JAY-Z Adds Hyphen Back to His Name

JAY-Z is bringing back the hyphen.

To go along with the birth of his twins and a new album announcement, JAY-Z has changed the spelling of his name, going all caps with a hyphen.

The press release for Hov’s new album 4:44 featured the JAY-Z spelling, prompting questions about whether the hyphen had officially returned. A Roc Nation rep later confirmed the news, according to Pitchfork.

Hov’s name has been stylized differently throughout his career. In the early days, it featured a hyphen and an umlaut over the Y, as seen on the cover of Reasonable Doubt. Then, Jigga dropped the umlaut and went with Jay-Z, before omitting the hyphen and going all caps (JAY Z). Now, the hyphen is back.

In 2013, S. Dot spoke about his name changes with “Big Boy’s Neighborhood.” “The hyphen was really big back in the day,” he said. “It’s not useful anymore. You change with the times. I had umlauts over one of the letters. I think it was over the y or the a, I forgot. I removed the umlaut too.”

JAY-Z’s name change comes along with other major changes. Last week, he and wife Beyoncé welcomed twins into the world. On June 30, he will release 4:44, his first album since 2013.