Photo of Jay Z courtesy Getty Images for Roc Nation
Mysterious new advertisements purportedly from Tidal may be the latest sign a new Jay Z album is on the way.
Orange display ads bearing only the text "4:44" have surfaced this week on sites such as Complex, The Undefeated and Fader, with no advertiser information or hyperlink. And while the images are absent of details, Spin dug into the source code to discover "tidal-444" in the file name, similar to how other ads include advertiser and campaign information.
While neither Tidal nor Jay Z (who co-owns the streaming platform) have officially been linked to the ads, massive posters and billboards have also been sighted around New York, including multiple locations around the subway stop at Jay Street.
Given the Tidal connection and recent speculation about a new Jay Z record, fueled by his upcoming festival performances and tour deal, it's possible "4:44" may somehow be a giant hint about new music.
Jay's last album, Magna Carta... Holy Grail, arrived in 2013. It was first released on July 4, exclusively for Samsung Galaxy customers, before its wide release on July 8. Now that he owns a streaming service, another exclusive album release (via Tidal) may not be out of the question.
It's also worth noting, the number 4 has long been very special to both Jay Z and wife Beyoncé, who named her fourth studio album 4. Beyoncé was born on Sept. 4, while Jay was born on Dec. 4. And they were married on April 4 and have matching "IV" tattoos.
Reps for Tidal and Jay Z were not immediately available for comment.
Okay fine can someone please explain these ads all over Jay St Metrotech pic.twitter.com/EMs0aDpU4W
— Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) June 6, 2017
4 🤔 @TIDALHiFi ad in time square.... You don't think @TIDALHiFi advertising Blueprint 4 do you? Probably drops 7/4/17 at 4:44 🤔🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/9M49WLF331
— • Sharkytank 🅴 (@Sharkytank) June 5, 2017