Jay-Z reference's BIG through out his new 4:44 album

Jay-Z recently release his 13th solo album and it's been a tradition on Jay's behalf to reference the late B.I.G. through out all his albums. This new release entitled 4:44 is no exception. Jay-Z continues to generate history as the most number album debuts of any artist in history. Took some time to break down the references for the fans below with a video as well:

Caught Their Eyes:
I sat down with Prince, eye to eye
He told me his wishes before he died
Now, Londell McMillan, he must be color blind
They only see green from them purple eyes
They eyes hide, they eyes high
My eyes wide shut to all the lies
These industry niggas, they always been fishy
But ain't no Biggie, no lazy eye, huh

Reference to Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 film starring Tom Cruise titled Eyes Wide Shut. In the film, Cruise is exposed to a world he had no idea existed right under his nose.

This is also a nod to Biggie’s song “My Downfall” and his “lazy eye”:
"Giving cats the opposite of diets
You gain thirty pounds when you die no lie, lazy eye"

"Family Feud":
Nobody wins when the family feuds
We all screwed 'cause we never had the tools
I'm tryna fix you
I'm tryna get these niggas with no stripes to be official
Y'all think small, I think Biggie
Y'all whole pass is in danger, ten Mississippi
Al Sharpton in the mirror takin' selfies
How is him or Pill Cosby s'posed to help me?

To “think small” is to have short-term or easily-achievable goals, but Jay adds a little twist, referencing The Notorious B.I.G., also known as “Biggie Smalls.” JAY-Z does this not only to state that he “thinks big”, meaning he has long-term and difficult-to-attain goals, but he also wants to leave behind a legacy similar to Biggie Smalls', whom he’s carried the New York torch for since Biggie’s death in 1997. Biggie and Jay were close before Biggie’s death, collaborating on “Brooklyn’s Finest” from Jay’s 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt, and “I Love the Dough” from Biggie’s 1997 sophomore album Life After Death.

"Bam":
Shit, stuff a million dollars in the sock drawer
That's a war chest in case you need your chest knocked off
Y'all be talkin' crazy under them IG pictures
So when you get to hell you tell 'em Blanco sent ya

JAY-Z is borrowing a segment of a line used by his late friend and fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G. on his 1997 song “Niggas Bleed”:
"Go to room 112, tell them Blanco sent ya"


"Marcy Me"
Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant
The livest one representin' BK to the fullest
Bastards duckin' when Hov be buckin'
Chicken-heads be cluckin'

Hov pays homage to The Notorious B.I.G., interpolating lyrics from his 1994 track “Unbelievable”:
"Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one
Representing BK to the fullest
Gats I pull it
Bastards duckin' when Big be bucking
Chickenheads be clucking in my bathroom, fucking"

Bedford-Stuyvesant, often abbreviated as “Bed-Stuy,” is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York whenre both Jay-Z and Biggie where born and raised in.

"Old Brooklyn, not this new shit, shit feel like a spoof
Fat laces in your shoe, I'm talkin' bustin' off the roof
Hold a Uzi vertical, let the thing smoke
Y'all flirtin' with death, I be winkin' through the scope
Shout out to all the murderers turned murals
Plural, fuck the Federal Bureau
Shout out to Nostrand Ave., Flushing Ave., Myrtle
All the County of Kings, may your ground stay fertile
Shout out to Big Poppa, Daddy Kane, heroes
Thus concludin' my concerto
Marcy me"

The Notorious B.I.G and Big Daddy Kane are very important people in JAY-Z’s life. Biggie was not only JAY-Z’s colleague, he was also his very close friend. Below you can check out video break down of the reference made in the album:

***Update 2-26-2017- Youtube removed the previous video, so we will host the video going forward


Props to Rap Genius for the Lyrics and annotations