Songfacts®:

• Much of the opening half of Beyoncé's 2016 Lemonade album was a call-out on her husband for his womanizing. However, as the record progressed the Texas songstress was able to forgive him, reconcile and by the end they were living in harmony again. On 4:44's title track Jay admits to being unfaithful to his wife. However, on this cut Hov reflects on the healing process that enabled Beyoncé and him to move forward again.
• On the run, we took a hundred together
  More than the money was the fact that we done it together
  Uh, healing in real time
  'Song Cry' to 'Resentment,' that was real crying
  
  During Jay-Z and Beyoncé's 2014 co-headlining On the Run Tour, the pair performed their infidelity-themed tracks "Song Cry" and "Resentment" back-to-back. Hov is admitting here that the tears which Bey shed on stage during this portion were real.
• James Blake croons the second verse. The track is Jay's first collaboration with the British electro-soul singer, who has previously worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Beyoncé. Blake contributed to two of Lemonade's tracks, one of which was the similarly themed "Forward."
• The song samples throughout Sylvia's 1973 hit single "Pillow Talk."
• The song's black-and-white music video was shot by Italian photographer Francesco Carrozzini, whose resume also includes A$AP Rocky's "Phoenix," Beyoncé's "Jealous" and Lana Del Rey's "Ultraviolence."
  
  The clip stars Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o as the heartbroken woman who is floored by the strained relationship with her boyfriend. Nyong'o is best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Patsey in Steve McQueen's 2013 historical drama 12 Years a Slave.