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Music Artist Jay Z

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Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), popularly known as Jay-Z or by a variety of nicknames (S-Dot Carter, Jigga, Jay-Hova, Hova, Hov, Young Hov, Sir Hova of Brooklyn, Iceberg Slim, The Big Homey, and President Carter), is an American hip-hop artist and current President of Def Jam and CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records. He has been one of the most prolific and successful American rappers of the late 1990s and early 2000s, maintaining both commercial appeal and street credibility.
Known for his use of metaphor, freestyling abilities, word play, and blending of street and popular hip hop, Jay-Z became one of the most respected rappers in the music industry before his alleged retirement in 2003. He is widely admired for his ability to craft songs from memory, without the use of pen and paper; he claims his critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was written in only two days.
He is one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop record label which also launched the careers of artists such as Beanie Sigel, Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Young Gunz, Freeway, and Teairra Mari. As of 2005, he is estimated to be worth around $320 million
Early history
Originally from the infamous Marcy Houses projects in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood in Brooklyn in New York City, Shawn Carter was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was twelve years old and he was consequently raised by his mother Gloria Carter. Jay-Z attended George Westinghouse High School in Downtown Brooklyn and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey but did not graduate. He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs on the streets of New York in the Marcy Projects. In addition to this, Jay has lyrically alluded to having sold crack cocaine and marijuana in Virginia and Maryland.
According to his mother, a young Jay used to keep his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. Eventually, she bought him a boombox 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.
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 partner Jaz-O (a.k.a. the Jaz, Big Jaz) as well as to the J-Z subway lines that run through the Marcy Avenue Station in Brooklyn.
Jay-Z can be heard on several of The Jaz's early recordings, including "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie", which began his popularity as an artist. 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."
Commercial work
From the beginning of his commercial recording career, Jay-Z chose a route that many would consider untraditional. Rather than waiting to get signed to a major label, Jay-Z created Roc-A-Fella Records as his own independent label. After striking a deal with Priority to distribute his material, Jay-Z released his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt with beats from acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Clark Kent and a notable appearance by The Notorious B.I.G.. Although the album received critical acclaim, record sales didn't meet the expectations.
After reaching a new distribution deal with Def Jam in 1997, Jay-Z released his follow-up In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Executive produced by Diddy, it sold better than his previous effort even though Jay later explained that this was one of the worst periods of his life. He was reeling from the death of his close friend Biggie and their relationship led to a beef between Jay and Tupac Shakur, causing many West Coast fans and fans of the late rapper to view him with disdain. Due to the glossy production on his sophomore album, many of the fans he'd earned previously now claimed he was selling out and catering to a more commercial audience. However, the album did feature some beats from producers who had worked with him on Reasonable Doubt, namely DJ Premier and Ski.
1998's Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life spawned the biggest hit of his career at the time, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)." This album saw Jay trying to balance commercialism with his lyrics and subject matter, though critics would still accuse him of becoming even more commercial and egotistical. He also relied more heavily on flow, developing it further, and he continued his penchant for mining beats from the popular producers of the day such as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Charting hits from this album included "Can I Get A..." featuring Ja Rule and "Jigga What, Jigga Who." Vol. 2 would eventually become Jay-Z's most commercially successful album, certifying platinum five times in the United States.
In 1999 Jay-Z released Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. Despite continued criticism for his increasingly pop-oriented sound and a large number of collaborations that many felt crowded out Jay-Z himself, the album proved to be successful and went platinum three times. Through his lyricism, he was able to retain respect from the many die-hard fans. Vol. 3 is remembered for its smash hit, "Big Pimpin" (feat UGK) and the disses to then-underground New York rapper known as 50 Cent.
By this time, Jay was seen as a hip-hop figurehead both by hardcore fans and by the corporations of rap due to his lyrics and his high album sales, achieving a pinnacle rarely held in rap music. The subject of much criticism, praise, popularity, condemnation, and discussion, Jay decided to begin developing other artists besides himself. Around 2000, he and Damon Dash signed various artists (including Beanie Sigel and Freeway) and began introducing them to the public. He next appeared on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, which was intended as a compilation album to introduce these new artists, though Jay was present on most of the tracks and many fans viewed it as another Jay-Z release.
2001's The Blueprint is considered by many to be one of hip hop's "classic" albums, receiving the coveted "5 mic" review from The Source magazine. Released on September 11, 2001, the album managed to debut at #1, selling more than 450,000 albums in its first week.
The Blueprint was applauded for its production and the balance of "mainstream" and "hardcore" rap, receiving recognition from both audiences. Eminem was the only guest artist on the album, producing and rapping on the single "Renegade" (to which rival Nas would rap, "Eminem murdered you on your own shit" on "Ether.") The Blueprint also includes the popular "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Takeover," a song which blasts rivals Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas. A large portion of the material on this album was produced by Kanye West and represents one of his (Kanye's) first major breaks in the industry.
A feud between Jay-Z and Nas culminated in "Takeover," a diss from Jay to Nas, in the fall of 2001. Nas responded with the diss track "Ether". Over the course of the feud, Jay-Z claims that he and Allen Iverson slept with Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas' daughter, Destiny. Nas, in turn, accused Jay of brown nosing other artists for fame, and then leaving them for dead once he was famous. This feud proved to be a huge draw in the world of hip-hop. The feud died down over 2002 and was finally resolved in October 2005.
Jay-Z's next solo album was 2002's The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse a sprawling double-album which was touted by fans as having too much 'filler' or unnecessary material. It was later reissued in a single-disc version, The Blueprint 2.1, which retained half of the tracks from the double-album. The album spawned two hit singles "Excuse Me Miss" and "03 Bonnie and Clyde" featuring Beyoncé Knowles.
Recent years
In 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." That song 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.
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 heavily sampled from The Beatles' White Album (which subsequently embroiled the DJ in a lawsuit that was later dropped with EMI, the owner's to the Beatle's 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.
Technique
In his earliest appearances, Jay's style was less polished; he had a propensity for rhyming fast, which gradually lessened over the years. By 1996, he had become more known for his witty metaphors and similes, as well as being one of the first to stress the life of a drug dealer (glories, repercussions, regrets and all). Later, flow would become a big part of his style.
He has often pointed to his ability to switch from emotionally provocative material like "Song Cry" to more commercial topics, such as "Big Pimpin," as a sign that he straddles a line between material and thought-provoking rhymes that few artists since Tupac have bridged successfully.
Recently, producers and artists alike have been praising Jay's ability to create verse after verse completely in his head without the aid of a pen and paper. His ability to memorize and recite verbatim line after line of lyrics is both envied and praised.
Although he penned his recordings as Jay-Z, it was not uncommon for Jay to take upon other aliases or character names in his tracks. Using such monikers as "Jigga" or "H.O.V.A." and their variants reflect Jay-Z's attempts to keep his material ever-evolving.
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, Beyonce, 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 Jay's name in the spotlight and furthered peoples' speculation that he would not remain retired for long.
Jay-Z was the executive producer of The Rising Tied by Fort Minor which was released in November 2005. He states that Mike Shinoda, the lead singer of this Linkin Park side-project, is one of his closest friends.
Currently Jay-Z is working on his new label Roc-A-Fella West (the west coast branch of Roc-A-Fella records) and his new artist Immense.
There is still heavy speculation that he may come out of his "retirement" to record & release a new album in 2006, ten years after his first album was released. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z performed a show at Radio City Music Hall on June 25th, 2006 and a rehearsal show at New York's Nokia Theatre one day prior. These shows will be followed by five dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland in September. There is also speculation that a full world tour will follow.