Mr. Carter, aka Jay-Z, has never been afraid of change, especially this summer. First he blessed us by revolutionizing the way albums are sold, by striking a deal with Samsung, who bought and painfully distributed one million copies of his Magna Carta…Holy Grail album. He announced this arrangement through a series of elaborate commercials, the first debuting during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. And we can’t  forget the fact that he has recently welcomed a daughter into the world, Jay is now a father, an unusual position for him.

However, his latest transformation, may be the most important in his career. It will definitely rattle more than a few of his die hard or day one fans, but we must stay the course, and trust in Hov. Joe Levy announced that Jay-Z has dropped the hyphen from his name, becoming: Jay Z.

Although, this will shock some, to others the hyphen’s days were numbered. Both his Facebook page and the Watch the Throne album cover do not include the under-appreciated punctuation mark in his name. We’ll see if this name change lasts, but according to label sources, its real and its here to stay.

Breaking: Jay Z has dropped the hyphen from his name, according to his label. I am not kidding. (Wish I was.) Copy editors: take note.

— Joe Levy (@RealJoeLevy) July 18, 2013