Jay-Z is turning the anniversary lap into something more reflective. The rapper, entrepreneur and occasional reminder that catalog management can be an art form will sit down with Rick Rubin for the HBO documentary series “Jay-Z in 8,” an eight-part project set to premiere this fall.
Rubin is directing the series and will interview Jay-Z about his music, lyrics, life experiences and creative process. It is a pairing with real history behind it: Rubin produced “99 Problems,” one of the defining tracks from Jay-Z’s 2003 album “The Black Album.”
What Will “Jay-Z in 8” Cover?
HBO is pitching the series as a closer look at Jay-Z’s work and the thinking behind it, rather than just another victory-lap career recap. Across eight episodes, Rubin will guide conversations about the artist’s writing, recording, personal history and creative choices.
“Jay-Z in 8” comes from Tetragrammaton. Shawn Carter, Daniel Kaluuya and Rick Rubin are executive producers, with Leila Mattimore and David Rohde producing.
For HBO, the project lands in familiar territory: a prestige music documentary with a major cultural figure, a respected interviewer and a built-in audience that has spent decades parsing lyrics like legal documents. Not that Jay-Z has ever encouraged understatement.
