Just three miles from where a young Shawn Carter was raised, some of the most quotable (and G-rated) lyrics of the famed rapper and producer now known as Jay-Z can be found covering the full front facade of one of Brooklyn’s most quintessential buildings: the Central Library.
The Central Library’s word-wrapped frontage will stay up through October as part of a Jay-Z tribute exhibition entitledBook of HOV hosted by Brooklyn Public Library and produced by Carter’s multi-armed entertainment company Roc Nation along with a large roster of creative partners. Book of HOV—a variation of Carter’s nickname of J-Hova, itself a play on Jehovah, an Old Testament word for God— is described in a Roc Nation press release as an exhibit that pays homage to “Carter's global impact as a musician, entrepreneur, philanthropist and disruptor” while celebrating “both his hometown of Brooklyn and the broader hip-hop community across the world.” (Carter was left in the dark about plans for the show up until its July 14 private opening, which he attended with wife Beyoncé and their daughter Blue Ivy.)
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