JAŸ-Z 30 Night 1 film at Yankee Stadium, directed by Gabriel Moses.
Overview
This started with a conversation, not a brief. Someone asked what I thought about a Jay-Z and Yankees collaboration tied to 30 years of Reasonable Doubt, and I answered with a full deck. It made its way to Roc Nation, and Mitchell & Ness came on to produce it. When the Yankee Stadium shows added a second night for The Blueprint, they came back to me for that side too.
This one is personal. I grew up in Brooklyn with these albums and I’m a Yankees fan, so a lot of it came from instinct and memory more than sketches. The idea was to bring Roc-A-Fella history, Yankees history and Mitchell & Ness’s place in that era into the same pieces.
Everything was designed to feel period correct. The references came from what the Yankees were actually wearing in 1996 and 2001, original Roc-A-Fella pieces, and the authentic and batting practice jerseys that were part of baseball and hip-hop at the time. Nothing needed to feel retro for the sake of being retro. It had to feel like it could have existed then.
Role & Scope
Concept, creative direction, design and graphics.
I designed both collections and worked with the Mitchell & Ness product team through development and production. Every piece went through Roc Nation for Jay-Z’s approval, and the final collection stayed close to the original deck.
Reasonable Doubt / 1996
Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke built Roc-A-Fella themselves, and Reasonable Doubt came out as the label’s first release in June 1996. That October, the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978, beginning a run of four titles in five years. Two dynasties started in the same city in the same year. That was the whole idea.
The collection is built around two versions of a Yankees jersey from the period: an authentic and a mesh batting practice jersey. The authentic starts with the 1996 Yankees home jersey and goes black, with charcoal pinstripes pulled from the suit Jay wears in the Reasonable Doubt booklet. It uses late-’90s authentic construction, layered tackle twill and a numbered commemorative patch. The mesh jersey takes the same idea into the batting practice silhouette that was everywhere around that era.
The varsity is based on the original Roc-A-Fella promo jacket made for Jay and his crew, reworked with the Yankees logo and a 30th anniversary graphic on the back. A T-shirt and cap round out the capsule, carrying the same language into simpler pieces.
“’96 and Forever,” a line from the album, started as an embroidery detail on the collection. It later became the phrase the entire JAŸ-Z 30 celebration ran under.
The Blueprint / 2001
The Blueprint came out on September 11, 2001. A few weeks later, the Yankees were back in the World Series, playing for a city that needed something to hold onto. I wanted this side to acknowledge that moment without leaning on it.
The same period-correct approach carried into 2001. The authentic is based on the Yankees home jersey, including the American flag patch worn that season, while the blue mesh version pulls from the batting practice jerseys of the era. The varsity and satin team jacket carry “Heart of the City” on the chest and the 25 inside a blueprint grid on the back, with a cap completing the capsule.
The timing also brought Mitchell & Ness into the story. The early 2000s were when throwback jerseys became part of hip-hop’s uniform, with Jay at the center of it. It connected the albums and Yankees history back to Mitchell & Ness’s own place in that era.
The Rollout
I co-creative directed the content with Louie Bowling at Mitchell & Ness. The idea was to capture the world around each album and let the product live in it. The model photos and videos on this page are from that campaign.
Reasonable Doubt is black and white, street level, quiet ambition. Downtown, stairwells, black cars, people waiting on something. The Blueprint is warmer and sharper, New York with momentum. Same city five years later, more sure of itself.
Content Photography: Franco Zulueta
In the World
Roc Nation opened two NYC pop-ups on June 25, the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt. Jay-Z came through on opening day in the jersey, and that same day Beyoncé was photographed in the Reasonable Doubt varsity.
At Yankee Stadium, the opening film on the big screen showed the two of them in the stands, both wearing the collection.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé in the Reasonable Doubt collection in New York.
Retail
The collection launched June 25, the day Reasonable Doubt turned 30, at two Roc Nation pop-ups in New York.
Dumbo
At Smack Mellon, the collection launched alongside pieces from the Roc-A-Fella archive. The space also hosted the launch event with Apple Music.
Bowery
Inside the decommissioned Bowery subway station, “’96 & Forever” took over the platform and subway cars for two days. The collection was built into the train itself, turning the station into an immersive retail experience around Reasonable Doubt and 1996 New York.
Yankee Stadium and Fanatics Fest
After the pop-ups, the collection sold online through Mitchell & Ness and Roc Nation, and at Yankee Stadium during all three shows. Later in July it was the marquee item in the Mitchell & Ness space at Fanatics Fest.
ComplexCon
In October the booth traveled to ComplexCon in Los Angeles.
Bowery photos: @donjaididit. Rooftop photo: @kodaklens. Product and ComplexCon photos: Roc Nation.
Press