Jay-Z says the “don’t embarrass me” lyric in his 2017 song “4:44” accurately recalls how he asked Beyoncé to be his girlfriend: he was too immature and afraid to be vulnerable to say “be mine.” He shared the story in episode three of his HBO docuseries.
Jay-Z told director Rick Rubin that “4:44” was difficult to hear and he had not listened to it since its 2017 release before their conversation. The title track also apologizes for womanizing and reflects on fatherhood; he said it grappled with the prospect of his children seeing their parents as imperfect.
Elsewhere in the series, Jay-Z said he reconnected with his father around the 2003 release of The Black Album, with his mother’s help, after his father left when he was 11. His father died of liver failure about a month after their first and only meeting as adults. The first four episodes are streaming on HBO Max; two new episodes are to debut on Fridays, with the series concluding Oct. 9.
