Jay-Z Releases 'Footnotes for 'The Story of O.J.'' Video

JAY-Z's new album, 4:44, is now available for all TIDAL subscribers, courtesy of Sprint.

Prior to today (July 3), the project was only accessible to Sprint and existing TIDAL members. 4:44, which is receiving both rave reviews for songs like the title track "4:44," "Smile" and "The Story of O.J." and some backlash for perceived anti-Semitic lyrics, is one step closer to being available to the masses.

"Response to JAY-Z's 4:44 has been unbelievable from Sprint and existing TIDAL members who have been able to exclusively stream the album since Friday," said Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO. "Now anyone who joins TIDAL can experience JAY-Z's innovative new work. Of course, Sprint customers and those who switch to Sprint can continue to enjoy a six-month trial of TIDAL HiFi on us."

To access the lauded LP, new TIDAL members can visit TIDAL.com/Try-now to sign up. New and existing Sprint customers can take advantage of the complimentary six-month trial of TIDAL HiFi at Sprint.TIDAL.com or by visiting a Sprint store.

New Boost Mobile customers can subscribe during the activation process in-store or online at boostmobile.com. For existing customers, they can add the monthly subscription online via My Account (web and smartphone), in store or by phone.

Along with the news of 4:44 being released to all TIDAL members, the rapper also drops a new visual to coincide with his track and animated video for "The Story of O.J." In the eight-minute clip, actor Michael B. Jordan is heard giving his take on being Black in America as water ripples across the screen.

"Being Black in America is like being in a tiny, compressed box anchored at the bottom of the ocean with like 10,000 pounds of pressure on you at all times, you know, and feeling like you cannot really speak your truth and be who you are without being like criticized with like 1,000 opinions and pointed fingers telling you what you're not and what you're not doing," Jordan says.

Hov, Kendrick Lamar, Will Smith and Chris Rockshare their thoughts on race and injustice as well in the video.

“We tend to, as Black people—’cause we never had anything, which is understandable—we get to a place and we just think we separate ourself from the culture,” JAY-Z shares. “Like O.J. will get to a space where he’s like, ‘I’m not Black, I’m O.J.’ Like Tiger Woods will get to a space and think, 'I’m above the culture.'”

Kendrick Lamar looks back on his childhood, at the age of 5, when he witnessed a Black man get killed in front of his apartment building. “The disrespect and the manner that this officer—he was a bad officer, I would say that for sure—that he approached my mother with was completely out of line,” K. Dot recalls.

According to Hov himself, he created "The Story of O.J." to push the culture forward. "'The Story of O.J.' is really a song about we as a culture, having a plan, how we’re gonna push this forward," the Brooklyn MC states. "We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger."

The initial video, directed by Mark Romanek and JAY-Z, features an animated character named Jaybo, who's reminiscent of the racist cartoons created in the early 20th century.

Check out “Footnotes for ‘The Story of O.J.’” below.

Watch “Footnotes for ‘The Story of O.J.’”