Beyoncé and Jay-Z have released their debut full-length collaboration album. Billed as the Carters, the couple premiered Everything is Love through Tidal, the streaming service co-owned by Jay-Z. Its arrival was announced on stage at their On the Run II tour at the London Stadium on Saturday, where screens projected the message "album out now".
The appearance of the nine-track album confirms the rumours that the Carters were pursuing a joint project. In November 2017, Jay-Z told the New York Times that he and Beyoncé had started working on something as they produced their respective albums 4:44 and Lemonade . “We were using our art almost like a therapy session,” he said. “And we started making music together.”
Jay-Z's 4:44 was widely interpreted as the rapper's response to Lemonade, in which Beyoncé appeared to reference his marital infidelity. Everything is Love depicts the couple in a state of romantic happiness, but confirms that they almost split up. "We broke up and got back together," Jay-Z raps on Lovehappy. "We came and we conquered/ Now we're happy in love," Beyoncé adds. The Carters also released a video for Apeshit, directed by Ricky Saiz and shot at the Louvre in May.
Everything is Love is not currently streaming on Spotify or Apple Music. Spotify does not offer any of Jay-Z’s major albums, and offers Beyoncé’s catalogue up to and including Lemonade. Beyoncé makes reference to her relationship with streaming platforms on Nice from the new album: “My success can’t be quantified/ If I gave two fucks – two fucks about streaming numbers/ Would have put Lemonade up on Spotify.”
The album was initially expected to arrive around Beyoncé's headline performance at this year's Coachella festival in April.
On Friday night, the couple dedicated a rendition of Forever Young, the Alphaville song interpolated on Jay-Z’s 2009 single Young Forever, to the friends and families of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Both Beyoncé and Jay-Z wore green heart pin badges in support of the Justice 4 Grenfell campaign.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z married on April 4th, 2008. The couple have three children: Blue Ivy, age six, and twins Sir and Rumi, one. – Guardian Sevice
