Blue Jay-Z in 30

That title is for people in Toronto, an inside pun related to the Toronto Blue Jays because if you miss the game live, you can always watch “Jays in 30”, a condensed version of the game that runs on Sportsnet on game days. It applies to this post because yesterday Jay-Z celebrated the 30^th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, and showed up at his pop-up accompanied by his eldest child, the Blue Ivy Carter.

It’s a beautiful finish to a week where Blue and Jay’s connection has been front and centre, starting with the Cécred short film that Beyoncé shared and narrated about Jay’s hair, and how Blue inspired it. This is probably the most talking we’ve heard from our Queen in a long time outside of a film role in, like, decades maybe? Over seven minutes straight of B monologuing? This is more than just branding, it’s deeply personal. Sure, of course, it’s meant to highlight Cécred products but by now we all know how selective Beyoncé is about sharing herself, and to hear her speak so lovingly about her husband and her child and how this hair story relates to her community, to her Blackness, to the purpose behind this brand – her pride is unmistakable, and there’s also so much insight here about how she’s choosing to spend her time and energy.

The Carter focus right now, then, is on Jay’s milestone, commemorating both Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint, the three shows at Yankee Stadium next month, and his opportunity to share his art and his history with his child. Most of the time, when we’ve seen Blue with a parent at work, it’s been with Beyoncé. But she is the daughter of two superstars, one of whom is a Rushmore rapper, a towering figure in hip-hop who has, in his own way, indelibly reshaped culture. Blue has had a front row seat to watching how her money has curated her own legacy and mythology. Now she’s seeing it from her dad’s perspective as he reckons with his own and also stepping into her role in carrying it forward.

Here she is, throwing up the Roc.

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It was announced yesterday that Jay’s major anniversary will include a docuseries premiering later this year on HBO, directed by Rick Rubin who previously made a series with Paul McCartney. It is intentional what Jay’s doing here with his 30^th, and with his heir by his side: treating his work with the prestige that was previously afforded to musicians performing in other genres, in recognition of the fact that hip-hop has been the most influential genre of the last 50 years and the foundation of modern popular music, arguably pop culture overall.