Shawn Corey Carter was
Born December 4, 1969, Shawn is native to the streets
of New York’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn.
His mother raised him and his 3 siblings in the Marcy Houses housing project.
In the mid-80s, Shawn was a teenager during the crack epidemic
and started selling the drug to shed to the stench of poverty.
His mentor, a Brooklyn-born rapper who went by Jaz-O,
let Shawn hop on a few of his tracks such as 1990’s ‘The Originators’
♪And I'm J-a-y-Z, y'all know me♪
♪I wish you could write, cause you'd pay me all the rhymes you stole from me♪
and at the age of 19, Shawn made his debut on ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ as Jay-Z.
Jay-Z struggled to pull the eyes of major music labels, but he quickly realized he wouldn’t have to ask for
if he built the table himself.
With Damon Dash and Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke at his side,
the trio founded Roc-A-Fella Records—and that iconic diamond hand sign—in 1995.
The next year, Jay-Z released his debut studio album ‘Reasonable Doubt.’
Jay wanted to get Nas on the album, but Nas’ perceived snub of the invitation spawned a decade-long beef.
Without a little healthy competition between the two rappers,
the world might have never been blessed with what is arguably the best diss record to date:
Nas’ ‘Ether.’
♪So I stretched the game out, etched your name out♪
♪Put Jigga on top and dropped albums non-stop for ya, n****♪
It also brought home the golden gramophone for Best Rap Album at the 41st Grammy Awards,
the first of many, many, many to come for Jay-Z.
In 2001, he pulled in rapper-on-the-rise Kanye West to do some heavy lifting on the overall sound of ‘The Blueprint.’
‘The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse’ was certified gold only a week after its release,
no doubt aided by a feature by the rumored Bonnie to his Clyde: Beyoncé Knowles.
2003 brought major moves for Hova.
‘The Black Album,’ joined ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and ‘The Blueprint’
to form a trifecta of undisputed classic Jay-Z projects.
‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce, featuring Jay sat atop the Billboard 100 for 8 weeks.
‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce, featuring Jay sat atop the Billboard 100 for 8 weeks. ♪How you think I got the name Hova? I been realer, the game's over♪
♪How you think I got the name Hova? I been realer, the game's over♪
♪Fall back Young, ever since I made the change over To platinum the game's been a wrap♪
He inked a sneaker deal with Reebok called ‘The S. Carter Collection.’
He bought a percentage ownership of the New Jersey Nets basketball team—
now known as the Brooklyn Nets— and opened the 40/40 Club.
There are a few theories on what caused the riff between Jay-Z and Dame Dash.
Whether it was due to egos, women, or basic professional differences,
Island Def Jam Music Group purchased Roc-a-Fella at the end of 2004 and named Jay-Z as it’s new CEO.
On his own and in his bag, Jay was making moves toward
♪I'm not a businessman; I'm a business, man♪
♪Let me handle my business, damn♪
Jay-Z and Beyonce tied the knot in a private ceremony on April 4, 2008,
covering their personal lives in a cloak of secrecy
that would stick with them until they were ready for the burden of vulnerability.
2011’s ‘Watch The Throne’ was a dream joint album between two of hip-hop’s most skilled lyricists—
Jay-Z and Kanye West. The project swept 3 of the 4 rap categories at the following year’s Grammys.
Ahead of the ‘Magna Carta… Holy Grail’ album release in 2013,
Hov partnered with Samsung for a $5 million deal,
He’s also launched Roc Nation Sports, became a partial owner of D’Usse,
and bought Tidal streaming service for $56 million,
After a 5-year hiatus, Hov reintroduced himself to offer fans
In 2016, Beyoncé premiered the visual album ‘Lemonade’ via HBO,
exposing Jay-Z’s infidelity, laying her healing process out for the world to see for the first time.
The following year, Jay countered with ‘4:44’ exposing his own underbelly
with apologies and detailed information about not only his marriage, but also his mother’s sexuality.
♪I'll f*ck up a good thing if you let me Let me alone, Becky♪
♪A man that don't take care his family can't be rich♪
Their healing was symbolized by the birth of twins Rumi and Sir Carter in 2017
and the release of their joint album ‘Everything is Love’ the following year under the name The Carters.
In 2017, Jay-Z also became the first hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He’s earned every penny of his $800 million net worth as an incomparable wordsmith
with 21 Grammys and relentless perseverance.