Jay-Z to Open Up About His Life and Music in HBO Docuseries

Jay-Z is adding another element to his comeback tour — a documentary series.

HBO announced details on the project Thursday, saying the eight-part series titled Jay-Z in 8 centers around a conversation between the hip-hop mogul and Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin.

The network released a 40-second teaser trailer, which doesn’t reveal much except to show a snippet of the “99 Problems” artist talking about drawing inspiration from challenges he faced early on.

“The pain, you don’t say it’s necessary, you don’t say you need it, but if it’s there – you use it,” he says.

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According to the official description for the series, the rap legend will “discuss his music, lyrics, life experiences, and creative process.”

The carefully-curated series is directed by Rubin and executive produced by Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z. Rubin is also an executive producer alongside Daniel Kaluuya, Leila Mattimore, and David Rohde.

The series will debut this fall on HBO and HBO Max in the U.S.

News of the project comes two weeks after Jay-Z announced he is putting together concerts in Paris and Los Angeles to mark the 30th anniversary of his debut 1996 studio album, Reasonable Doubt.

Last month he performed at the 2026 Roots Picnic in Philadelphia and made headlines with a freestyle rap.

The mogul took aim at his rivals in the freestyle, including attorney Tony Buzbee, fellow rappers Kanye “Ye” West, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Tory Lanez, plus his frequent critic R&B singer Jaguar Wright, and former business partner Damon Dash.

Jay-Z reserved some of the most scathing criticism for Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Dash, who recently filed for bankruptcy, and also had his false teeth fall out during a live streamed Q&A with fans.

“Another fumbling, wondering how I get the blame/Ni–as teeth is tumbling out they mouth and somehow I’m the one who done it/It’s a murder mystery gang,” Jay-Z rapped.