![]() It seems more than a coincidence, then, that Frank Ocean, who claimed his independence last year when he broke free from his recording contract with Def Jam to self-release Blonde, is featured on the song “Caught Their Eyes,” in which Jay uses the symbol of eyes to wax poetic about recognition. I sat down with Prince eye to eye / He told me his wishes before he died / Now Londell McMillan, he must be colorblind / They only see green through them purple eyes / They eyes hide, they eyes high / My eyes wide shut to all the lies / These industry n-s, they always been fishy / But ain’t no Biggie, no lazy eye, huhĬiting the now-infamous incident wherein, after Prince’s death, his estate claimed JAY-Z and Prince had made no formal arrangement to host the late artist’s music exclusively on TIDAL, Jay speaks to a lack of true recognition for honoring the wishes of Black artists. As JAY-Z raps on “Moonlight,” “ I don’t pose no threat on the Internet / I just pose a threat.” Or, as Ellison’s narrator puts it, “I’d make my invisibility felt if not seen.” Jay is able to see Prince as a human, eye to eye, but Prince’s lawyer, Londell McMillan, only sees Prince as a source of profit, thereby dehumanizing him.Īnd, of course, the song title itself, “Caught Their Eyes,” could very well indicate that Jay and Frank are aware of the threat they pose to a historically white industry that has long profited on Black artistry while white businessmen claim higher profits as the top label heads. “Caught Their Eyes” is just one of several records on 4:44 where JAY-Z employs the idea of sight as a means of recognition and realization of growth. Beyond white industry heads, Jay pays careful attention to fully seeing each of his family members.
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