Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s entertainment company Roc Nation is unveiling its inaugural issue of print magazine Edition in Miami Friday with the help of “Insecure” creator and star Issa Rae and NFTs.
The magazine is a part of a partnership with Modern Luxury Media, the publisher of Ocean Drive, Gotham and more, to launch Edition by Modern Luxury, a luxe multimedia platform designed to amplify voices from diverse communities shaping popular culture. As well as a print magazine released six times a year, the platform will consist of a mix of digital, social and experiential activations.
The inaugural Art Issue will be released as a limited-edition hard-cover collectible book featuring cover face Rae, whose final season of “Insecure” is airing on HBO. Also featured in the first issue are Vogue’s first Black woman cover face Beverly Johnson, NFL star Romeo Okwara, painter Nathaniel Mary Quinn, hairstylist Jawara Wachoupe and artist Tschabalala Self.
“[Issa Rae] represents what we think is this emerging class of Black creatives in this country,” said Edition’s editor in chief Isoul H. Harris in an interview with WWD. “Not only is she just completely hyper-productive as far as her TV shows and movies and everything, but she ensures that in all those productions she is giving opportunities to other Black creatives and other creatives of color. We thought that was really admirable and we wanted to highlight that because that is what Edition is about: highlighting the established and the emerging creatives of color in this world and making sure that their contributions are not only celebrated but documented.”
The Art Issue’s official unveiling will take place on Friday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel South Beach. Guests will have access to a variety of experiences including an activation by nail technician Bernadette Thompson, and an exclusive NFT Gallery curated by Umba Daima. The digital NFT gallery will feature established and up-and-coming artists that are driving cultural impact in the digital world.
Harris would not reveal if Carter and Rae would be present, but said there would be many surprise guests.
Edition’s second release, The Next Wave Issue, will be available in spring 2022.
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