JAY-Z 225

Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, and holding the solo artist record of 14 Billboard 200 #1 albums, JAY-Z is possibly the most talented, accomplished and respected rapper of all time. In 2023, during the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, JAY-Z was named by Billboard and Vibe magazines as the greatest rapper of all time. He has released 13 studio albums and five collaborative albums over his 30-year career.

Born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969, JAY grew up in the Marcy Houses a.k.a. the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. At one point, he attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School with rappers Busta Rhymes and The Notorious B.I.G. but he dropped out and hustled in the streets. Known as “Jazzy” for his laid-back demeanor, he transformed that into JAY-Z while he was also known as Jigga and Jay-Hova.

He first got into the rap game working with fellow Brooklyn rapper Jaz-O a.k.a. Big Jaz, appearing on Jaz’s 1989 single “Hawaiian Sophie” and in the music video. JAY also appeared on stage with Brooklyn legend Big Daddy Kane around the time he appeared on Kane’s 1994 posse cut “Show and Prove.” He also made notable appearances on tracks such as Original Flavor’s “Can I Get Open,” Big L’s “Da Graveyard” and Mic Geronimo’s “Time To Build,” which also featured early appearances by JAY’s future Def Jam labelmates Ja Rule and DMX. This led to the independent release of his 1995 debut single “In My Lifetime” with “I Can’t Get Wid Dat” as the B-side.

JAY-Z released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996, but his stock rose with his third album, 1998’s Vol 2… Hard Knock Life, which was his first #1 album on the Billboard 200, certified 5x platinum and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. He released an album every year from 1996 through 2004 — the last in this succession being his second collaborative album with R. Kelly, Unfinished Business, following their 2002 album The Best of Both Worlds. Starting in 1998, all of his subsequent albums through 2009’s The Blueprint 3 reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

Three of his albums, Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album, are considered landmarks in the genre, with all of them featured in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Hov has won 24 Grammy Awards from 88 nominations, making him the 10th most awarded artist of all time.

Legendary for never writing down his lyrics, JAY-Z’s flow is considered one of the greatest to grace the genre, his wordplay and metaphorical ability is unmatched, and his live shows push the envelope of what it means to be a hip-hop artist. His MTV Unplugged appearance introduced the idea of having a full band (The Roots) backing up a hip-hop artist at major concerts, and during his 2004 documentary Fade to Black he doubled down, selling out Madison Square Garden (in mere minutes) while featuring an enormous live band performance.

Since slowing down his musical production, JAY has become a highly successful investor and entrepreneur. In 2016 Forbes estimated his net-worth to be $610 million, thanks to investments in a chain of 40/40 Clubs, champagne Armand De Brignac, the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets, and cognac D'USSE, among other business and property deals. He also founded the sports agency Roc Nation Sports and is a certified NBA and MLB sports agent. In 2015 he purchased and re-launched the music streaming service Tidal, aiming to change the way streaming services interact with and compensate artists. JAY-Z reached billionaire status in 2019.

A New York Times best-selling author, JAY-Z married legendary R&B singer Beyoncé in 2008, with whom he has three kids: daughter Blue Ivy (born 2011), daughter Rumi and her twin brother Sir Carter (born 2017). JAY-Z & Beyoncé have appeared on each other’s songs and released the collaborative album Everything is Love in 2018 as THE CARTERS.

Through his labels Roc-A-Fella Records and Roc Nation, and as the former President of Def Jam Recordings, JAY has played a large role in the success of many other popular artists. Kanye West first gained wide recognition for his production work on The Dynasty, and the two released their collaborative album Watch the Throne in 2011. Artists such as Rihanna, Ne-Yo, J. Cole, Just Blaze, Jeezy, Rick Ross also have JAY to thank in-part for their success.

In 2001, he was involved in a highly publicized beef with Queensbridge legend Nas that resulted in JAY’s “Takeover” and Nas' “Ether” before the two squashed the beef in 2005 and went on to work together on tracks such as “Black Republican” and “Success.” JAY-Z has achieved pop stardom with tracks like his Alicia Keys collaboration “Empire State of Mind,” which became his first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009. His 2013 collaboration with wife Beyoncé, “Drunk In Love,” made it to #2 on the Billboard charts. 2004’s rap/rock crossover Collision Course, with Linkin Park, also went to #1 and sold 300,000 copies in its first week.

Be sure to check out his life story (in lyrics), and Genius' ranking of the 25 greatest JAY-Z verses of all time.