Jay-Z updates stage name ahead of upcoming shows
American rapper Jay-Z shares his new stage name, and reactions from fans are pouring in
Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, has added a small but noticeable change to his stage name.
The 56-year-old rapper, famous for hits like Empire State of Mind and Run This Town, now goes by JAŸ-Z, adding an umlaut over the “Y.”
The new spelling of his name is on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal.
Those who’ve followed him since the beginning of his career may recognize the umlaut, it first appeared on his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt, which included hits like Ain’t No N---a and Can’t Knock the Hustle.
The change sparked reactions on social media. One fan asked, “Who’s jaÿ-z what’s w the umlaut?”
Another joked, “JayEEE Z? Am I saying that right? Lol.” A third added, “Ok, yes, we like it, can’t beat the 90s.”
This isn’t the first time Jay-Z has played with punctuation in his name. In 2013, he removed the hyphen and umlaut, saying in an interview, “The hyphen was really big back in the day. It’s not useful anymore. You change with the times.”
Notably, the hyphen returned in 2017 with his 4:44 album, however, this time in all caps.
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