Jay-Z is attempting to channel the Gospel with his latest collaboration. The artist is set to release “nine minutes and 32 seconds of absolute soulful, biblical bliss.”
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At least, that’s how The Book Of Clarence director Jeymes Samuel describes it. Jay-Z is partnering with Samuel and D’Angelo for the new single “I Want You Forever.” The song is set to drop on January 12, but the artists created the song as part of the new gospel comedy.
Not only is Samuel creating the music for the film, he’s also starring in the film as well. Jay-Z is playing duel roles as well. The rapper and musician is also acting as a producer on the film. It wouldn’t be the first time that Samuel and Jay-Z have partnered up. The two previously worked together on the western film The Harder They Fall.
Appearing on the red carpet, Jay-Z spoke with ET Online and teased future projects from the duo. According to the rapper, they want to tackle difficult subjects. Representation plays a key theme in their chosen genres.
“It’s not the project. It’s Jeymes. Jeymes is just a genius, and we did The Harder They Fall together. We’re going to do a bunch of projects,” Jay-Z said. “We got a bunch of projects in the pipe line as well. He’s just fearless. He’s fearless and creative. We went from the Old West to the New Testament. We didn’t pick easy topics — we weren’t represented in the Old West, so we pulled up real names — Stagecoach Mary, Trudy Smith, and Rufus Buck.”
Jay-Z Is Getting Biblical
In a press release via NME, Samuel opened up about his newest film.
He said, “The Book Of Clarence is a film that I wanted to make for many years. While I was working on The Harder They Fall and all my other projects, the story and the music for The Book Of Clarence was always there percolating in my mind.”
According to Samuel, he always planned to work on the music for the film. He said, “There was never a question as to whether I would compose the score and write and perform on the soundtrack, as well as write and direct the movie – it was all one amazing journey where one depended on the other.
For the film, Samuel has partnered with some big stars. He said, “But I also worked with the most awesome artists on our track ‘Hallelujah Heaven’. Collaborating with Lil Wayne, Buju Banton, and Shabba Ranks was so dope, I loved getting them all on the same track.”
[Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage]
