Jay-Z Plans New Businesses and More on Eve of 2018 Grammy Awards

It’s been more than two decades since the new East Hampton homeowner Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, put out his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Back then, the Bed Stuy–born hip hop artist wasn’t a household name.

Fast-forward 13 multi-platinum album and various business ventures, real estate and fine art transactions later, and Forbes recently estimated his net worth at about $810 million. And now even senior citizens “brush the dirt off their shoulders.” Did we mention the 21 Grammy Awards he’s won? Or that he’s nominated for eight more at tomorrow’s 60th Annual Grammy Awards?

Nominations include Record of the Year for “The Story of O.J.,” Album of the Year for 4:44, Song of the Year for his title track “4:44,” Best Rap Performance for “4:44,” Best Rap/Sung Performance for “Family Feud” (with his superstar wife Beyoncé), Best Rap Song for “The Story of O.J.,” Best Rap Album for 4:44, and Best Music Video for “The Story of O.J.”

But that’s not all. Among Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” launching a new business venture has never been one. He’s founded record labels, clothing lines, restaurants, sports franchises, nightclubs and more. Now, Jay is planning to launch a new jewelry business, clothing line and, possibly, a retail store, according to court documents.

The 4:44 artist is trademarking the word “Hovino,” which he plans to use to sell a variety of luxury goods and is also acquiring the rights to the brand name “AKA Shawn Carter,” a new brand through he will sell clothing, jewelry, watches, eyewear, tie pins and more. He’s also asking to trademark the latter for “retail and online retail store services.”

In the meantime, Jay-Z will be the first guest on Van Jones’s new CNN program, The Van Jones Show, a one-hour prime-time broadcast, airing bimonthly, which premieres tonight, Saturday, January 27 at 7 p.m. Then, later tonight, Jay-Z will be honored by Clive Davis and the Recording Academy at Davis’s annual pre-Grammy Gala at the Sheraton New York Times Square. There he’ll receive the 2018 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons award, and be celebrated for his musical and philanthropic contributions.

To top it all off, Jay-Z and his mother, Gloria Carter, will be honored at the Annual GLAAD Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives. The pair will be acknowledged in the Special Recognition category for Ms. Carter’s coming out on “Smile,” a track on Jay’s Grammy nominated album, 4:44. The 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards will take place April 12 in Los Angeles and again on May 5 in New York.

Believe it or not, there’s more. According to Laura Stylez of Ebro in the Morning on Hot 97 in New York, Jay-Z and Beyoncé may be gearing up for a joint world tour, which could be announced NBA All-Star Weekend. Stylez stressed it was only a rumor, but Jay-Z did reveal in a November interview with The New York Times that the power couple were working on a collaborative album before Beyoncé released Lemonade.

The 60th Grammy Awards airs on CBS this Sunday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.