*Earlier this week, Jay Z had the Internet thinking he was about to drop a surprise album titled “4:44,” after the number suddenly appeared in online ads, billboards and posters linked to his streaming service, Tidal.
Okay fine can someone please explain these ads all over Jay St Metrotech pic.twitter.com/EMs0aDpU4W
— Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) June 6, 2017
However, a minute-long trailer surfaced this morning (June 8) to take away some of the mystery – but not much. The “4:44” ads are promoting Tidal’s partnership with Sprint, which was forged in January when the telecommunications giant acquired a 33% stake in the company. At the time, Sprint said the union would include exclusive Tidal content available only to its customers.
In a teaser tweeted Thursday by Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Clare, “4:44” appears to reference the title of a film starring Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong’o and Danny Glover that will be exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers.
The black-and-white video begins with Ali shadow boxing and working a heavy bag in slow motion. Glover, presumably Ali’s trainer, holds the bag as the actor punches.
Nyong’o doesn’t appear in the teaser, but her name pops up on a title card at the end of the clip, alongside her two male co-stars and the message: “Tidal x Sprint, exclusively on sprint.com,” and the adult-only rating of NC-17.
The teaser first aired during the NBA Finals game on Wednesday. The Internet is still holding out hope that “4:44” could be a new Jay Z album. This video could be part of a music video, or possibly part of a visual album in the vein of his wife Beyonce’s “Lemonade” project.
The confusion will all reportedly end on Friday with a major announcement from both parties.
Watch below:
Excited to bring @Sprint customers exclusive content through our partnership with @TIDALHiFi – more news coming tomorrow!! pic.twitter.com/YIbZ4h5Zoq
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) June 8, 2017
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