JAY-Z Reissues ‘Dead Presidents’ On 30th Anniversary Of Original Release

It's the first time the original single has been released in digital form.

On Feb. 20, 1996, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter released the single “Dead Presidents” on Roc-A-Fella Records. To celebrate the release’s 30th anniversary, the hip-hop icon has released the original version of the song online for the first time ever.

According to Billboard, the latest original single was released with the original artwork—older hip-hop fans may notice the original spelling of Jay-Z with an umlaut “Hovering” over the “y.” The single has also been released as a limited-edition cassette, vinyl, and CD, as it was originally sold in 1996.

The single preceded Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, by nearly four months. A different version of “Dead Presidents” appeared on the album under the title “Dead Presidents II.”

Although this was the first single under Roc-A-Fella’s distribution deal with Priority, it was not the first song released by the rapper, who has become a household name in business and the wider culture.

That feat was accomplished two years earlier, when Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke pooled their money to start the label.

In 1994, on a white label that featured the first Roc-A-Fella Records logo, featuring a champagne bottle with “Jay-Z” embedded on it, the rapper released a song called “In My Lifetime.” That single was produced by Ski from the Bronx hip-hop group Original Flavor, who also produced “Dead Presidents.”

The flip side featured a song with production from DJ Clark Kent, “I Can’t Get Wid Dat.”

Fans who want to hear the song without jumping through membership hoops can head to JAYZ30.com. While there, visitors can sign up for updates. Rumor has it that this is the beginning of a rollout for a 30th anniversary Reasonable Doubt, though there has been no indication from Roc Nation.