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Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known by his stage name, Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, shipping over 30 million copies of his albums in the United States alone and receiving several Grammy Awards for his musical work..

Jay-Z co-owns The 40/40 Club and the NBA's New Jersey Nets and is also the creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records and recently, the founder of his new venture Roc Nation. He is also the current holder for the record of most number one albums on the Billboard 200.

Along with his financial and musical success, Jay-Z is known for being involved in the feud between him and fellow New York rapper Nas, which was eventually settled in 2005. He is also known for his relationship with Beyoncé Knowles, whom he married on April 4, 2008.

Early years

Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, Jay-Z was abandoned by his father and at 12 years old, he had shot his brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry. Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ, until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse Information Technology High School in Downtown Brooklyn, which fellow rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes also attended, and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, but did not graduate. In his music he refers to having been involved in selling crack cocaine.

According to his mother, Gloria Carter, a young Jay-Z used to wake his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. Eventually, she bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time. In his neighborhood, Carter was known as "Jazzy", a nickname that eventually developed into his stage name, "Jay-Z". The moniker is also an homage to his musical mentor, Jaz-O, as well as to the J/Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn.

Jay-Z can be heard on several of Jaz-O's early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie". His career had a jump start when he battled a rapper by the name of Zai. The battle caught the eye of many record labels, as Jay-Z was able to hold his own against Zai. He first became known to a wide audience by being featured on the posse cut "Show and Prove" on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddy's Home He made an appearance on a popular song by Big L, "Da Graveyard", and on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build", which also featured early appearances by DMX, and Ja Rule in 1995. His first official rap single was called "I Can't Get With That", for which he released a music video.

Musical career

1996 – 1997: Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1

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Business ventures

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Jay-Z has also established himself as an entrepreneur like his fellow hip hop moguls, and friends, Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre and Sean "Diddy" Combs, who also have business holdings such as record companies and clothing lines. In an interview, he stated that "my brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment."

Jay-Z is the founder of the urban clothing brand Rocawear along with Damon Dash. Rocawear has clothing lines and accessories for men, women and children. The line was taken over by Jay-Z in early 2006 following a falling out with co-founder Damon Dash. In March 2007, Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand to Iconix Brand Group, for $204 million. Jay-Z will retain his stake in the company and will continue to oversee the marketing, licensing and product development.

Jay-Z also co-owns The 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that started in New York City and has since expanded to Atlantic City, New Jersey and Las Vegas. Future plans will see 40/40 Clubs in Los Angeles, and Singapore.

Jay-Z serves as co-brand director for Budweiser Select and collaborates with the company on strategic marketing programs and creative ad development. He provides direction on brand programs and ads that appear on TV, radio, print, and high-profile events.

Jay-Z is a part-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team paying a reported $4.5 million for his share. He is interested in relocating the team to Brooklyn. In October 2005, he was reported in English media as considering buying a stake of Arsenal F.C., an English soccer team.

Jay-Z has invested in a real estate development venture called J Hotels which recently acquired a $66 million mid-block parcel in Chelsea, New York. Jay-Z and his partners are contemplating constructing a high-end hotel or an art gallery building on the newly acquired site which has the potential to go up about twelve stories.

Personal life

Relationship with Beyoncé

Jay-Z's most public relationship has been with American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, a former member of Destiny's Child. In 2002, Jay-Z & Beyonce collaborated for the single "Bonnie & Clyde", his lyrics include "Let's lock this down like it's supposed to be/ The '03 Bonnie and Clyde, Hov and B." Jay-Z appeared on Knowles' hit single "Crazy In Love" and as well as "That's How You Like It" from her debut Dangerously in Love. On her second album, B'Day, he made appearances on the 2006 hits, "Déjà Vu" and "Upgrade U". In the video for the latter song, she comically imitates his appearance.

The couple generally avoid discussing their relationship. Beyoncé has stated that she believes that not publicly discussing their relationship has helped them. Jay-Z said in a People article, "We don't play with our relationship. " They keep a low public profile despite being photographed at New Jersey Nets home games and while on vacation in Cannes in 2007. The pair were listed as a power couple on Time Magazine's 100's Most Influential People of 2006.

On April 4, 2008, it was reported by People that Knowles and Jay-Z had been married at a private ceremony in New York City. It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008, but Knowles did not publicly debut her $5 million Lorraine Schwartz-designed wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008 in New York City.

