Rapper Talks Life and Career With Rick Rubin

Jay-Z discusses his life-long love of writing, rap’s irresistible underdog energy, and more in the new teaser for his upcoming docuseries, Jay-Z in 8.

The upcoming HBO series finds Jay digging back into his catalogue while in conversation with Rick Rubin about his life, career, and music. While Jay has done this in various forms over the years, the black-and-white clip appropriately opens with Jay reciting one of his most famous lines: “Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Hov.”

From there, Jay goes talks about how he caught the writing bug at age nine and pontificates on hip-hop’s enduring appeal, as well as its limitless potential. “The reason why rap is so loved — that feeling of that underdog,” Jay says. “That’s why people were listening, that’s why it hit them somewhere.” 

The first two episodes of Jay-Z in 8, which Rubin directed, will premiere on Sept. 18, with two additional episodes dropping every Friday through Oct. 9. The discussions in each episode will center around a handful of Jay-Z songs, selected by Rubin. For instance, episode one will feature “Intro” (off 2000’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia), “Meet the Parents” (off 2002’s The Blueprint 2), “Can’t Knocks the Hustle” (of 1996’s Reasonable Doubt),and “What More Can I Say” (off 2003’s The Black Album). 

Future episodes will feature songs like “Brooklyn’s Finest,” “4:44,” “Can I Live,” “Politics as Usual,” “99 Problems,” “Dead Presidents II,” “Public Service Announcement (Interlude),” “The Story of O.J.,” and “No Church in the Wild.” 

Jay-Z in 8 is part of Jay’s massive, year-long celebration centered around the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. The festivities have included shows in New York City, and upcoming gigs in Los Angeles, Paris, and London, a series of pop-up events and activations, and even a run of commemorative library cards with the Brooklyn Public Library system.