Over the years, conspiracy theorists have postulated that the diamond hand sign that the Roc Nation founder, Jay-Z had been gesturing together with his wife, Beyonce, and stars like Kanye West was a sign showing their allegiance to the Illuminati Group.
In 2005, Jay-Z was sued over the symbol by Diamond Dallas Page but the lawsuit was settled out of court. Following that case, Diamond Dallas Page did not seek to get a trademark on the hand symbol.
In 2018, the Roc Nation founder filed a legal action to gain exclusivity to the hand sign that he has been portraying in his music videos and on TV.
Most people have assumed the diamond hand sign is the same sign that the members of Delta Sigma Theta have been portraying, yet while there are similarities, there are also differences. It’s also not the sign of the Illuminati as some would have you think.
During a recent interview with Gayle King on CBS Morning Show, the 24-time Grammy award winner revealed the true meaning behind his famous sign.
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According to Jay-Z, the diamond hand sign came about through his work with R&B duo Christión, who released their debut single with Roc-A-Fella Records in 1996.
“When we first started, we had a group called Christión,” he said. “When you sell 10 million, you go diamond, right? We believed in them so heavy, we was like, this group is going to sell 10 million records. So, we started putting the diamond up for Christión. That’s how it all came about.”
Since then, the sign has become associated with the Jay-Z brand with many fans and celebrities observed portraying the hand sign.
“And then we started playing with it, and then we started doing it at shows. Then the whole crowd started doing it, and it stuck,” Jay-Z revealed.
The hand sign has become one of the most famous signs in hip-hop. There was a time, however, when people believed a conspiracy theory that it was confirmation of Jay-Z’s membership in the Illuminati.
Despite those unfounded rumors, the hand sign is a hot commodity. Former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page used a variation, and because of that, he sued the Brooklyn rap legend for trademark and copyright infringement as well as misappropriation of the symbol.
Jay-Z and DDP ended up settling out of court, where the rapper paid the former wrestler an unspecified amount.
Christión, an R&B group comprised of brothers Allen Anthony and Kenni Ski, was signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in 1996, releasing their first album, Ghetto Cyrano in 1997 which was preceded by the hit single, Full of Smoke. The album reached No. 23 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was the group’s lone album release on the label.