Entertainment
Both the songs were released on Saturday morning (IST) with powerful messages to Beyonce and Meek Mill, respectively.
Updated : Dec 30, 2017, 10:48 AM IST
Jay-Z released a music video on Friday that features the rapper addressing the pain of infidelity as he appears in a confessional booth opposite his wife Beyonce.
Set partly in a church and also featuring the couple's 5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, the "Family Feud" video pays tribute to family ties and female empowerment.
"We all lose when the family feuds," Jay-Z sings. "A man that don't take care of his family can't be rich."
The video is the latest from Jay-Z's hit album 4:44, in which he responds to allegations of cheating revealed by Beyonce in her 2016 Grammy-winning album Lemonade. It briefly shows an unidentified couple having sex, until the woman stabs the man in the back.
Within an hour of its release, the video was the top trending item on Twitter.
Jay-Z, 48, confirmed in a New York Times interview in November that he had been unfaithful to Beyonce earlier in their nine-year marriage.
The rapper's soul-baring 4:44 album on love, life and social issues was widely seen as an apology to his wife.
The couple, one of the richest and most influential in the music industry, have reconciled and Beyonce gave birth to their twins in June.
Heavy on symbolism, the eight-minute-long "Family Feud" video shows the musician walking into a church holding the hand of a white-clad Blue Ivy and taking a seat in the confessional booth.
Beyonce, dressed in a black, priestess-like robe, watches silently from a pulpit and later sits listening on the other side of the confessional screen.
Directed by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the video also envisions a future in which a grown-up Blue Ivy and other women of color, portrayed by actresses Mindy Kaling, Rosario Dawson, America Ferrera, Thandie Newton and Niecy Nash, appear to rule the world.
The video is available for streaming on Tidal for now. But Beyonce and Ava DuVarnay shared images from the set of the video
Happy so many are enjoying our #FamilyFeudFilm! Sharing some behind the scenes tidbits and exclusive pictures in this thread. Thank you to @S_C_ for the strong collaboration. A pleasure and an honor. pic.twitter.com/SxCUiSqfHT
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
The first scene focuses on errors. All families hurt each other. Mistakes are made. Expectations unmet. Jealousies fester. Dramatizing that energy are @michaelb4jordan, @thandienewton + @_Trevante_. Some behind the scenes snaps of their gorgeousness... pic.twitter.com/fmctKrJfO8
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
Here are a few more images of Mike looking like the black Jedi knight I wish we had. Shout out to our on-set photographer #SerBaffo who I met a decade ago as a PA on my first doc. He did the damn thing here. Good work, gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/oyez5JSHKK
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
Next scene is about... actually I won't tell you what we think they are about. This piece is for you. You decide. Loved working with @OmariHardwick @IreneBedard1 + @Jes_Chastain. They were all busy. But all came to play and I loved sharing the time with them. #FamilyFeudFilm pic.twitter.com/2yLftTRJbr
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
Change sometimes require force. A vision of freedom fighters. A world of warriors for good. My thanks to @AmericaFerrera, @AishaHinds, @HenryGSanders and WRINKLE IN TIME's very own @StormReid for answering the call to fight. #FamilyFeudFilm pic.twitter.com/nxEUBvaJHJ
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
The Founding Mothers. What else is there to say? I believe in our power. And I appreciate these dynamic artists who came out on a Saturday to represent all kinds of women at the table. Not a seat. ALL THE SEATS! #FamilyFeudFilm pic.twitter.com/LZFTuYBwJn
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 30, 2017
I'll let the final scene just stay where it is. In the film, with that family. Being their brilliant, black, brave, bold selves. May we all fortify our families. Our communities. Our society. In whatever ways we can. Much love. And thanks for watching #FamilyFeudFilm! xo. A. pic.twitter.com/r6yWsiJX6f
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 30, 2017
Jay-Z has a leading eight nominations for the Grammy Awards in January, including the top prizes of best album, song and record of the year.
Within just minutes of the release of Jay-Z's song, rapper Lil Wayne released his remixed version featuring Canadian rapper Drake.
Drake asks for a salute from the US President Donald Trump and give a shout out to onetime enemy Meek Mill, talking about his prison sentence.
"I need my paper long, like a Milly verse / Too long, like a sentence from a Philly judge / F*** is the point in all the beefing, when we really blood? / Nobody wins win the family feuds," raps the MC.
The song wasn't the part of the initial version of Lil Wayne's fresh album Dedication 6 that released on Christmas. But the hip-hop artist as hinted that a second volume of the album is yet to come.
(With agencies input)