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Justin Timberlake has recorded his first album since 2006 (if we're not counting "The Best of Justin Timberlake on SNL"), and dropped the first single this week, Suit & Tie. We could barely even think "Suit & Tie? Why, he's talking about men's fashion!" thanks to our screaming teenage selves, who are apparently not buried deep down inside enough. The track also features a rap from everyone's favorite Beyoncé-husband, Jay-Z, which expounds a bit on his own style and fashion love. Read on for a comprehensive play-by-play of all the nods to our little industry from theirs.
I be on my suit and tie shit, tie shit, tie?I be on my suit and tie shit
Can I show you a few things?
Justin Timberlake is a man who wears suits and ties and the like, and so he knows a bit about clothing and style. Also, he is willing and able to share that knowledge, probably with his wife Jessica Biel.
And you got fixed up to the nines
Let me show you a few things
All pressed up in black and white
And you're dressed in that dress I like.
A love of fashion, shared. Aw.
But the real magic happens in Jay-Z's rap:
This is truffle season
Tom Ford tuxedos for no reason
Truffles are really, really expensive mushroom and suggest a gratuitous spending. Tom Ford has really nothing to do with mushrooms, as far as we're aware, but they're really, really expensive, and, well, for no reason? That's ballsy.
All Saints for my angel
Alexander Wang too
Kind of a toss up as to whether Hov is nodding to the high-end UK retailer All Saints or Yves Saint Laurent, or rather "Saint Laurent" in modern lexicon. But if we're paying attention to the context clues of the previous and subsequent lines (we are), it's clear that it's "truffle season," and only the the best designers, like Alexander Wang, will do for his "angel." In that case, YSL is the most probable reference.
Ass-tight denim and some Dunks
But these two haven't forgotten where they came from. Nay, Brooklyn style prevails when Bey tops off the high-end look with classic rumpus-flaunting pants and Nike Dunks.
You just got good genes so a n***a tryna cuff you
Thanks, Mrs. and Mr. Beyoncé's mom and dad, for passing on the greatest DNA that this century, and even the last, according to certain sources, has ever seen. It's so great, in fact, that dudes everywhere are trying to "cuff" her, or lock her down in a relationship. Aside from the questionable undertones there, we appreciate the denim pun.