Jay-Z and D’Angelo connect on a new song called “I Want You Forever” with Jeymes Samuel.
Jay-Z and D’Angelo Team Up on New Song “I Want You Forever” With Jeymes Samuel
Jay-Z and D’Angelo have joined forces for a new spiritual-infused track called “I Want You Forever,” featuring Jeymes Samuel, which dropped on Friday (Jan. 12). The tune appears on the movie soundtrack to Jeymes Samuel’s biblical movie, The Book of Clarence, in theaters today.
It’s the first song Hov has released since his powerful lyrical appearance on DJ Khaled’s 2022 spiritual anthem, “God Did,” which earned three Grammy Award nominations. Meanwhile, fans have been eagerly awaiting new music from D’Angelo since his critically-acclaimed album, Black Messiah, arrived in 2014.
On the song, which is below, Jay is not rapping but delivering a stream-of-consciousness confession to a woman—possibly God?—that he loves dearly.
“Damn girl, while you were away, got these n***as next level hating matchmaking from a grave/Y’all okay?/Lovers don’t finally meet they been in each other all along/So way before you were born and along after they are gone/This ain’t no song,” Hov raps on the song.
Meanwhile, D’Angelo is delivering soulful wails of “I just wanna love you,” over stirring violins and dramatic drums.
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Jeymes Samuel Raves About Jay-Z and D’Angelo’s Collaborative Song
On Jan. 6, music journalist Elliott Wilson posted a video on Twitter of his interview with Jay-Z and filmmaker Jeymes Samuel in front of a live audience about their biblical movie. In the clip, which you can find below, Samuel revealed for the first time that Hov and D’Angelo have a song together that will appear on the film’s soundtrack.
At the live discussion, Samuel promised the crowd they would be blown away by the song.
“It’s so deep. D’Angelo and Jay-Z on the same track,” the filmmaker raved. “9 minutes, 33 seconds of absolute soulful biblical bliss,” he added.
Jay-Z is an executive producer for The Book of Clarence, with Jeymes Samuel directing. The two previously collaborated on the 2021 western film The Harder They Fall, which starred Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors and others.
Set in biblical times, The Book of Clarence stars LaKeith Stanfield as the titular character, a man who’s down on his luck and looking to find a better life for his family. Drawn to the rising Messiah and His apostles’ magical powers, he risks everything to forge his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief could be his only way out.
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Check out Hov and D’Angelo’s new collaborative song with Jeymes Samuel and listen to the movie soundtrack below.
