Jay-Z and Beyoncé shook the world, broke the internet, and snatched wigs and beards when they dropped their surprise joint album Everything Is Love right in the middle of the OTRII world tour on Saturday (June 16). Interestingly, the album was finalized just three hours before its release.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Andre Lyon a body of production duo Cool and Dre who produced numerous tracks on the profound LP revealed that the album was still being recorded an hour and a half before a performance, and finalized three hours before the surprise drop. He notes that the megastar of a couple is the only one who can manifest such a thing, confirming their elite status as overall musicians. “People were still recording parts an hour and a half before the last show in London, three hours before the album was released,” said Lyon. “They were still putting last-second touches on.”
Cool and Dre first got word on the project about two months ago when Andre flew to Los Angeles to play some beats for Hov in light of probable forthcoming projects. In correspondence, Jay gave him an audible scoop into some of the duets he had been working on with his wife. That same night in LA, Andre arranged a demo for “Salud!,” and obviously impressed, Jay advised the production maker to stand nearby. Once Jay and Bey took off to Paris for rehearsals, seasoned Jay engineer Young Guru invited the production duo to come along and what was meant to be just a two-day trip, turned into a full multiple week gig. They went from Paris to Cardiff, bringing the manufacturing of Everything Is Love right into the arena where the couple was able to have full control and project forthright directives. “The smartest thing we did was take our ass to that motherfucking arena and create,” Andre told Rolling Stone. “Us being there was key. [Beyoncé and Jay-Z] would give us direction: ‘Dre, go in the vocal booth. Say this, sing this.’ We immediately get it done.”
Obviously, this was another famous strategic measure by the Carters in which Everything Is Love is the third installment of their trilogy album reign surrounding the chambers of love, family, and legacy starting with Beyoncé’s revealing Lemonade and Jay-Z’s apologetic 4:44. A music video has already dropped from the heralded gem for lead single “Apeshit” where the couple is found in a prestigious stance in the midst of Renaissance-era arts as their identity is lent in comparison to such profiles. This is a perfect example of “knowing your worth.”
