Tracking Jay Z's Movements Since "Magna Carta, Holy Grail"

It's been nearly four years since Jay Z released Magna Carta Holy Grail (as a Samsung exclusive). Since then, he's preoccupied himself with his myriad business interests, and it's unclear where he stands musically. He's in the victory lap stage of his rap career—in February, he became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame—and he likely stands to gain less from putting out another album than focusing on preserving his legacy.

Given this week's speculation that Hov may be plotting the release of his 13th studio album this summer, it's time to recap his movements over the course of the last 46 months.

Invested heavily in new businesses

A brief recap of Jay's most notable business moves of the last four years:

Leaving only the boldest move of his career:

Bought TIDAL

In early 2015, Jay Z acquired the Swedish streaming company Aspiro for $56 million and, with the financial support of dozens of major artists, including Beyonce, Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, & Rihanna, launched the high-fidelity streaming platform TIDAL.

TIDAL's $20/month price point and emphasis on exclusivity (the vast majority of Jay Z's catalogue is no longer available on Apple Music or Spotify) have nauseated millions of music consumers, and the company has been plagued by a near-constant turnover of leadership, lawsuits, and massive net losses. But ultimately, Jay Z's power play has paid off. In January, he sold a third of TIDAL's stake to Sprint; that same month, the company was valued at $600 million.

Recorded a handful of verses

2013

2014

2016

2017

Partnered with Harvey Weinstein to produce for TV and film

Last September, Jay Z signed a deal with Hollywood power broker Harvey Weinstein "to produce both scripted and unscripted television projects and film projects. Though his precise roles in these projects is unclear, he has already released a docu-series on Kalief Browder and announced a feature film and docu-series on Trayvon Martin and a film adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranada's Broadway play "In the Heights." He has also used the partnership as a platform to host discussions about criminal justice reform.

Tended to family affairs

Beyonce's 2016 album Lemonade sparked an online witchhunt for "Becky with the good hair," the woman with whom Jay Z evidently carried out an extramarital affair. The album also strengthened theories that Hov's betrayal prompted Solange to physically attack him in an elevator at a Met Gala afterparty in 2014.

From a distance, it appears that Jay and Bey were able to patch things up. They renewed their wedding vows a few months after the elevator incident. Their daughter, Blue Ivy, is now five years old. In February, Beyonce revealed that she is pregnant with twins.