Key Takeaways
- JAY-Z’s loc removal was documented in a CÉCRED vlog, where Beyoncé detailed the timeline leading up to Roots Picnic.
- He chose to wear an Afro at the Philadelphia show in tribute to his late father, Adnis Reeves.
- CÉCRED products and hairstylist Nakia Collins helped maintain the health and length of his hair during his eight-year loc journey.
Beyoncé “wasn’t all the way convinced” JAY-Z could comb out his locs for the 2026 Roots Picnic. On Sunday (June 21) evening, the “Drunk in Love” singer shared why Hov grew — and eventually got rid of — his iconic wicks in a CÉCRED vlog documenting the journey leading up to his highly anticipated performance at the Philadelphia festival.
“Everyone wants to know the details of JAY’s hair transformation,” Queen Bey opened the seven-minute video. “JAY told me a few months ago he was planning on combing out his locs for the Philly show with The Roots. He wanted to do this in honor of his father. His name was Adnis Reeves, and his favorite sports team was from Philly.”
The Grammy-winning musician further noted that because Hov’s father used to rock an Afro, he wanted to do the same in his honor. As footage showed the New York rapper’s first loc being combed out, Beyoncé said she wasn’t fully convinced it was possible because he had “such thick, long wicks” and his hair had been “locking for over eight years.”
Beyoncé reveals how Blue Ivy inspired JAY-Z to grow his hair
She also offered some backstory on why JAY-Z grew his hair out in the first place, especially since many of us were introduced to the music mogul with a “money cut,” as REVOLT’s Jon Powell documented in our listicle about his hair evolution. “I thought it was beautiful that the real reason JAY grew out his hair was to show Blue [Ivy Carter] that her hair was like his hair,” she explained, before adding that their eldest “wasn’t feeling very confident about her hair” when she was around 5.
“When she told her father that, it inspired JAY to grow out his hair. We really wanted her to love and embrace every inch of her gorgeous hair,” Beyoncé continued, noting that it later played a role in Blue narrating Matthew A. Cherry’s award-winning book “Hair Love.” The RENAISSANCE artist then joked about what used to be her husband’s crisp fade, “Who would’ve thought all this healthy hair could grow beyond that low cut Caesar with the deep waves?”
Beyoncé credits CÉCRED and hairstylist Nakia Collins for keeping JAY-Z’s hair healthy during his loc journey
Elsewhere in the video, Bey gave a shoutout to JAY-Z’s hairstylist, Nakia Collins, who used only CÉCRED products on his hair for years. “It was in immaculate condition, which made a huge contribution to our ability to retain so much of his fullness, length, and his thickness while combing out eight years of locs,” she shared.
While the mother of three “didn’t really want him to cut them,” especially because of all the history they carried, she said that finally being able to break each wick apart was a major accomplishment. Watch the full video below.