Jay-Z has been celebrating the 30th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt all year, performing special anniversary concerts across the globe. If you couldn’t catch one of those live shows, HBO’s new eight-part documentary series, JAŸ-Z in 8, offers another way to get up close and personal with the rapper. JAŸ-Z in 8 is an intimate, one-on-one conversation between Jay-Z and music producer Rick Rubin, with the pair diving deep into the music-making process and the meanings behind some of Jay-Z’s most famous lyrics. Rubin, who has worked in the music industry for decades, has appeared in many music documentaries himself, but JAŸ-Z in 8 is his directorial debut.
Here’s what you need to know to tune in.
When does JAŸ-Z in 8 premiere?
Episodes 1 and 2 of JAŸ-Z in 8 premiere on Friday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max. If you’re tuning in on HBO, the premiere episode will be immediately followed by episode 2 at 8:45 p.m. ET/PT. If you’re streaming the show on HBO Max, both episodes will be available to stream at once starting at 8 p.m. ET.
When do new episodes of JAŸ-Z in 8 come out?
Two new episodes will debut weekly on Fridays over four weeks, concluding with episodes 7 and 8 on Friday, Oct. 9. The weekly schedule, including the topics and tracks covered in each episode, is below:
Friday, Sept. 18: Chapter 1: Intro, Meet The Parents, Can’t Knock the Hustle and What More Can I Say.
Friday, Sept. 18: Chapter 2: Brooklyn’s Finest, I Love The Dough and What More Can I Say.
Friday, Sept. 25: Chapter 3: Lyrical Exercise, This Can’t Be Life (featuring Beanie Sigel), You Must Love Me and 4:44.
Friday, Sept. 25: Chapter 4: Where Have You Been, Allure, Where I’m From, Can I Live and Don’t You Know.
Friday, Oct. 2: Chapter 5: U Don’t Know, Politics As Usual and Regrets.
Friday, Oct. 2: Chapter 6: Jail, Ignorant Sh*t, Hovi Baby, Kill Jay-Z, 99 Problems, Threat, Dead Presidents II and Public Service Announcement (Interlude).
Friday, Oct. 9: Chapter 7: Chat/interview.
Friday, Oct. 9: Chapter 8: Episode 8 features New York (Concept de Paris), The Story Of O.J., No Church In The Wild, Family Feud and Legacy.
How to watch JAŸ-Z in 8 on HBO Max
To watch JAŸ-Z in 8 without cable, you’ll need a subscription to HBO Max. Currently, the HBO Max plan with ads costs $11 per month, the Standard ad-free version costs $18.50 monthly and a Premium ad-free plan is $23 a month.
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