Jay-Z restores discography to Spotify in celebration of his 50th birthday

Jay-Z has commemorated his 50th birthday with a gift to his fans.
Jay-Z has commemorated his 50th birthday with a gift to his fans. Photo credit: AAP

Spotify has announced that Jay-Z's entire discography will be available on the streaming platform in commemoration of the music mogul's 50th birthday.

Jay-Z, who celebrated his milestone birthday on December 4, has restored a number of albums to Spotify after removing the majority of his catalogue from the platform.

The rapper, producer and record executive is the owner of Tidal, a rival subscription-based streaming service. Until now, Spotify users only had access to Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, Vol 2... Hard Knock Life and Collision Course, a collaborative album with Linkin Park.

Albums such as Watch the Throne, The Black Album and American Gangster have now been restored to the music platform.

It is unclear whether Jay-Z intends to keep his music on Spotify or will remove it again at a later date.

"Happy birthday, Hov. Welcome back to Spotify," the streaming service tweeted on Wednesday, alongside a video of the rapper's 13 solo studio albums and two live projects. 

Ecstatic fans took to Twitter to celebrate the return of Jay-Z's music.

In June, Jay-Z - real name Shawn Carter - was revealed as the world's first billionaire rapper.

Forbes valued the 50-year-old entrepreneur's empire at US$1 billion (NZ$1.5 billion), including his real estate, art and other enterprises.