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Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023
JAY-Z born December 4, 1969, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. is an American rapper and entrepreneur, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop in the 1990s and early 21st century.
Shawn Carter grew up in Brooklyn’s often dangerous Marcy Projects, where he was raised mainly by his mother. His firsthand experience with illicit drug dealing would inform his lyrics when he began rapping under the stage name Jazzy, soon shortened to Jay-Z a name that may also have been derived from the proximity of the J and Z subway lines to the Marcy Projects. Jay-Z and two friends founded their own company, Roc-A-Fella Records, to release his debut album, Reasonable Doubt 1996, which eventually sold more than a million copies in the United States.
A string of successful albums followed at a rate of at least one per year through 2003. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life 1998 not only was the first of Jay-Z’s releases to top the Billboard 200 album chart but also won him his first Grammy Award, for best rap album.
The critically acclaimed The Blueprint 2001, featuring the triumphant hit “Izzo H.O.V.A.,” solidified his status as one of the preeminent voices in hip-hop at the dawn of the 21st century. Shortly after its release, Jay-Z pleaded guilty to assault relating to a 1999 nightclub stabbing and received three years’ probation, but the incident did little to derail his career. Ahead of the release of The Black Album 2003, however, Jay-Z announced his retirement as a performer.
The ostensible farewell recording proved to be one of his most popular, with the brash single “99 Problems,” produced by Rick Rubin, attracting considerable attention. In 2004 he assumed the presidency of Def Jam Recordings, making him one of the most highly placed African American executives in the recording industry at the time.