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Jay-Z Creatively Puts Frank Ocean on a Song Called ‘Oceans’

Jay-Z, on land

Another day, another set of lyrics from Jay-Z’s forthcoming album Magna Carter Holy Grail. Today brings “Oceans,” a track that features — hey, would you look at that — Frank Ocean, who recently appeared alongside Jay on two Watch the Throne tracks. The song, maybe uncoincidentally, is thematically aligned with Watch the Throne — it features Jay describing himself pouring champagne into the Ivory Coast as he contemplates the lives of his ancestors who traversed that water in slave ships. Jay further explains the track, which follows the lyrics released for “Holy Grail” and “Heaven,” in a clip posted to YouTube.

Aside from Timberlake, who appears on “Holy Grail,” Ocean, and producers Timbaland and Pharrell shown in the album’s initial commercial, the collaborators for Magna Carta Holy Grail have been kept close to the vest. But it appears as if Mike Will Made It, rap’s undisputed top producer of 2013, worked on “Beach Is Better,” the album’s fifth track. Mike Will recently posted photos of himself in the studio with Jay-Z and Timbaland, and made a not-so-subtle tweet implying his hand in the track. The “Oceans” lyrics are below.