BRIEF

Jay-Z and Rick Rubin sat down for an intimate one-on-one interview in an eight-part documentary on HBO MAX, diving into Jay-Z’s 30-year catalog, breaking down his lyrics, inspiration, and exploring hip-hop culture.

Leading up to the premiere, HBO MAX tapped Overall Murals to hand paint two murals, one in Soho and one in Brooklyn, to build buzz around the eight-episode series, JAŸ-Z in 8.

BUILD

In Brooklyn, 13 Painters spent 10 days taking over the block on Wythe Ave. to paint a larger-than-life portrait of Jay-Z overlaid with 14,000 letters spelling out titles from his music, including Empire State of Mind, 99 Problems, 4:44, Brooklyn’s Finest, and Hard Knock Life. 

In SoHo, the prominent Canal St. mural brought the same creative to life on another high-profile canvas, extending the campaign and connecting NYC’s legendary boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

REVEAL

Before the last letter dried, the Jay-Z mural was already drawing organic social buzz as onlookers watched the massive 2,555-square-foot Wythe Ave. wallscape come to life. 

In SoHo, the mural put Jay-Z’s legacy in front of a different slice of New York, catching the attention of the arts-minded crowd, already buzzing about the upcoming documentary.

Our Overall Murals film team documented the mural painting process, using their cinematography skills to create a vibe that feels distinctly Jay-Z, capturing the process and revealing the finished mural for social channels and beyond.

IMPACT

The campaign generated 2,155,872 passerby impressions over the 4 weeks it was live. 

For a documentary exploring Jay-Z’s early beginnings growing up in Marcy Projects, the stories behind two dozen tracks across his 30-year career, his personal life, and the legacy he built and the mark he made on Hip Hop culture, hand painted advertising is a natural extension of the story. 

Hip Hop has a history with the streets, graffiti, and hand crafted expression - many of our own painters come from that same culture. 

The format HBO MAX chose for the campaign felt synonymous with the medium, creating a connection that went beyond the finished painting. The walls drew social buzz, and people gathered around the walls not only for the 14,000 letters painted over Jay-Z's face, but to see the craft behind it. 

In a way, hand painting the wall reflected the craft behind JAY-Z’s music: built letter by letter, layer by layer, with attention to detail that only comes from the human hand.