Jay-Z’s upcoming HBO documentary with Rick Rubin has a trailer and release date. It also feels like a visual to ‘Decoded’
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LANDOVER, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 24: Rapper Jay-Z is seen prior to a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on November 24, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The “99 Problems” collaborators are set for an 8-part sit-down in September.
Jay-Z is not going to let you forget what he means to music.
On Wednesday, HBO Max revealed the trailer for “Jay-Z In 8,” a docuseries featuring the Brooklyn MC sitting alongside famed producer Rick Rubin for two days in Paris, canvassing his life, career, and music, weaving in conversations about the “underdog spirit,” his love for writing and the power of hip-hop.
Seeing Jay do this in this format, with the man who helped deliver one of the signature songs from “The Black Album,” “99 Problems,” could be refreshing for those who love hearing Jay talk about the music. It is perhaps the longest long-form conversation Jay has ever filmed, in a year when he readily told GQ that he was “all offense” regarding the 30th anniversary of his debut album and a year after his name was in unsavory headlines.
However, the conversation with Rubin feels less like fans might learn something new and more like a continuation of his 2010 memoir “Decoded” with acclaimed author and filmmaker dream hampton.
The black-and-white trailer, soundtracked by the triumphant chords of “Public Service Announcement,” finds Jay explaining how he caught the writing bug at age nine, would write down everything he could, and why hip-hop will have everlasting zeal.
“The reason why rap is so loved — that feeling of that underdog,” Jay says in the trailer. “That’s why people were listening, that’s why it hit them somewhere.”
The eight-episode series will revolve around songs such as “Intro” from 2000’s “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, “Meet The Parents” from “The Blueprint 2,” “Can’t Knock The Hustle” from “Reasonable Doubt, “What More Can I Say” from 2003’s “The Black Album,” a song which got plenty of shine during his “Fade To Black” documenting the making of the album and the Madison Square Garden concert that was supposed to be his swan song from music (of course, he’s released five solo albums since then, along with two noted collaboration efforts, one with Linkin Park and another with Ye.)
Why “Jay-Z In 8” feels like a glossy sequel of the 2010 memoir is because of the songs covered that were recorded after the book was released, including tracks from “4:44” including the title track and “The Story of O.J.,” and “No Church In The Wild” from 2011’s “Watch the Throne.”
The first two episodes of “Jay-Z in 8,” which Rubin directed, will premiere on Sept. 18. Additional episodes will drop every Friday through Oct. 9, as the project arrives on the heels of Jay’s three-show residency at Yankee Stadium in July and a pair of overseas shows in Paris and London.
2026 has been a mammoth year for Jay-Z nostalgia, from the trio of New York shows to rare remixes, the upcoming docuseries and more. If nothing else, the “all offense” portion of Jay is leaning in fully to what he’s meant as a rapper and figure in hip-hop since 1996. What “Jay-Z In 8” looks to recapture is the magic of his lyric breakdown memoir, potentially with new outlooks and framing about songs that have now become timeless.