The release of JAY-Z’s latest album, 4:44, was just as controversial as it was inspirational. The rapper confessed about cheating on Beyoncé and asked for forgiveness from both her and their children. A little less meaningful was his reasoning behind the title. In an interview with iHeartRadio, JAY-Z said the title of the album came out of the blue. “I woke up, literally, at 4:44 in the morning, 4:44 a.m., to write this song. So it became the title of the album and everything.”
But what if there’s another reason? Get ready because it’s pretty wild.
Let’s go back to 2014, before Donald Trump became President and Beyoncé had released Lemonade. You'll probably remember Beyoncé’s younger sis Solange Knowles and JAY-Z's Met Gala elevator fight, which TMZ published video footage of. There’s no shortage of rumors about why this throwdown happened—just check out #WhatJayZSaidtoSolange if you’re interested.
But how does it relate to 4:44? PEOPLE reports that one Twitter user pointed out the hotel that houses the infamous elevator has an address of 444 West 13th Street. 444.
I'm at The Standard where Solange beat Jay-Z's ass in the elevator. THE ADDRESS IS 444. I AM SHOOK pic.twitter.com/ZKtAVxMQiS
— Stephen (@StephenOssola) July 26, 2017
I'm shook, too. Nonetheless, this story might be a bit of stretch. According to Slate, only the rooftop bar—not the Standard hotel—has an address that includes 444. At the same time, I can’t help but admit this fan theory is a lot more interesting than JAY-Z’s 4:44 a.m. story.