FUSE TV - Just Blaze Q&A: On Beyoncé’s ‘Freedom’ & ‘Lemonade’s’ Fact vs. Fiction

Just Blaze is responsible for producing some of the most memorable Jay Z songs in his catalog, from “Girls, Girls, Girls” to “Public Service Announcement” to “Show Me What You Got.” This week, however, the New Jersey-based producer is in the news for his contribution to Beyoncé’s universally praised sixth studio album, Lemonade. Linking up with Bey for the first time in his illustrious career, Just Blaze is credited with “Freedom,” the righteous collaboration between Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar, and lent a hand on multiple other tracks within the 12-song opus.

Days after Lemonade was spilled on Saturday night (April 23), Just Blaze talked to Fuse about the album release, the visual component of the full-length, Beyoncé’s creative process and the widespread speculation that the album details Jay Z’s infidelities:

FUSE: What’s been the most surprising thing that’s happened to you over the past few days?
JUST BLAZE: I guess just the actual arrival of the album! I mean, I had some ideas as to what the plans were, but I didn’t know the specific timing. I knew there was the HBO show happening, but I didn’t know there was going to be a full-on reveal with the album release right after. It’s one of those things where you’re sitting on a song for a while, you know it’s a great record, and you’re just waiting for the public to get their hands on it to see if they love it as much as you do. So aside from the actual surprise of the premiere, I guess the most surprising thing for me was not just the positive reaction [to ‘Freedom’], but the overwhelmingly positive reaction. It’s always a good feeling! I knew it would do well—I mean, it’s Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar. But the amount of love that I’ve gotten, no matter how many times that’s happen to me before, it’s a surprise every time.