Jay-Z has reintroduced the umlaut over the "Y" in his name, reflecting the change on streaming platforms and event posters
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The name change nods to the rapper's early career when the umlaut appeared on album covers like his 1996 debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt
He will perform at Yankee Stadium in July and with The Roots at the Roots Picnic in May
Allow him to reintroduce himself.
Jay-Zis making a subtle-yet-meaningful change to his name ahead of several big milestone moments in his music career.
The 56-year-old rapper, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, quietly added the umlaut back over the "Y" in his name, displaying it on several advertisements for upcoming events, including the New York native's recently announced summer dates performing at Yankee Stadium.
The poster for the special nights — including a show dedicated to his debut studio album, 1996'sReasonable Doubt, on July 10 and his 2001 albumThe Blueprinton July 11 — shows the newly-altered name.
According toMerriam Webster, an umlaut is a "diacritical mark ¨ placed over a vowel to indicate a more central or front articulation."
In reality, the change harkens back to Jay-Z's roots as the rapper previously featured the umlaut over his name early in his career on album and single covers, includingReasonable Doubt.
The change has also been reflected on streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, Apple Music and more.
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In addition to the Yankee Stadium dates, Jay-Z will also be performing with The Roots at the annualRoots Picnic in Philadelphiaon May 30, with the poster also highlighting the name change.
On Feb. 20, Jay-Z released his new single, "Dead Presidents," with the single art reflecting the name change.
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This certainly isn't the first time the 25-time Grammy winner, who also goes by the nickname "Hova" or "Hov," has changed his name. In 2013, he dropped the hyphen from his name with his publicist tellingComplexat the time that the hyphen hadn't been used since 2010. He's also previously stylized his name in all caps.
The "Empire State of Mind" hitmaker hasn't released a full solo album since 2017's4:44. In 2018, he released the joint albumEverything Is Lovewith his wife,Beyoncé.
In addition to his music career, Jay-Z's company, RocNation, has also been partnered with the NFL since 2019, helping to bring musical acts to the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the years since.
Jay-Z and Beyoncesharedaughter Blue Ivy Carter, 14, and twins Rumi and Sir, both 8.
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