American rapper (born 1969)
Jay-Z
Carter in 2011
Born Shawn Corey Carter
(1969-12-04 ) December 4, 1969 (age 55) Other names The Carter Administration Jigga Hova El Presidente HOV[ 1] Occupations
Rapper
record executive
businessman
Years active 1986–present[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Works Spouse
Children 3, including Blue Ivy Awards Full list Musical career Genres East Coast hip-hop Labels Member of The Carters Formerly of Website lifeandtimes .com
Musical artist
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z ,[ a] 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.[ 8] Known for his complex lyrical ability—which often uses double entendres and word play —and braggadocio , his music is built upon a rags to riches narrative. He served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, and founded the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year.[ 9]
A protégé of fellow New York City-based rapper Jaz-O , Jay-Z began his musical career in the late 1980s; he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 to release his first two studio albums Reasonable Doubt (1996) and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), both of which were met with critical acclaim. Each of his eleven subsequent albums, including The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003), American Gangster (2007), and 4:44 (2017), debuted atop the Billboard 200 ; Jay-Z holds the joint-record for the most number-one albums (14) of any solo artist on the chart (tied with Drake and Taylor Swift ).[ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] He has also released the collaborative albums The Best of Both Worlds (2002) and Unfinished Business (2004) with singer R. Kelly ,[ 14] Collision Course (2004) with Linkin Park , Watch the Throne (2011) with Kanye West , and Everything Is Love (2018) with his wife Beyoncé .[ 15] He peaked the Billboard Hot 100 on four occasions: once as a lead artist with his 2009 single "Empire State of Mind " (featuring Alicia Keys ), and thrice with his guest performances on the singles "Heartbreaker " by Mariah Carey , "Crazy in Love " by Beyoncé, and "Umbrella " by Rihanna .[ 16]
Through his business ventures, Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019.[ 17] [ 18] In 1999, he co-founded the clothing retailer Rocawear [ 19] and later 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 Tidal , the company's media streaming service.[ 20] [ 21] [ 22] As of 2025, he is the wealthiest musical artist in the world with a net worth of US$2.5 billion.[ 23]
One of the world's best-selling music artists with 140 million records sold, Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards , the tenth-most of all time and the most awarded for any hip hop artist.[ 24] He is the recipient of the NAACP 's President's Award and three Emmy Awards (including two Primetime Emmy Awards ), in addition to being nominated for a Tony Award . Ranked by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time,[ 25] [ 26] Jay-Z was the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame [ 27] and the first solo living rapper inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.[ 28]
^ "The Carter Administration | Discography | Discogs" . Discogs . Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020 .
^ "Jay-Z" . Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021 .
^ Bandini (June 18, 2015). "Jay Z's First Record Ever Was in 1986…And It Was Not Hawaiian Sophie. Take a Listen (Audio)" . Ambrosia For Heads. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021 .
^ Jake Paine (February 8, 2020). "Jaz-O Discusses The Record That He & JAY-Z Released In 1986 (Video)" . Ambrosia For Heads. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021 .
^ "Jay-Z, as photographed during a promotional shoot for the London-based Northwestside Records" . Instagram. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022 .
^ "Jay Z is spelling his name with an umlaut again" . April 29, 2015. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018 .
^ Ketchum III, William E. (June 20, 2017). "JAY-Z's Name: A Complete Timeline of Shawn Carter's Rap Alias" . Revolt . Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017 .
^ Lamarre, Carl; Mitchell, Gail; Murphy, Keith; Saponara, Michael; Thomas, Datwon; Elibert, Mark; Diep, Eric; Ketchum III, William E.; Mamo, Heran (August 2, 2023). "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time" . Billboard . Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023 .
^ "Jay-Z Named Def Jam President/CEO" . Billboard . December 8, 2004. Retrieved April 7, 2023 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (February 23, 2025). "PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake's '$ome $exy $ongs 4 U' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200" . Billboard . Retrieved February 23, 2025 .
^ "A Quick Look at Why Lil Wayne's 'Top 5 Rappers of All Time' List Is Accurate AF" . The Source . April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020 .
^ "250: Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012 .
^ "252: Jay-Z, The Blueprint" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012 .
^ "R. Kelly: The history of his crimes and allegations against him" . July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2024 .
^ "349: Jay-Z, The Black Album" . Rolling Stone . May 31, 2009. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013 .
^ "Jay-Z" . Billboard . Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2021 .
^ "Jay-Z is worth $1 billion — see how the rapper-turned-mogul makes and spends his fortune" . Business Insider . Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
^ O'Malley Greenburg, Zach (June 3, 2019). "Artist, Icon, Billionaire: How Jay-Z Created His $1 Billion Fortune" . Forbes . Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
^ Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management . Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9 .
^ Flanagan, Andrew; Hampp, Andrew (March 30, 2015). "It's Official: Jay Z's Historic Tidal Launches with 16 Artist Stakeholders" . Billboard . Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019 . Jay-Z's ambitious entrance into the streaming music business, which came as a surprise to industry observers, debuted Monday (March 30) at an event at New York's James A. Farley Post Office in Herald Square.
^ Sisario, Ben (March 13, 2015). "Jay Z Buys the Music Streaming Firm, Aspiro" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2020 .
^ Holland, Fahiemah Al-Ali, Frank (December 10, 2020). "Billionaire Jay-Z becomes the latest cultural influencer to launch his own cannabis brand" . CNBC . Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2020 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ "Jay-Z is now worth $2.5 billion—Warren Buffett once said 'he's the guy to learn from' " . CNBC . March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023 .
^ "Jay-Z Breaks Tie With Kanye West For The Most Grammys Of Any Rapper In History" . hotnewhiphop.com. February 4, 2025. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025 .
^ "Billboard – Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video" . Billboard . Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2018 .
^ "100 Greatest Artists: Jay-Z" . Rolling Stone . 2011. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2012 .
^ Coscarelli, Joe (February 22, 2017). "Jay Z to Be the First Rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018 .
^ Bloomberg, Michael (April 18, 2013). "Jay Z: The World's 100 Most Influential People" . Time . ISSN 0040-781X . Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022 .
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