Beyonce and Jay-Z continue to prove that they can make lemonade from the sourest lemons. In a mini-documentary, released in conjunction with the rapper's new 4:44 album, Jay-Z is opening up on his marriage struggles with wife Beyoncé. Because—surprise!—they have 'em, too. Titled "Footnotes for 4:44," the 11-minute video features other celebrities like Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jesse Williams, Aziz Ansari, Kendrick Lamar, Chris Paul, Mahershala Ali, and Meek Mill also discussing love and relationships—and Jay-Z himself alluding to his rumored affair that Beyonce first reportedly referenced in Lemonade.
In the "Footnotes for 4:44" video streaming exclusively on Tidal, Jay-Z explains that his relationship with Beyoncé wasn't exactly built on honesty. "This is my real life. I just ran into this place and we built this big, beautiful mansion of a relationship that wasn’t totally built on the 100 percent truth and it starts cracking," said the rapper, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Things start happening that the public can see. Then we had to get to a point of 'OK, tear this down and let's start from the beginning.' It's hard. Remember we just talked about me: I’m from Marcy Projects. I’ve been shot at. But nothing is harder than this. By far. I’m telling you, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Most humans, us, you know what I mean? We’re not willing to put ourselves through that. Most people give up."
The Grammy-winner also reminisced on a moment where he had to watch Bey leave, revealing new emotions for the star. "I was on a boat, and I had the best time," expalined Jay-Z. I was like, 'Man, this is great.' Then she had to leave,” he said, not mentioning Bey by name. "I was, like, crushed. I was like, 'Man, I don’t even feel like this. What is happening to my body right now?' I was like, 'Don't go.' I was like, 'Did I just say... All this is new for me. Don't leave."
But now, it sounds like honesty is at the forefront of Bey and Jay's marriage. "We’ve been in that space where we just got to a place where, in order for this to work, this can’t be fake," Jay-Z said of his decision to share the content of his album with his wife before its release. "Not one ounce. I’m not saying it wasn’t uncomfortable because obviously, it was. But because we’ve been doing this for so long, it was less uncomfortable."
