Celebrity / Jay-Z Jay Z Is Now JAY-Z Rapper changes his name again By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Jun 19, 2017 5:35 PM CDT Copied In this Nov. 4, 2016, file photo, Jay Z performs during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Jay Z, who used to go by Jay-Z, has changed his name again, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed. The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, will now go by JAY-Z. The move comes ahead of the release of his first new album in four years, 4:44. JAY-Z also, of course, has bigger things going on in his life at the moment. (More Jay-Z stories.) Report an error