Following the release of Tidal’s cryptic 4:44 ads, rumors of a new Jay Z album have continued to grow.
Over the weekend, Hov was spotted in Kingston, Jamaica with reggae artist Tarrus Riley and Tidal co-owner Damian Marley. Many fans were left wondering about the purpose of this trip: Was Jay on the island for business or pleasure? And did his visit have anything to do with a new album?
Well, according to Marley, he and Jay did spend some time in the studio this weekend; however, the details are still somewhat fuzzy.
In a recent phone interview with Billboard magazine, the 39-year-old artist confirmed he worked with Jay on new material. But he made sure to clarify the session was for a Jay project, and had nothing to do with his forthcoming Stony Hill album.
"We did some work in the studio recently and he wanted to come to Jamaica to get a tour of the place," he told Billboard. “[…] Well, I did some work with him for some stuff that he's working on. I'm not really sure of the details of his project in that sense, but we worked on some music together. I've been a fan of his music since he came out. We've never done any musical work together. So that was a joy to finally work together musically."
This is big news. Though Marley, who signed with Roc Nation in 2016 (and is now a part-owner of High Times), insists he doesn’t know what Jay has up his sleeve, his statements have reconfirmed what so many of us are holding our breath for: new Jay music.
Adding to the speculation, Vic Mensa appeared on Los Angeles’ Real 92.3 this week and suggested he’s already heard new Jay tracks; however, he also admitted he didn’t know a lot of details.
“I actually don't know any types of timelines or anything. It's not mine,” Mensa said before he was questioned about the rumored album. "I might have heard some, a little bit.”
Keep it locked as more information comes through.
