Jay-Z surprised fans on Tuesday (Sept. 1) when he stopped by his JAŸ-Z30 pop-up shop in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Social media videos showed fans quickly gathered around Hov as he walked through the Square toward the installation, with The Blueprint‘s “Song Cry” fittingly booming from the speakers. Jay was surprised to see the pop-up celebrating his album was a large rectangular structure placed in the Square, rather than a shop taking over an existing storefront.
Centered around The Blueprint, which turns 25 years old on Sept. 11, the immersive experience is similar to what was set up around NYC for his Yankee Stadium shows in July.
The installation is a time capsule of 2001, featuring artifacts, videos, performances and more from The Blueprint era. Fans can also purchase limited-edition merchandise ranging from vinyl records to hoodies and T-shirts celebrating The Blueprint and Jay’s return to London.
The pop-up shop is open for all fans to experience from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. GMT through Sept. 5. For the main event, Jay-Z will be taking the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stage on Sept. 4-5.
“Taking fans back to the era of JAŸ-Z’s most iconic hits has been the starting point for JAŸ-Z30. So many people back then experienced music culture directly through television,” said General Idea Agency creative director Ian Schatzberg. “This installation is a nod to the television landscape that carried JAŸ-Z’s ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)’ performance at the 2001 BET Awards into people’s living rooms before The Blueprint even came out.”
It’s the Brooklyn rap dignitary’s first solo show in London since 2013’s Magna Carter World Tour, but his last LDN appearance came alongside Beyoncé for the OTR II Tour in 2018.
Hov will look to build on the momentum from his historic Yankee Stadium trifecta, which celebrated anniversaries for Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint, but also saw Jay bring out a plethora of celebrity guests, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nas, Eminem and many more.
After performing in London, Jay will bring his overseas trek to France for a Paris show on Sept. 10, before returning to the U.S. for a pair of concerts on the West Coast, where he’ll take over Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Oct. 23 and 24.
On the music front, Hov fans have been speculating about a possible album on the way with Jay outside this summer. He dropped his first verse in about four years when joining his wife on Bey’s “Morning Dew (Donk)” remix in August.
Jay-Z’s last solo album arrived in June 2017 with the confessional 4:44, which topped the Billboard 200 with 262,000 total album-equivalent units earned.
Find photos from the London pop-up below.
Courtesy of Roc Nation
Courtesy of Roc Nation
Courtesy of Roc Nation
