After PEOPLE announced that Jay Z and the Brooklyn Public Library will be auctioning off a trophy case which highlights each of his albums from the “Book of HOV” exhibit, fans are beginning to believe Jay Z might have another album up his sleeve.
The trophy case has made quite a stir as it contains the one-of-a-kind metal library cards for all of his 13 albums, but includes an empty 14th slot. The empty slot sits directly at the end of the case, alongside his latest album from 2017, ‘4:44.’ Because of the empty slot, fans are hoping that Jay Z is not done yet and may be ready to drop another album sometime in the near future.
Over the past few years, Jay Z has discussed his retirement in several interviews, ultimately saying: “I’ll say I wanna make music, but it has to be something important,” telling interviewers that he won’t just be making an album to make an album. He said: “I don’t wanna just make a bunch of tunes. That’s not gonna serve me. It won’t feed me, first of all. I have to be saying something important. It has to mean something, you know? It has to mean something to a larger society.”
While he admits to not actively making music, he still consistently tells the public that he won’t be shutting the door on his art. Jay Z spoke to Kevin Hart about his retirement in an interview, saying: “I’m not actively making music or making an album or have plans to make an album, but I never want to say that I’m retired. It’s a gift, so who am I to shut it off?”
There are rumors of a collaboration between Jay Z and his wife, Beyoncé, being another installment of her most recent ‘Renaissance’ series. When ‘Renaissance’ was released in July of 2022, Beyoncé posted a statement to her website about the project which read: “This three act project was recorded over three years during the pandemic. A time to be still, but also a time I found to be the most creative. Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world.”
After revealing the plans for a three-part ‘Renaissance’ series, fans and enthusiasts began to hunt for clues as to what the other two parts would be. New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan seemed to think he figured it all out, as he posted to Twitter saying: “I’ll just tell you what I’ve heard about the other 2 acts of Beyoncé’s 3-part ‘Renaissance’ project (2nd act is an acoustic album, 3rd act is a collaboration with JAY-Z.)”
While neither Beyoncé nor Jay-Z have confirmed or even acknowledged the rumors, the blank space in Jay-Z’s trophy case leaves the door open for opportunity. Only time will tell if Jay-Z feels that he has something important to say again.
The winner of the auction will receive the autographed trophy case with all 13 one-of-a-kind library cards, with all proceeds going to the Brooklyn Public Library.
You can check out the signed trophy case with all 13 library cards and the empty 14th slot below.
