Jay-Z and Beyonce are keeping up a family tradition, dropping a surprise album before anyone knew it was coming.
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2016 file photo, Beyonce performs at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Jay-Z and Beyonce have released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's Grammy Awards and features a shout out from their daughter Blue Ivy to her siblings. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The couple released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's Grammy Awards and features a shout out from their daughter Blue Ivy to her siblings.
The nine-track album "Everything Is Love" dropped Saturday on the Tidal music streaming service that Jay-Z partially owns.
The album features Beyonce rapping on songs more than she has done on previous releases.
FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2017 file photo, Jay-Z performs on the 4:44 Tour at Barclays Center in New York. Jay-Z and Beyonce have released a joint album that touches on the rapper's disgust at this year's Grammy Awards and features a shout out from their daughter Blue Ivy to her siblings. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
One song that has a profanity in its title includes Jay-Z lashing out at the Grammys. He was the top nominee at February's awards show, but left empty-handed.
The rapper also says he turned down the NFL Super Bowl halftime show, rapping that the league needs him more than he needs them.
Blue Ivy ends the song "BOSS" with a shout-out to her 1-year-old brother and sister, Rumi and Sir.
In 2013, Beyonce released the self-titled album "Beyonce" without any notice.
The venerable Neil Young offers a ragged and raw live take of his beloved 1990 album “Ragged Glory” with a new album, titled “Fu##in’ Up.”
Of course, the 2024 version doesn't have the same semi-youthful energy that the 44-year-old Young put into the original. Maybe his voice is a little shakier, the guitar solos not quite as refined, but the songs still crackle with a power that's frankly stunning coming from the not-so-young Young.
It's clear that the 78-year-old and his band Crazy Horse fed off the small crowd at the Toronto club where this was recorded in November 2023. Young is obviously having a blast on stage, so much so that he decided to release the songs just months after the performance. This is from a guy who has held on to some of his most beloved live shows for half a century.
Young and Crazy Horse perform nine of the 10 “Ragged Glory” songs in nearly identical arrangements to how they were recorded back in 1990.
Only one song from the original release, “Mother Earth (Natural Anthem),” is absent on ”Fu##in’ Up.” The songs have all been retitled with lyrics from the original, except for the cover of “Farmer John.”
For example, “Over and Over” becomes “Broken Circle” and “Love to Burn” becomes “Valley of Hearts.”
The somewhat profane album title is more or less the same as a song from “Ragged Glory,” just with a couple of different characters in between the “f” and the “in.” (It went from “F(asterisk)!#in’ Up” in 1990 to “Fu##kin’ Up” in 2024.)
For all of its virtues, some fans of the original may quibble with Young tackling the material 34 years later, especially since he doesn't differ much from the originals.
“Not everyone will want to hear it because it’s not for everyone," Young writes in the liner notes. "In the spirit it’s offered, we made this for the Horse lovers. I can’t stop it. The Horse is runnin' — what a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe, and I am so happy to have this to share.”
It may be for a niche Neil audience, but that niche is sure to love it. And Young probably doesn't care what the rest think.
FILE - Neil Young poses for a portrait at Lost Planet Editorial in Santa Monica, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2019. Young offers a ragged and raw live take of his 1990 album "Ragged Glory" with a new album, titled "F##in' Up." (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Neil Young performs at the BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival at Napa Valley Expo in Napa, Calif., on May 25, 2019. Young offers a ragged and raw live take of his 1990 album "Ragged Glory" with a new album, titled "F##in' Up." (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
