Jay-Z Says He Nearly Walked Away From Rap in New ‘JAY-Z in 8’ Docuseries

Jay-Z is revisiting three decades of music with Rick Rubin in a new HBO docuseries, revealing that he once seriously considered leaving rap behind after his debut album.

Jay-Z is the focus of JAY-Z in 8, an eight-part series built around conversations with producer Rick Rubin. According to XXL, the first two episodes premiered on HBO on September 18, with two additional episodes scheduled to arrive each week.

The series uses more than 25 songs from Jay-Z’s catalog as entry points into his lyrics, personal history and development as an artist. Rather than moving strictly through his career chronologically, the conversations use individual records to open larger discussions about different stages of his life.

One of the early revelations concerns the period after Reasonable Doubt. Jay said he had planned to step away from recording and become a music executive in the mold of Russell Simmons because he “didn’t love being an artist,” particularly the demands of videos, interviews and public speaking.

The episodes also dig into specific writing choices. Jay identifies the intro to The Dynasty: Roc La Familia as his favorite album intro and explains how one lyric was inspired by matching scripture tattoos worn by The Notorious B.I.G. and members of Junior M.A.F.I.A.

Jay also shares new details about his friendship with Biggie, saying they became close after recording “Brooklyn’s Finest” and spending time together afterward. He recalls Biggie discussing the idea of both of them moving to Atlanta and says he once removed a Biggie line referencing Carolina because he did not want to intensify the East Coast-West Coast conflict.

JAY-Z in 8 presents those memories through Jay’s own reflections rather than a conventional career retrospective. With new episodes rolling out weekly, the series is continuing to revisit the decisions, relationships and records behind one of hip-hop’s longest-running careers.

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