Jay-Z has never really gone away. The mogul has managed to juggle music and business adeptly for the guts of 25 years, evolving and morphing to modernity.
When music streaming started picking up steam in the middle of the decade, Jay-Z didn't want to be left behind. Rather than allow his music to be streamed on established platforms like Spotify and Deezer, he instead decided to start his own platform.
When Tidal came, the wave took with it all of Jay-Z's back catalogue, the exclusivity that aimed to bring customers to the platform rather than see them turn to Spotify. He originally removed his songs from both Apple Music and Spotify in April 2017, although they were almost immediately reinstated on the former.
So, today, on the great man's 50th birthday (and on an even greater man's 60th birthday), his music has finally returned to Spotify.
It means that the platform experiences Jay-Z's critically acclaimed 2017 album 4:44 for the very first time.
Although not everyone gets their music through Spotify, Jay-Z's return to the platform means a wider variety of people can experience his tracks.
Having to search desperately around YouTube to find a decent quality version of an album cut from In My Lifetime Vol. 1 isn't a fun exercise. With this ease of access, a whole new generation of fans will emerge.
Whether it's the middle-aged reflectiveness of 4:44, the fine art stylings of Magna Carta, Holy Grail, or the impeccable debut of Reasonable Doubt, there's something in Jay-Z's discography for everyone.
Considering the varied nature of his discography, here's a Spotify editorial playlist of his finest:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO1XGbvi?si=FluohYmJRxu0zH3-QPgJjg
