S. Samuel
A couple weeks after media outlets realized Jay Z had removed the hyphen from his rap alias, a gut-crunching Craigslist post has surfaced for the iconic dash.
Presented as purely fictional, a writer from parody website Funny or Die reportedly put the gag together.
After news of rapper-CEO-sports agent Jay Z dropping the hyphen from his name–which he apparently did this three years ago–a Craigslist ad, penned by Jigga’s recently dismissed hyphen, popped up on the web (the ad was created by a Funny Or Die writer). Side-splitting funny, it begins: “Hardworking SBL (Straight Black Line) seeking immediate, full or part-time employment (see recent photo between the words “part” and “time”). Despite being laid off by my previous employer after 19 years of devoted service, I am eager to meet new people and challenge myself professionally.” The job market is extremely competitive right now, but we’re confident Hov’s hyphen will find work soon. (Complex)
Reports of Jay dropping the dash a few years ago surfaced online earlier this month.
Hova. Hov. J-Hova. Jay. Jay-Z. Jigga. Jiggaman: The Brooklyn-bred rapper born Shawn Carter has a lot of names. But now he’s tweaking his marquee moniker and dropping the hyphen from Jay-Z. Take note: Now it’s officially just Jay Z. Billboard editor Joe Levy broke the news on Twitter: “Jay Z has dropped the hyphen from his name, according to his label. I am not kidding.” Jay’s website is now billed as “JAY Z’s Life+Times,” and iTunes currently lists his music as “JAY Z.” Billboard has since dropped the hyphen from articles and charts mentioning the rapper’s name. Good timing, too, because Jay’s latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, is in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. So his new name, sans hyphen, is sitting atop the throne for the whole world to gaze at in its un-hyphenated glory. (FUSE TV)
A rep for Young Hov also revealed Jay had not used the hyphen for the past three years.
We reached out to Jay’s publicist, Jana Fleishman, for a statement. She responded: “Dude..We haven’t used the hyphen since 2010..” This totally slipped under our radar. Even on iTunes, in the liner notes for Watch the Throne, and in promotion of Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay’s name has changed. (Complex)
Last month, Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane talked about nearly switching up his rap alias.
“Originally I decided I was gonna call myself cause Gucci Mane cause that was my father’s name. His nickname was Gucci Mane. That’s what my grandmother called my father. People would call me Gucci Mane every now and then, but honestly, that was his name. But when I wanted to be professionally known as a rapper I said I wanna take the moniker Gucci Mane. But all the people in my hood, not even my closest friends but everybody in Atlanta, calls me Guwop. I didn’t start it. I can’t put my finger on how it spread. I know it started from my boys but then everybody who I collaborate picked up on it and they’d say it to me. Even girls in my life and my relatives started saying it. People close to me and people really in the know would say Guwop, so I thought it might be a good idea to push it, since everybody loves to say it so much.” (The FADER)
