JAY-Z Reveals Origin Of Roc-A-Fella Diamond Hand Sign

The Roc-A-Fella “diamond” hand sign is well-known to everyone who have watched Jay-Z perform in the last few decades, but have you ever pondered where it originated?

The renowned rapper disclosed the significance of his well-known sign in a recent interview with Gayle King of CBS Mornings. According to HipHopDX, the sign originated from his collaboration with the R&B group Christión, who signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella Records in 1996.

“When we first started, we had a group called Christión,” he explained. “You go diamond when you sell 10 million, right? We had a great deal of faith in them and thought they would sell 10 million copies. So we began to offer Christión the diamond. That’s how it started.”

The sign ultimately took on a life of its own and became a beloved memento for many fans to carry with them to performances.

“And then we started playing with it, and then we started doing it at shows,” he explained. “Then the whole crowd started doing it, and it stuck.”

Jay revealed in the same interview that he was “extremely proud” of his 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy for being able to hold her own on stage alongside her mother Beyoncé during their Renaissance World Tour. He also disclosed that Blue was not going to be her name at first, giving a sweet account of how he and Bey finally came up with it.