JAY-Z appeared for two days (Jul 13 & 14) at the surprise exhibition ‘The Book of Hov’ dedicated to his career and legacy, on display at the Brooklyn Public Library in New York organized by Roc Nation.

More amazing than the 40,000 square meters dedicated to HOV, was the idea to do it without your knowledge. “I know he wouldn’t let us do that,” Desiree Perez [Picture 1), CEO of Roc Nation, said about keeping such elaborate plans away from the boss. “That could never have happened if he was involved.” “

The exhibition was carefully designed to be held in a public space. Jay belongs to the people, Perez said. “It’s a place that you feel comfortable. It’s not intimidating. A lot of people go to the museum, but a lot of people don’t. “The library is free and it’s only a few miles from the Marcys Houses where JAY-Z grew up.

The idea to expose the tycoon’s life came as she worked to catalog and store Jay’s vast files, and she was exploring ways to display them publicly. When Library President/CEO Linda Johnson contacted Roc Nation about items for an exhibit he was planning based on hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Perez knew he had found the right place.

The show is free — though it has cost milliоns, according to Roc CEO — and features immersive storytelling by Jay-Z and Angie Martinez and consists of six zones titled snippets from Jigga’s music, and features physical music reels, records, magazines and newspapers, setlists of shows, rare photos and unique artifacts, such as the guitar Jay-Z played at Glastonbury 2008.

Creative designer Ian Schatzberg says the six exhibition zones are intentionally nonlinear. “Making a chronological approach to us seemed like it ruled out the idea of the future,” he says. “How history unfolds in space is a more thematic approach”