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The essential message of this surprise album by Beyoncé and Jay-Z can be found on the closing track “Lovehappy.” “We broke up and got back together,” raps Jay-Z. “Now we’re happy in love,” replies Beyoncé. The husband-and-wife superstars, who 15 years ago famously proclaimed to be “crazy in love,” have weathered their share of marital discord, as revealed on their Lemonade and 4:44 albums. But Bey and Jay, who was born Shawn Carter, have clearly worked out their problems and these nine tracks celebrate the reconciliation. On “713,” the area code for Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston, her husband calls his wife a “black queen” and raps “you rescued us.” Queen Bey raps more than she sings, shining...

Jay-Z resides comfortably in the palace of hip-hop: a groundbreaking rapper and label owner, with 21 Grammy Awards and sales of more than 100 million records to his name. As Beyoncé’s husband, he is also one half of pop’s royal couple. But all has not been well on the homefront, if we’re to believe the superstars’ artistic output. His alleged marital infidelity became grist for Queen Bey’s mill on her hit 2016 album Lemonade. Then there was elevator video footage showing an altercation with sister-in-law Solange. Jay-Z addresses both subjects on his 13th solo album. Confessional and apologetic, it’s an impressive mark of maturation from the man born Shawn Carter. Ove...

“My 15 minutes started an hour ago,” raps Drake on “Fireworks,” the opening number featuring Alicia Keys on his debut album. True, Drake’s fame—both as a rapper and an actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation—precedes this long-awaited release. Working with hip-hop heavyweights like Jay-Z and Kanye West, the Toronto-born artist shows off his lyrical skills on tracks like “Light Up” and “Show Me a Good Time.” But on the deeply romantic “Find Your Love” Drake also proves himself a most promising crooner.

She’s young, gifted and black. She’s also devout, hard-working and extremely fly. As Destiny’s Child’s frontwoman and solo singer-turned actress, Knowles boasts a wealth of attributes (including bootylicious, a term she popularized and now defines) that have helped to place the Houston native well on the road to one-name multimedia stardom. Already, she’s a fast-rising screen actress, thanks to her credible work in Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Fighting Temptations, and a multiple Grammy winner as a member of Destiny’s Child. But her ambitions go much further. “I want to be the first black woman to win an Oscar, a Tony and a Grammy,” says the 22-year-old Beyoncé. “I already have three ...