The Book of HOV: Jay-Z Exhibit in Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn native and hip-hop icon Shawn Carter, famously known as JAY-Z, has trailblazed a road for rappers in the music business for several decades.
This summer, his hometown paid homage to him in response to the 50th anniversary of Hip-hop by curating an exhibit at the Brooklyn Library of Jay-Z's rise to stardom and impact on music, culture, and society.
The installation was The Book of HOV: A Celebration of Life and Work of Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, from cases upon cases of various music awards, concert collectibles, art, and videos and pictures that told the story of how 'HOV' came to be.
The nickname 'HOV' came way before the name Jay-Z. HOV is short for Jay-Hova, a play on the name Jehovah. He earned this title for his innovation within hip-hop/rap music and his persistence with the stubborn industry with little desire to make room for the growing genre.
The exhibition was compiled of eight different sections around the library.
Introduction
A Work Of Are Already
Baseline Studios
Did It All Without A Pen
Business, Man
Win-Win
So Fly
HOV Did That
The Introduction was this massive mural on the front of the library that looks like it came straight out of a book.
'A Work Of Art' was a large gallery filled with displays of Jay-Z-inspired art created by various artists and selected artifacts from the emcee's career.
In 2021, Jay-Z was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, he highlighted the negativity and "nay-sayers" that attempted to deter him from this monumental moment.
"You know, growing up, we didn't think we could be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We were told hip-hop was a fad," said Jay.
My favorite line of his speech was, "But the audacity of hip-hop; we didn't believe them."
Today, Jay is worth $2.5 billion. He has 24 Grammys, 12 MTV Video Music Awards, 7 BET Awards, 6 Billboard Awards, and 3 American Music Awards.
And, of course, you know they had to display all 13 of his studio albums.
'Baseline Studios' is the Manhattan recording studio where Jay-Z created four albums, including The Dynasty: Roc la Familia, The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse, and The Black Album.
In this exhibit section are the plaques and awards that the albums earned and collages of pictures and artifacts from the studio.
'Did It All Without A Pen' was my favorite exhibit, with all of Jay's Grammys, platinum awards, and turntables with headphones that visitors can test.
For a complete look into all exhibit sections, visit The Book of HOV exhibit; go to the Brooklyn Library before December 4th to walk through a hip-hop icon's life.