Jay-Z brought three decades of hip-hop history into one of New York City's most prestigious cultural institutions as he celebrated the arrival of his new HBO documentary series, JAŸ-Z in 8, at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The Brooklyn rap icon held the world premiere for the eight-part series at the Met on Sept. 14, turning the famed Lincoln Center venue into a celebration of a career that has stretched from Reasonable Doubt to billionaire businessman, cultural institution and one of hip-hop's most influential artists.

Beyoncé was there alongside her husband for the occasion, adding another layer of star power to a night that also drew Leonardo DiCaprio, Fat Joe, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Daniel Kaluuya, an executive producer on the series.

The premiere arrived just days before JAŸ-Z in 8 officially debuted on HBO and HBO Max on Sept. 18. The first two episodes are now available, with two additional chapters scheduled to arrive each Friday until the eight-part series concludes Oct. 9.

Jay-Z Looks Back With Rick Rubin

Rather than following the traditional celebrity-documentary formula, JAŸ-Z in 8 is constructed around an extended conversation between Jay-Z and legendary producer Rick Rubin.

Thirty years after the release of Reasonable Doubt, the two sit together and revisit Jay-Z's music, lyrics and life, using individual songs as entry points into larger discussions about his childhood, ambition, relationships, fame and evolution as an artist.

Rubin, who famously produced Jay-Z's “99 Problems,” makes his documentary directorial debut with the project. The series developed from hours of conversations between the two rather than a conventional chronological retelling of Jay-Z's career.

At the Met premiere, Jay-Z explained that revisiting his early records forced him to recognize how much of the future he eventually lived had already appeared in his lyrics.

He described the experience as realizing he had been “manifesting” elements of his life through his music long before they became reality.

That relationship between the lyrics and the life behind them sits at the center of the series.

The documentary digs into records spanning multiple eras of his catalog, including “Can't Knock the Hustle,” “Brooklyn's Finest,” “Meet the Parents,” “Dead Presidents II,” “99 Problems,” “4:44,” “The Story of O.J.,” “Family Feud” and others.

Beyoncé Joins Jay-Z for the Met Premiere

Beyoncé's appearance made the premiere a rare public night out for one of music's most famous couples, but her presence also fit naturally with a documentary that doesn't completely separate Jay-Z's music from the family and personal life that eventually became part of it.

The series touches on his relationship with Beyoncé as Jay-Z reflects on the experiences behind his writing.

Jay-Z has also spoken about what it will be like for their children to eventually watch the project.

At the premiere, he joked that Blue Ivy, Sir and Rumi may find parts of their father's reflections “cringe,” while explaining that he wanted the conversations to remain candid. He also praised Blue Ivy's development as a performer after watching her take the stage alongside Beyoncé during the Renaissance World Tour.

The family component is only one piece of a much broader retrospective.

JAŸ-Z in 8 arrives during a year in which Jay-Z has increasingly revisited the music that established his career, with the series timed to the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt.

The Met Becomes a Hip-Hop Celebration

Holding the premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House carried its own symbolism.

Jay-Z emerged from Brooklyn's Marcy Houses and entered the music industry at a time when he and his partners famously created Roc-A-Fella Records after struggling to secure the record deal they wanted. Three decades later, a documentary examining that journey was receiving its world premiere inside the Met.

The presentation leaned into that contrast.

The evening included orchestral renditions of Jay-Z's music before the screening, while guests gathered inside the opera house for a premiere that treated his catalog as a body of work to be examined rather than simply a collection of hits. A private celebration followed the screening.

It also comes during a period when Jay-Z has been looking backward without fully stepping away from the present.

His 2026 activity has included anniversary performances and career-spanning shows, while JAŸ-Z in 8 offers a much quieter version of that same retrospective—Jay-Z sitting across from Rubin and explaining what he was thinking when some of the most important records of his career were created.

Eight Chapters Across 30 Years

HBO is releasing the documentary in pairs rather than dropping all eight episodes simultaneously.

Chapters one and two premiered Sept. 18. Episodes three and four arrive Sept. 25, followed by chapters five and six on Oct. 2 and the final two episodes on Oct. 9.

The opening installments begin with material including “Can't Knock the Hustle,” “Meet the Parents” and “Brooklyn's Finest.” Later episodes move through increasingly personal records, including “You Must Love Me,” “4:44,” “Kill Jay-Z,” “Family Feud” and “Legacy.”

That structure allows Jay-Z's own lyrics to tell much of the story.

For an artist who has spent years giving relatively few traditional interviews compared with the scale of his celebrity, JAŸ-Z in 8 gives viewers something considerably different: hours of Jay-Z going back through his own words with one of the most accomplished producers in music.

The first two chapters of JAŸ-Z in 8 are streaming now on HBO Max. Chapters three and four arrive Friday, Sept. 25.