Many of us will celebrate our 50th birthdays in cricket club reception rooms, complete with a generous buffet spread and relatives hopping around to the Macarena.
But of course, this was never going to cut the mustard for Jay-Z. As one of the most influential and wealthy living rappers, his half-century milestone was never going to simply involve Beyoncé whizzing around Tesco at the last minute in search of vol-au-vents.
The hip hop billionaire will in fact mark his 50th year on Earth with a gift for his fans, sharing his entire back catalogue on Spotify.
Spotify announced the news via Twitter, wishing Hov a Happy Birthday and welcoming him back to the Spotify fold.
Jay, who owns rival streaming service Tidal, removed most of his iconic albums from Spotify in 2017, leaving behind Reasonable Doubt, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, and Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life, as well as his 2004 Linkin Park collaboration album.
In August, some fans were left disappointed when Jay released Reasonable Doubt on other streaming platforms via Equity Distribution, Roc Nation’s independent music distribution arm, while excluding Spotify and Apple Music.
Of course, fans are thrilled with this development and will now no doubt be pausing their Christmas playlists to get an earful of hip-hop gems such as Can I Live and Serial Killa.
One happy Hovenger tweeted:
Jay-Z just put his entire catalog back on Spotify. Today is a blessed day.
Another said:
ABOUT TIME. I literally only use apple music to listen to the Black Album smh.
Others took to Twitter to wish Jay a Happy Birthday, with one person gushing:
He’s the Greatest rapper ever
He’s The most consistent artist ever
He’s the first hip-hop billionaire
He’s the rapper with the most Grammy
He sold over 100 million records Etc
He’s Jay Z. Happy 50th birthday Jay-Z.
Another said:
If you know me, you will know how this man right here means a lot to me, jigga, young HOV. Sean (Jay-Z) Carter. Happy birthday to an idol, a god. You changed my perception on so many things in life, made me understand the beauty in art and steps in loving yourself.
Jay is following in the footsteps of his wife Beyoncé, whose groundbreaking album Lemonade made its way over to Apple Music and Spotify in April, after having been exclusively streamed on Tidal.
With Tidal’s market shares reportedly being on the up, it’s unclear exactly why Jay decided to make this move. But hey, we’re not complaining.
Happy Birthday Jay-Z! I hope there’s a very well-deserved Colin the Caterpillar cake waiting for you at home.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.