Jay-Z has made a habit of using rap songs as a kind of diary, relating important events in his life. His response time is getting quicker and quicker. Here’s a brief review.
January 2010
“Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour),” a song about Haiti’s tragic earthquake created in collaboration with Bono, The Edge, and Rihanna, is released eleven days after the natural disaster.
January 2012
“Glory,” a song about his daughter Blue Ivy, is released in the first week of her life.
April 2013
“Open Letter,” a song addressing both his anniversary celebration in Havana and his decision to divest his shares of the Brooklyn Nets, is released within days of both incidents.
June 2013
“7-6,” a song about the New York Yankees’ victory over the Los Angeles Angels, is released only four hours after the game. The lyrics include specifics about the ninth inning (“Cano leading off, first a strike, then a double / The ball’s fair, not foul, and Trout is in trouble”).
May 2014
“What’s Your Name?” a song about a Starbucks employee getting Jay-Z’s order wrong “maybe two minutes ago,” is released.
August 2015
“First Verse,” a song whose second verse responds to online criticism of the first verse, is released.
March 2016
“Daylight Savings,” a song about Daylight Savings, is released exactly at 2 am EST, which is also exactly 3 am EST. In it, Jay-Z contends that it’s the first song he or anyone else has ever written about the immediate future: “We’re here in the present but there’s no present right? / That hour’s dead/ Skip ahead / In the cold morning light / The time change happens but I don’t know how / The only thing I know now is that there is no now.”