If you’ve been following the rollout of JAY-Z’s latest masterpiece, 4:44, you’re already well aware that the album is accompanied by incredible visuals. The critically acclaimed project was initially teased back in June with a few short clips starring Oscar-winning actors, Lupita Nyong’o and Mahershala Ali. Not soon after, we were finally blessed with a full LP- his thirteenth album in a storied career. Shawn Carter celebrated his latest achievement by unleashing a slew of incredible music videos to help promote the highly anticipated work.
These aforementioned visuals were originally posted on the rapper’s TIDAL streaming service, but thankfully found their way onto YouTube shortly thereafter. Recently, fans were given the video for the Damian Marley-assisted track, “Bam”, which took JAY-Z and the Reggae royalty to Jamaica for a meet with legendary singer, Sister Nancy. To follow that up, JAY-Z dropped another mini film, this time for the epic confessional, “Kill Jay Z”. The piece weaved a narrative about romantic relationships and issues of race, and was supported by footnotes from Will Smith, Kendrick Lamar, and Aziz Ansari.
This week, JAY-Z enlisted Ansari’s good friend and fellow Master of None co-creator, Alan Yang, to direct the new music video for “Moonlight”. The result is a thoughtful and even humorous offering that parodies the hit NBC sitcom Friends. It starts out fun and light, but quickly contrasts it with a moving and unexpected ending. Following in the footsteps of the other 4:44 cuts, the video for “Moonlight” is chock-full of Hollywood stars. In the short’s seven minutes, you can catch Issa Rae, Hannibal Buress, Jerrod Carmichael, and more.
Yang recently spoke with Vulture and detailed the grand production. “It’s really a dream cast for me,” he said. “Just a deep roster of talent, not unlike the original cast of Friends. So many different personalities and so much charisma. Jay and I both wanted Jerrod Carmichael from the start. We thought he’d be perfect for Ross, and I think Jay had been wanting to work with Jerrod for a while, and I’d been friends with Jerrod for years.”
You can watch the music video in its entirety below via YouTube. You can also listen to JAY-Z’s new album, 4:44, on all major streaming services.
