Jay-Z Shows Off Afro Hair Transformation at NBA Finals

Jay-Z Disses Nicki Minaj, Drake and Kanye West in Scathing Freestyle at Roots Picnic

Jay-Z has always been the style blueprint.

But the 56-year-old especially turned heads while sitting courtside at game three of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on June 8, where he showed off his new afro hairstyle after years of sporting signature locs.

For the occasion, Jay-Z also rocked a Bode Lucky Draw Jacket adorned with four-leaf clovers, though his jacket wasn’t quite lucky enough to ensure a New York Knicks win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Although the Spurs overcame the Knicks with a score of 115 to 111, the “Empire State of Mind” rapper was happy to cheer on his beloved hometown team. His outing at MSG was a solo endeavor, as his wife Beyoncé and kids Blue Ivy, 14, Sir, 8, and Rumi, 8, were absent.

As for his recent hair transformation, Jay-Z debuted his new look at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia on May 31. Previously, he had worn Jean-Michel Basquiat-inspired freeform locs for about eight years, beginning to grow them out around the time of his 4:44 album rollout in June 2017.

While the “99 Problems” artist may have looked effortlessly chic, the process of combing out his locs took a lot of time and patience to complete. Celebrity hairstylist Letisia “Lety” Ravelo revealed that she deconstructed his locs alongside a professional loctician over the course of six days.

“He knew it would take time, and he was patient through the entire process,” Ravelo told Cosmopolitan about Jay-Z’s decision to comb out his locs. “There was never a moment where he was like, ‘Forget it, let's just cut it.’ Once he decided, he was committed.”

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Beyoncé also played a role in helping her husband change his hair through her haircare brand Cécred. Ravelo shared that she used Cécred’s detangling spray and eight bottles of the brand’s deep conditioner to finish the deconstruction process.

After that, Ravelo braided the “Big Pimpin’” rapper’s hair into cornrows and let them set for a week before taking them out to shape his ‘do into an afro for the Roots Picnic.

And Jay-Z’s reaction to his new look? The hairstylist shared, “He loved it. Loved it. Once he saw it, he was really happy with the transformation.”

Read on to see how other celebs have switched up their hair…

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