Beyonce is a musical genius not just in the studio, but behind-the-scenes, according to Jay Z’s producer. The rapper’s producer Dion ‘No I.D.’ Wilson, 46, told The New York Times on Saturday that the Lemonade songstress was integral in the production of her husband’s new album, 4:44. ‘I always call Bey our de facto A&R,’ No I.D. told the paper. ‘Every song has to get past her ears, in my eyes.’ Beyonce, 35, ‘came by a lot and played a good part in helping us get over hurdles on certain records,’ the experienced producer said of the songstress, adding that ‘she’s genius-level with that.’
No I.D. added of the Grammy-winner’s professional influence on her spouse, ‘Pillow talk is the strongest conversation on the planet.’ While fans have drawn parallels between Jay Z’s new album to Beyonce’s 2016 masterpiece Lemonade, No I.D. said that he and the Big Pimpin’ singer ‘never directly spoke about that album’ while making 4:44. ‘If he talks about himself, it’s going to bleed into that regardless,’ said No I.D., who’s also worked with notable artists such as Kanye West, Drake and Common. ‘But there’s a difference in talking about it for the sake of response and for the sake of honesty and the truth.’
On the album’s titular track 4:44, many lyrics indirectly refer to murmurs of Jay Z’s past infidelity, as he raps, ‘Look, I apologize, often womanize / Took for my child to be born / To see through a woman’s eyes.’ He also says in the song, ‘”You did what with who?” / What good is a menage a trois when you have a soulmate? / “You risked that for Blue?”
Jay Z, speaking with iHeart Radio Thursday, said of the personal track: ‘I just believe one of the best songs I’ve ever written,’ adding, ‘It’s the title track because it’s such a powerful song.’ No I.D. said that he produced the track in such a way that it would effectively address some of the infidelity implications made on Lemonade, down to the sampling of Hannah Williams & The Affirmations’ Late Nights & Heartbreak, another track that deals with cheating.
‘That whole piece of music was created with me knowing: I’m going to make you say it on this song, and this song will be the only song you need to say it on so it wouldn’t turn into a full Lemonade response album,’ he told Rolling Stone Friday.
