Jay Z – Clever production and hard hip hop

Jay-Z with an urban background of skyscrapers at night

Shawn Corey Carter (Jay-Z) was born on December 4, 1969, in the Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City, USA.

Jay-Z will get his 11th American number one album with Blueprint 3, overtaking Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most chart-toppers in US chart history.

At the beginning of his career, when no one gave him a record deal, Jay-Z created Roc-A-Fella Records and, after striking a deal with Priority to distribute his material, he released his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt with beats from acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Ski, and an appearance by The Notorious B.I.G..

Subsequent album’s glossy productions have made some dedicated fans feel that he had “sold out”. But now, 11 albums later, it’s fair to say that he has successfully moved the genre onwards, fusing the hardcore hip hop of his youth with slick productions to critical acclaim and mainstream success.

He heads a multi-million dollar empire built up around clothing lines, restaurants, films, sports, and more recently Roc Nation, a music publishing and touring venture. He endorsed Barack Obama and has been involved in charity work for Africa.

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