It feels like we’re getting a lot of Jay-Z lately.
Or JAŸ-Z. Or Shawn Corey Carter. Whatever you want to call him (or however you want to stylize his name), it feels like there’s been a barrage of Jay-Z coverage, commentary and celebration as of late.
Just yesterday, Puck, citing multiple unnamed sources, broke the news that Jay-Z has reportedly chosen himself to headline Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., in February. As of now, that information is unconfirmed, but it hasn’t been denied either.
This comes right after 50 Cent went viral for lobbing hate in Jiggaman’s direction, claiming Jay-Z never dominated the musical landscape, though he acknowledged the cultural force that was (and apparently still is) Jay-Z; put a pin in this. Oddly, 50 asked the co-hosts on The Flagrant podcast how Jay was doing during Tupac and Biggie’s run, making him sound like a hater from jump. Jay’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, didn’t even drop until June 1996, when Tupac and Biggie were both hip-hop’s biggest stars AND at the height of a personal beef that turned into a media shitstorm of coastal proportions.
Meanwhile, I doubt 50 would have had much to say about Nas’ Illmatic, long considered a gold standard of hip-hop and arguably a GOAT album, which didn’t even reach platinum status until 2001—seven years after its 1994 release. I can’t speak for 50 Cent there, and I’m speculating, but I feel pretty good about that speculation.
50 Cent questioning Jay’s musical dominance comes on the heels of Jay’s shows at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint. Sure, it’s highly likely that those shows were successful not just because of the music but because nobody wanted to miss a cultural moment happening in New York City with one of hip-hop’s greatest rappers, but I mean, that moment doesn’t happen in the first place without the music mattering over Jay’s decades-long run.
Even now, in real time, HBO is running the JAY-Z in 8 docuseries where Jay and producer Rick Rubin sit down in a Parisian art hall to discuss the lyrics to some of his biggest songs and some of the most obscure, in an attempt to allow viewers into the mentality and thought process of Jay. While I have enjoyed it—I think almost every rapper needs to sit down and do something like this to tell their story their way—the project has drawn criticism as a self-indulgent vanity project. I mean, sure, it is; it is also compelling if you’re a Jay-Z fan who still argues about which album is his best, Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint—I think it’s the former.