Philanthropy

During his retirement, Jay-Z also became involved in philanthropic activity. On August 9, 2006, he met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the organization's headquarters in New York. The rapper pledged to use his upcoming world tour to raise awareness of – and combat – global water shortage. Already on the look-out for a way to, in his own words, "become helpful", he had been made aware of this issue during a visit to Africa. The effort took place in partnership with the UN, as well as MTV, which produced a documentary entitled Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, first airing in November 2006.

Jay-Z also, along with Sean "Diddy" Combs, pledged USD 1 million to the American Red Cross' relief effort after Hurricane Katrina. Jay-Z stated his support for Kanye West after the latter's outburst against President Bush during a live Katrina charity telethon. He also addressed the issue of the Katrina disaster, and the government's response, in his song "Minority Report".

Discography

Awards

Filmography

• Streets Is Watching (1998)
• Backstage (2000)
• State Property (2002)
• Paper Soldiers (2003)
• Fade to Black (2004)

References

1. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Jay-Z Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
2. The Greatest MCs of All Time MTV. Retrieved on 2006-12-26
3. Miller=, Matthew (May 6, 2009). "The Wealthiest Black Americans". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
4. RIAA - Gold & Platinum - August 08, 2008
5. Pitchfork: Jay-Z Leaves Def Jam Presidency
6. Access Hollywood. Jay-Z Beats Elvis For No. 1 Albums Record'. MTV. Retrieved on 2009-09-16.
7. Cite error: The named reference mtvnews2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ "Source: Beyoncé and Jay-Z Are Married". People.com. April 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
9. The King Of Rap , Jay-Z Has Built A Billion-Dollar Business - CBS News
10. ^ Adaso, Henry. How Well Do You Know Jay-Z? About.com. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
11. Jay-Z Picture, Profile, Gossip, and News at CelebrityWonder.com
12. I Can't Get With That Music Video
13. "Jay-Z Talks Business, Success in New Interview". idiomag. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
14. ^ "Iconix to Buy Rocawear, Jay-Z's Clothing Line". New York Times. 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
15. "Jay-Z: Down To 98 Problems Yet?". MTV. 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
16. http://www.allhiphop.com/Hiphopnews/index.asp?ID=6279
17. Beyonce's Rapper Lover Is After A Piece Of Arse: Jay-Z's Footie Bid, The Sunday Mirror, October 9, 2005
18. HHWorlds.com - Jay-Z Teams Up With J Hotels To Develop On $66 Million New York Site
19. 03' Bonnie and Clyde lyrics
20. Beyonce - Upgrade U (official video)
21. Michelle Tauber (October 25, 2004). "The Good Life". People.com. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
22. Helling, Steve ((2008-04-22)). "Beyonce and Jay-Z File Signed Marriage License". People. Retrieved 2008-04-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. "Beyonce's ring revealed!" People, Vol. 70, No. 12, September 22, 2008, pg. 26.
24. Jay-Z helps UN focus on world water crisis, USA Today, August 9, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2006.
25. "International Decade for Action: Water for Life, 2005 - 2015". United Nations. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
26. "Water for Life". MTV. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
27. "Diddy, Jay-Z give $1 million to Red Cross". MSNBC. 2005-09-02. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
28. "Jay-Z backs Kanye West's telethon outburst". MSNBC. 2005-09-07. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
29. "For The Record: Quick News On Jay-Z, Metallica, Bow Wow, John Legend, J Dilla, Sufjan Stevens & More". MTV. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2008-06-05.

External links

• Official website
• Official website run by Jay-Z
• Jay-Z at MTV
• Template:Myspace
• Template:Amg
• Jay-Z at IMDb

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• Misplaced Pages articles needing copy edit from September 2009
• Jay-Z
• 1969 births
• African American rappers
• African American record producers
• African American sports executives
• American dance musicians
• American music industry executives
• Americans convicted of assault
• East Coast hip hop producers
• Freestyle rappers
• Grammy Award winners
• Living people
• People from Brooklyn
• People from Scarsdale, New York
• Rappers from New York City
• Roc-A-Fella Records artists
• Priority Records artists
• National Basketball Association executives
• National Basketball Association owners