Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. According to Forbes, he is the wealthiest musical artist in history, worth an estimated US$2.8 billion as of 2026.

Jay-Z served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, during which he helped launch the careers of successful artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, and Ne-Yo. He co-founded Rocawear, a clothing retailer, in 1999, and founded the 40/40 Club, a luxury bar chain, in 2003. As both grew into multi-million-dollar businesses, he launched Roc Nation, a multi-disciplinary entertainment agency, in 2008. In 2015, he acquired the technology company Aspiro and led the expansion of its media streaming service Tidal. Through his business ventures, Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019. After Block, Inc. (then Square, Inc.) acquired a majority stake in Tidal in March 2021, Jay-Z joined its board of directors.

Jay-Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-O's early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including "H. P. Gets Busy", "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie". Jaz-O's record label came up with the idea to create an album with a concept reminiscent of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, featuring Jaz-O as the rapper, Jay-Z as the hype man, and Irv Gotti as the DJ. While working on the album Word to the Jaz in London in 1988, Jay-Z and Gotti began to build their relationship on the trip. Jay-Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s. He first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut "Show and Prove" on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddy's Home. Jay-Z has been referred to as Big Daddy Kane's hype man during this period, although Kane explains that he did not fill the traditional hype man role, and was instead basically making cameo appearances on stage. "When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage."

In 1998, Jay-Z released Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life which spawned the biggest hit of his career at the time, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". He relied more on flow and wordplay, and he continued with his penchant for mining beats from the popular producers of the day such as Swizz Beatz, an upstart in-house producer for Ruff Ryders, and Timbaland. Other producers included DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, The 45 King, and Kid Capri. Charting hits from this album included "Can I Get A...", featuring Ja Rule and Amil, and "Nigga What, Nigga Who", featuring Amil and Jaz-O. Vol. 2 would eventually become Jay-Z's most commercially successful album; it was certified 5× Platinum in the United States and has to date sold over five million copies. The album went on to win a Grammy Award, although Jay-Z boycotted the ceremony protesting DMX's failure to garner a Grammy nomination and the academy's decision to not broadcast urban music categories.

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