To his credit, Rubin does ask engaging and thoughtful questions throughout “Jay-Z in 8,” often prompting Jay to think of his experiences in new ways. But “Jay-Z in 8” stops short of plumbing something deeper.

Without delineated chronology or themes, JAŸ-Z in 8 never feels like it’s building to anything. There’s no holding out of a key song or a key story for that last episode, so it’s probably perfect for weekly viewing but it really drags as a binge.

Anyone watching who doesn’t know what “hit” means, or that Jay-Z and Kanye released an album called Watch The Throne, will probably be lost during most of the conversations. If you like Jay-Z enough to find the show compelling, you’ll likely be left wondering why, exactly, so much of the show’s runtime has been dedicated to this specific kind of exposition.