A different set at Lincoln Center

On Sunday night, while the US Open pushed into a fourth set, the Metropolitan Opera House filled with musicians, artists, and filmmakers for a world premiere.

Thirty years of Reasonable Doubt

Jaÿ-Z has spent the summer on a victory lap marking three decades since his 1996 debut album.

Three nights at Yankee Stadium

His July residency pulled in Teyana Taylor, Nas, Eminem, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé. One show started near midnight and the crowd stayed anyway.

“That's the power of Hov.”

Eight episodes with Rick Rubin

Jaÿ-Z in 8 is an HBO docuseries built entirely from candid conversations between Carter and the Def Jam cofounder.

Hov's house for one night

The plaza was carpeted in black, a 20-piece orchestra played "Empire State of Mind," and a Roc Nation diamond sign hung off the opera house.

The carpet

Carter wore a black tux, sunglasses, and a fresh cut after shearing his locs this summer. Rubin stood beside him in long black robes and white slippers.

It started as curiosity

Onstage, Carter said the timing with the anniversary was an accident. He and Rubin just wanted to talk about music and writing.

“We didn't know what we would do with it. It was just an idea that we discussed, Rick and I.”

Beyoncé skipped the carpet

She arrived with her mother, Tina Knowles, and walked the dim aisle to her seat. The room noticed, buzzed, then broke into applause.

Lyric by lyric, word by word

A barefoot Rubin plays audience surrogate as Carter unpacks "99 Problems," "The Story of O.J.," "4:44," and "Legacy" line by line.

Where the guard drops

The pair go into the Marcy Houses, his relationship with his mother Gloria Carter, and the rough patch in his marriage that produced 4:44.

The blue sticker after-party

Winnie Harlow posed with NYPD officers, Robert Kraft wore tennis shoes to a black-tie event, and Carter worked the DJ booth with a glass of Champagne.

“It's always insightful to get inside the creative process, no matter who it is.”