Jay-Z is fully activated for 2026, both with commemorations of key album anniversaries (Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint turn 30 and 25 this year) and with a much-discussed new freestyle delivered at the Roots Picnic event in Philly.
HOV is far from done, however, as he’s just announced a forthcoming HBO documentary series directed by “99 Problems” producer Rick Rubin.
Below, we break down everything we know about the series so far.
What’s the name of Jay-Z’s new HBO docuseries?
The Rubin-helmed series, aptly titled JAŸ-Z IN 8, is an eight-part documentary series. Rubin, notably, previously went a similar route with the Paul McCartney-focused McCartney 3,2,1 Hulu series back in 2021. This time around, he’s bringing this approach to HBO.
What can we expect?
“Everyone had this same experience, except I was the one that could stand on the soapbox and articulate what we were going through,” HOV says in a 41-second teaser trailer released on Thursday (June 25).
Elsewhere, Rubin points to an undefined pain as an impetus for putting in the work, prompting HOV to give his own assessment of its usefulness.
“You don’t say it’s necessary, you don’t say you need it,” he said. “But if it’s there, you use it.”
A press release, shared in tandem with the teaser on Thursday, includes the following synopsis:
“Rick Rubin sits down with Jay-Z to discuss his music, lyrics, life experiences, and creative process.”
Who all’s involved?
Rubin directs, as well as appears on camera in an interviewer role. The series falls under the HBO Documentary Films and Tetragrammaton banners, with HOV joining Rubin and Daniel Kaluuya as executive producers. Leila Mattimore and David Rohde are also credited as producers.
When’s it dropping?
The series is set to make its debut on HBO this fall. It’ll also be available to stream via HBO Max.
