HBO has released the teaser for “JAŸ-Z IN 8,” an eight-part original documentary series directed by Rick Rubin. The candid conversation series debuts this fall on HBO and will stream on HBO Max in the U.S.
The series is exactly what the title suggests: eight installments centered on Rubin sitting down with JAŸ-Z (yes, you read that right, a new spelling apparently) to discuss his music, lyrics, life experiences, and creative process. HBO is billing the project as “a candid and intimate 8-part conversation years in the making,” and the teaser arrives with a reflective pull quote from the rapper, entrepreneur, and mogul: “The pain, you don’t say it’s necessary, you don’t say you need it, but if it’s there — you use it.”
Rubin is, of course, one of the most influential producers in modern music, with an eclectic career that spans hip-hop, rock, pop, metal, country, and beyond, having worked with artists and bands like Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Metallica, Adele, Kanye West, Tom Petty, Jay-Z, The Strokes, and Slayer. His onscreen documentary work includes “McCartney 3,2,1,” a similar stripped-down, process-focused conversation series, which paired Rubin with Paul McCartney for a deep dive into craft, memory, songwriting, and musical legacy. “JAŸ-Z IN 8” appears to be operating in a similar mode: less conventional cradle-to-present biography, more intimate creative excavation.
The series also features some notable names behind the scenes. HBO Documentary Films presents “JAŸ-Z IN 8” as a Tetragrammaton production. The series is directed by Rubin, with Shawn Carter, Daniel Kaluuya, and Rubin serving as executive producers. Leila Mattimore and David Rohde produce.
“JAŸ-Z IN 8” debuts this fall on HBO and streams on HBO Max in the U.S. Watch the teaser below.
