We call this, “The One Where Jay-Z Put a Brand New Spin on Friends.”
The rapper dropped the latest music video off his breakout album 4:44 exclusively on Tidal, this time for “Moonlight.” He enlists plenty of star power for the 6-minute visual, which parodies an episode of the classic sitcom with an entirely African-American cast.
From the intro sequence (colorful umbrellas included) to the goofy dancing and a set that matches Monica’s apartment to a T, there’s not an element of Jay’s music video that doesn’t mirror Friends perfectly.
Insecure star Issa Rae takes on Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Tiffany Haddish from Girls Trip stars as Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and actress Tessa Thompson is Monica (Courteney Cox).
As for the men, Get Out‘s Lil Rel Howery plays Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Atlanta actor Lakeith Stanfield is Chandler (Matthew Perry), Jerrod Carmichael from The Carmichael Show is Ross (David Schwimmer) and comedian Hannibal Buress makes a cameo appearance as himself.
The visual takes a self-reflective turn about half way through when Carmichael’s character asks to cut and begins questioning his role. Towards the end, audio from the infamous 2017 Oscars’ Best Picture mix-up plays.
Since 4:44‘s highly-anticipated release in late Jue, the rap album continues to dominate the charts and has already gone platinum. Jay-Z is currently preparing to hit the road on his 4:44 North American tour, which is scheduled to start in October and conclude in December.
Watch the visual for “Moonlight” above and tell us in the comments: What do you think?!
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