The day before Blue Ivy Carter was born, another of Jay-Z’s babies was in its death throes.
Rocawear — the hip-hop clothing brand founded in 1999 by rapper entrepreneurs Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Damon Dash — laid off half the staff of its men’s and boys apparel division on Jan. 6, one day before Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé Knowles, gave birth to the couple’s baby girl.
Rocawear’s New York headquarters — a 40,000-square-foot facility at 1411 Broadway where Jay-Z took an office in 2009 — fired 28 of its 56 workers for “economic” reasons, according to documents filed with the New York State Department of Labor.
Jay-Z, formerly a “big presence” in the office, rarely shows up anymore, an insider told The Post. “It’s kind of like he’s given up on the brand,” the source added.
In 2007, as the market for urban-style clothing was peaking, the rap tycoon sold the Rocawear brand for $204 million in cash to Iconix Group, a licensing company that also owns brands such as Candie’s, Ed Hardy and Peanuts.
While Jay-Z retained an interest in Rocawear as part of the deal, his contractual obligations to the brand have expired and the rapper has since refused to promote it amid steady, double-digit sales drops, sources said.
“Jay-Z doesn’t do anything without getting paid a lot of money — a lot more than Rocawear is generating,” according to one insider.
Ronnie DeMichael, the clothing line’s operating chief, didn’t respond to requests for comment yesterday. Iconix didn’t return phone calls.