Jay-Z Adds Umlaut, Becomes JA-Z Ahead of Roots Picnic Reunion

Hip-hop icon Jay-Z has quietly added an umlaut to his stage name. Fans will see “JA-Z” on the lineup for the annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia on May 30. He also updated his name across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. The tweak nods to his earliest releases: the cover art for Reasonable Doubt (1996) and its breakout singles included an umlaut over one letter. This isn’t the first time Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has played with punctuation. In 2013 he dropped the hyphen to “change with the times,” then brought it back in all-caps for his 2017 album 4:44. The new umlaut feels like another way to stay true to his roots.

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