Jay-Z [Bio]

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Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known as Jay-Z.

He is an American rapper and current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. In addition, he co-owns The 40/40 Club, and is co-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He is one of the most financially successful American hip-hop artists. Known for his flow and blending of street and popular rap, Jay-Z has become one of the best-selling rappers in the hip hop industry. He has also received a considerable amount of critical acclaim, and is considered by some to be the best rapper ever. He is admired for his ability to compose lyrics without the use of pen and paper (his critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was written in only two days). He also returned from retirement in late 2006 with the album Kingdom Come which sold 680,000 copies in its first week, Jay-Z's highest-selling album in a one-week period. Along with Damon "Dame" Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay-Z was one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop record label. Jay-Z is the second richest. Entertainer, having a net-worth estimate of $340 million.



Biography

Early years


Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York, Jay-Z was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was twelve years old. Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse High School in Downtown Brooklyn with fellow rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey but did not graduate. He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs, which he refers to in his music. 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 and thus sparked his interest in music. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time. It is stated that he beat Busta Rhymes in a rap battle, but also has lost to DMX. In his neighborhood, Carter was known as "Jazzy", a nickname which eventually developed into his stage name, "Jay-Z". The moniker is also
a homage to his musical mentor Jaz-O (a.k.a. Jaz, Big Jaz) 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 80's and early 90's, including "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie". He also collaborated with Inglewood, California producer Three-1-Zero. 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 also 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 and Shazim Hasan in 1995.

Rivalry with Nas


Tension between the two supposedly dates as far back as 1996, when Nas refused to make a guest appearance on Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. However, the relationship between the two rappers remained peaceful (Jay-Z even giving a shoutout to Nas in his album liner notes), and the tension did not escalate to full-blown rivalry until after the death of the Notorious B.I.G. The position of best rapper in New York seemed vacant after the death of Biggie, and fans were eager to see who would take over.
The dispute involved many of the rappers, especially associates at Roc-a-Fella Records, who declared an all-out war against Nas. However, the feud died down somewhat toward the end of 2002. It is believed by most that Nas won this battle, though it is still a subject
of intense debate. New York radio station Hot 97 settled took votes matching Ether"/"Stillmatic" against "Takeover"/"Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes. The battle had the potential to destroy both careers and they have since bounced back after this event. Nas & Jay-Z have paid tribute to each other in interviews, likening the battle to a world title boxing match that pitched the best against the best, and pleased with the entertainment it provided fans. After Jay-Z signed Nas to Def Jam (of which Jay-Z is president and CEO), he also featured on Nas's first Def Jam album - "Hip Hop Is Dead" where he does a song with Nas called "Black Republican." The rivalry also impacted their careers critically and commercially. The battle was significant in that it revived the trend of using 'beefs' as a source for publicity and promotion for hip hop artists, originally unpopular following the tragic deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., now prevalent within the hip hop community.

The Black Album (2003)

Jay-Z toured with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul while finishing work on what was announced as his final album, The Black Album. Notable songs on the album included "What More Can I Say", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Change Clothes", and "99 Problems". The latter was a cross-over hit comparable to the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"
which some believe pays homage to the now-rare old-school rap style. A few of the songs done on this album portray a more personal side of Jay-Z; for example, "Moment of Clarity" sheds light on his feelings towards his estranged father and coping with his death. It also deals with accusations that he sold out to reach a wider audience. "What More
Can I Say" addresses the "biting" accusations leveled against him by Nas in "and other detractors, as Jay-Z raps, "I'm not a biter I'm a writer for myself and others/I say a Big verse I'm only biggin' up my brother." During that same year, Jay-Z supplied new rhymes on a remix of Punjabi MC's "Mundian To Bach Ke", a desi rap jam that Jay became enamored of after hearing it at a nightclub in Hong Kong. Re-released as "Beware of the Boys", the East-West hip-hop fusion track charted in North America. It was notable for Jay-Z's condemnation of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and laying some of the blame on the 9/11 attackson the foreign policy of Ronald Reagan. The Black Album has sold 3 million copies in the US. In 2004, there was a runaway hit remix project by Danger Mouse called The Grey Album in which Jay-Z's Black Album vocals were blended with instrumentals sampled exclusively from The Beatles' White Album (which subsequently embroiled the DJ in a lawsuit that was later dropped with EMI, the owners of the Beatles' work). This was made possible by an a cappella version of the "Black Album" that Jay-Z released with the specific intent for others to mix. The success of The Grey Album led to a rainbow of Black Album remix projects including The Red Album, The Blue Album and so forth.

Collision Course (2004)

Also in 2004, Jay-Z collaborated with Linkin Park. The project was named Collision Course, and contained a six track EP, as well as a making of DVD. Some of the mash ups tracks were entitled "Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You", "Jigga What/Faint", and "Numb/Encore". "Numb/Encore" went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The EP sold over two million copies in the US alone.

Retirement


On November 25, 2003, Jay-Z held a concert at Madison Square Garden, which would later be the focus of his film Fade to Black. This concert was his "retirement party". All proceeds went to charity. Other performers included collaborators like The Roots(in the form of his backing band), Missy Elliott, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Siegel, Freeway, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Twista, Ghostface Killah, Foxy Brown, Pharrell and R. Kelly with special appearances by Voletta Wallace and Afeni Shakur; the mothers of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur respectively. While Jay-Z had attested to a retirement from making new studio albums, various side projects and appearances soon followed. Included in these were a greatest hits record, mash-up projects and concert appearances with R. Kelly, Linkin Park and Phish. These appearances have kept his name in the spotlight and furthered peoples' speculation that he would not remain retired for long.
Jay-Z was the executive producer of Fort Minor's debut album The Rising Tied. Mike Shinoda got together with Jay-Z himself, as well as his Linkin Park bandmate Brad Delson, and they went over what tracks they thought should make the album.


The Jay-Z Story re arranged from french to english by P.J KING

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