Jay-Z famously immortalized his own birthday on the This Is Your Life opener to his 2004 “retirement” record, The Black Album. Now, elected officials in the rapper’s home city have submitted a proposal to make Dec. 4 the official Jay-Z Day in New York City.
First reported by New York’s ABC 7, the proposal was officially submitted for consideration by the New York City Council, with Councilwoman Farah Louis giving the proposal the go-ahead during a resolution meeting.
The proposal would recognize Jay-Z as an 'artist, mogul...and supporter of economic development and community causes.'
“The global phenomenon that is Jay-Z—born Shawn Carter—is widely known as an artist, mogul, husband and father, wealth builder, and supporter of economic development and community causes,” she said.
“Dec. 4 as Jay-Z Day announces to the world how this Brooklyn son can be all things, including loved by his community,” Louis continued. “In the spirit of celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, establishing an annual celebration to recognize a homegrown hero while proclaiming our municipal support is fitting.”
Jay-Z has sold approximately 140 million albums over his nearly three decade career.
The proposal will be discussed by the City Council during its 2024 session, beginning on Jan. 3. The official language of the proposal reads: “Resolution designating December 4 annually as Jay-Z Day in the City of New York and celebrating his legendary status as a masterful MC and lyricist and as an innovative entrepreneur.”
Jay-Z was raised in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects, releasing his critically-acclaimed debut, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. Mainstream success came in 1998 with the 6x platinum Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, and the rapper quickly became the leading light of New York hip-hop in the years following the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. He’s since won 24 Grammys and notched 14 No. 1 albums (including collaborative albums with R. Kelly, Linkin Park and Kanye West). His most recent full-length effort was 2018’s Everything Is Love, a joint LP with wife Beyonce.
He was the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the first solo rapper inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Jay-Z's last full-length release was a collaborative album with wife Beyonce.
Timed to the end of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary year, the resolution to dedicate Jay-Z Day comes as legislatures all over the country have been increasingly moved to honor the genre’s key dates and landmarks through official resolutions. Earlier this year, New York formally renamed a Manhattan intersection “Beastie Boys Square” in honor of the Brooklyn group’s landmark 1989 album Paul’s Boutique, which features the intersection on its cover.
In November, a road near the Compton Towne Center shopping complex in Compton, Calif., was officially renamed Eazy Street, in honor of the late Compton native and N.W.A member Eazy-E.
