Yesterday we wrote about Tidal dropping a tasty teaser for Jay-Z‘s hotly anticipated ‘Family Feud’ vidya clip:
The deeply confessional, Catholic church-vibe clip features the simple lyrics ‘Nobody wins when the family feuds / we all lose when the family feuds’, clearly referencing the fall out between the Carters after the cheating scandal of 2016.
And like a belated Xmas pressie, the clip has debuted today and the cameos are *kisses fingers* molto bene.
(This is the part where we would usually embed the video, but it’s only available on Tidal and of course we don’t have a a Tidal log in and neither do you. So, you’re gonna have to bear with us while we explain the visuals, and hopefully by the time we’re done someone will have uploaded the thing to YouTube before disappearing in an Illuminati-style abduction.)
The eight-minute short, directed by Ava DuVernay, might very well be Jay-Z’s most epic clip of all time. And that’s a big call considering he and Kanye once obliterated a brand-new Maybach in Otis.
Thankfully, DuVernay documented heaps of the BTS action on her Twitter, which we will use to illustrate.
The clip is an 400-year-long fantasy, kicking off in the year 2050 with a grown-up Blue Ivy heading up a table of the Founding Mothers of the New World Order.
https://twitter.com/_sheateher/status/946875761683656704
The mothers include huge names like Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, Janet Mock, Niecy Nash, Rosario Dawson, Rashida Jones and Brie Larson.
The mature Blue quotes a lyric from the song before we zoom back to 2018 where a young Blue takes a seat at a pew:
https://twitter.com/EvanWoodson/status/946875898376130560
There’s also a bit where Thandie Newton plays Michael B. Jordan‘s mum in the year 2444:
The first scene focuses on errors. All families hurt each other. Mistakes are made. Expectations unmet. Jealousies fester. Dramatizing that energy are @michaelb4jordan, @thandienewton + @_Trevante_. Some behind the scenes snaps of their gorgeousness… pic.twitter.com/fmctKrJfO8
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 29, 2017
Then there’s the steamy sex scenes with what looks like a young Jay-Z and a mystery woman that was shown in the teaser. This dalliance dials up throughout the clip before taking a violent twist as the woman stabs Young Hova square in the back.
Meanwhile, Queen Bey is sitting regal in a pope-esque gown, on the priest’s side of a confessional booth.
Eventually Jay sits down to confess his sins and if that isn’t the clearest cut metaphor of all time for Jay-Z being a root rat, I will eat my hat.
The lyrics that constitute the infidelity-focused verse are heavy, and Becky With The Good Hair even cops a guernsey:
Yeah, I’ll fuck up a good thing if you let me
Let me alone, Becky
A man that don’t take care his family can’t be rich
I’ll watch ‘Godfather,’ I miss that whole sh–
My consciousness was Michael’s common sense
I missed the karma that came as a consequence
N—as bustin’ off through the curtains ’cause she hurtin’
Kay losin’ the babies ’cause their future’s uncertain
Nobody wins when the family feuds
We all screwed ’cause we never had the tools.
Stars in the clip have taken to Twitter to express their thanks for being included in the clip:
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/946863059926007808
Nobody wins when the family feuds
Didn’t you know that the new Jay-Z @S_C_ video is out? @TIDAL
Guess who’s in it? 😎Loved working with director @ava pic.twitter.com/ccVhIBtVuZ
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) December 29, 2017
Honestly, if the New World Order looks that stylish, we’re here for it. Bring it on.
