jay Z says, “You know you made it when the fact / Your marriage made it is worth millions / Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is / Survival of the littlest.” Later in the song, he references his daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, his 21 Grammy wins, and even the late musician Prince.
“Prince left his masters where they safe and sound / We never gonna let the elevator take him down,” he says. Prince was of course found dead in the elevator of his Minnesota home.
Back in April, Queen Bey released her new album “Lemonade” to coincide with her new HBO special of the same name.
On a track called “Sorry” about a no-good man (a recurring theme on the project), Beyonce advises him to seek comfort elsewhere. “He only want me when I’m not there,” Beyonce sings. “He better call Becky with the good hair.”
The line fed speculation that Jay Z and Beyonce’s marriage was in trouble due to infidelity on his part.
Making Beyonce's 'Lemonade': 12 Videos From the Filmmakers Who Got It So Gorgeous (Videos)
Everyone seems to agree: "Lemonade" is a true cinematic beauty. Pause the hour-long film at any time and you have a perfectly shot freeze-frame of Beyonce being intimidating, tender, or full of life. Credit goes to Beyonce for her focused creative vision, but also to these directors who brought their own styles to the table and helped make "Lemonade" such a visual feast.
Kahlil Joseph is one of the fastest rising stars in the short film world. His style is highly influenced by Terrence Malick, whom he worked under as an editor. He has also collaborated with Kendrick Lamar.
In his music video for Flying Lotus' "Until The Quiet Comes," Joseph begins and ends the film with his central figure floating underwater. There is a similar scene in "Lemonade" during the "Pray You Catch Me" segment where Beyonce floats through an underwater bedroom.
Melina Matsoukas is a music video director whose filmography contains a gold mine of A-List music stars: Ludacris, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Ciara have all worked with her.
Matsoukas won a Grammy in 2013 for her video for Rihanna's "We Found Love," which depicted a rocky, drug-infested relationship that quickly turns violent after a reckless honeymoon period.
"Lemonade" is the 13th collaboration between Matsoukas and Beyonce. They also worked together earlier this year on "Formation," a song and video that have both been praised as anthemic.
Dikayl Rimmasch is a director who loves making films in highly contrasted black and white, such as this short film he made featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde.
Rimmasch loves playing with shadows and figures placed against spotlights, and his style can be seen during the black-and-white segments of "Lemonade," such as the scene with Serena's cameo appearance.
On the other end of the spectrum is Jonas Akerlund, who loves using saturated colors and dramatic, exciting shots. The scene where Beyonce takes a baseball bat to a car "Big Lebowski"-style can probably be attributed to him.
If you want to see Akerlund at his most bizarre, check out his short film, "The Hidden," an art piece about the chaos that lies within the human mind. Echoes fill the soundscape, water and strait jacket sleeves flail at the camera, and the pacing draws you into a false sense of calm before jarring you with a scream.
Then there's Mark Romanek, one of the greatest music video directors of all time. Romanek was honored in 1997 at the MTV VMAs and has won three Grammys for his work with Johnny Cash and Janet and Michael Jackson.
His video with Cash was a cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt," and its meditation on Cash's mortality, shortly before his death, has earned it a reputation as one of the greatest videos of all time.
Romanek was responsible for filming the "Sandcastles" segment from "Lemonade," using soft light and intimate close-ups to show Beyonce and Jay-Z at their most vulnerable.
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More work by the artists responsible for ”Lemonade“
Everyone seems to agree: "Lemonade" is a true cinematic beauty. Pause the hour-long film at any time and you have a perfectly shot freeze-frame of Beyonce being intimidating, tender, or full of life. Credit goes to Beyonce for her focused creative vision, but also to these directors who brought their own styles to the table and helped make "Lemonade" such a visual feast.
