Jay-Z’s 4:44 was littered with references to Black self-sufficiency and independence. The book was such a sturdy treatise for some that financial expert Ash Cash wrote an entire book of financial lessons about it. Now, Jay is putting his money where his mouth is. Records show that he recently applied for trademarks for “Paper Planes” and “Hovinos.” Ditto the “Jaybo” character from his minstrelsy-era “Story of OJ” video. Paper Planes looks to be an extension of his Roc Nation fashion while Hovino’s seems to be a restaurant. But Jay isn’t done. TMZ is reporting that he filed a trademark for the “diamond” Rocafella hand sign.
You may recall that in 2005, wrestler Diamond Dallas Page sued Jay-Z, saying that he created the hand gesture and Rocafella stole it. The case was settled out of court, and DDP never sought to trademark the diamond on his own. He may be kicking himself now, because Jay-Z has jumped on it. He’s seeking rights to have the sign trademarked in television, films, movies, and in music, AKA everywhere. Time will tell if he has more luck than Gene Simmons, who tried to have the “Rock and Roll” hand gesture trademarked before filing an “express abandonment.” It seems after people questioned his audacity to try to trademark a sign that predates him, he came to his senses.
The diamond sign has become synonymous with Jay-Z. Legend has it he and his Rocafella partners Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke threw the sign up as a humorous reference to them looking to go diamond with Reasonable Doubt. That never happened, but Jay-Z has still sold tens of millions of albums and made the sign his universal signifier. The gesture has become an easy way to salute Rocafella and Jay-Z for athletes like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and other well-known figures like Ben Stiller and Warren Buffett. Now, it looks like he wants legal protection over it.
