Jay Z

BY MARIAH AND HANNAH

Early Life
Born Shawn Corey Carter in New York City on
December 4, 1969
Raised in Brooklyns Marcy Housing Projects
Father left family when Jay Z was 11
George Westinghouse
Notorious B.I.G.

Figure 1: Jay-Z in School, whitemavins.com

From Grams to Grammys

Started selling drugs at 12
Sold Crack Cocaine to make a living, to support his family

Figure
2: Crack Cocaine,
Shot brother when he was 12 because brother tried to steal drugs to feed his
own
wikipedia.org

addiction
Shot 3 times close range
There wasnt any place you could go for isolation or a break. You go in the hallway;
[there are] crackheads in the hallway. You look out in the puddles on the curbscrack
vials are littered in the side of the curbs. You could smell it in the hallways, that putrid
smell; I cant explain it, but its still in my mind when I think about it.

Nicknames
Shawn Carter
HOV
Jay-Z
Weezy F Baby

Figure 3: Hova,
mixtape.com

How selling drugs influenced his

I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer, he said. To be in a drug deal, you need
career
to know what you can spend, what you need to re-up. Or if you want to start some

sort of barbershop or car washthose were the businesses back then. Things you can
get in easily to get out of [that] life.

Figure 4: Jay-Z, famousquotes.com

Early Career
Joined the rapper Jaz-O to record a song called "The Originators
First appearance on YO! MTV Raps due to song in 1989
Childhood nickname Jazzie changed to Jay-Z

Jay Z on Yo! MTV raps

Originators with Jaz-O
Figure 5: Jay Z on Yo, mtvraps.com

Performing The
Figure 6: Jay Z and the Originators, youtube.com

Roc-a-Fella
In 1996, Jay Z and two neighborhood friends, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke, formed
Roc-A-Fella records and issued Jay-Z's debut, Reasonable Doubt.
only reached No. 23 on the Billboard charts, Reasonable Doubt is now considered a
classic hip-hop album, featuring songs such as "Can't Knock the Hustle," featuring Mary
J. Blige, and "Brooklyn's Finest," a collaboration with Notorious B.I.G.

Figure 7: Roc-A-Fella, tidal.com

In my Lifetime Vol.1
Knock Life

Released in 1997
executive-produced by P-Diddy and featured
a number of producers from Bad Boy
Huge Commercial Record: "I Know What
Girls Like"

Vol. 2...Hard
Released in 1998
The title track, which famously sampled its
chorus from the Broadway musical Annie,
became Jay Z's most popular single to date
and won him his first Grammy nomination.
"Hard Knock Life"

Figure 8: In My Lifetime,
rocafellarecords.com

Figure 9: Hard Knock Life,

rocafellarecords.com

Vol 3Life and Times of S. Carter

Released in 1999
more commercial hits chief among them "Big Pimpin'," a collaboration with the
southern rap duo UGK

Figure 9: Life and Time of S.

Carter, rocafellarecords.com

The Blue Print

Declared best album by critics
Commercial song off album : Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," Girls, Girls, Girls (Part 2), Song Cry.
Some songs produced by Kanye West
Album went 2x platinum

Figure 10: The Bueprint,

rocafellarecords.com

Blue Print 2.1

Black
Album
Jay Z's next solo album was 2002's
The Blueprint2: The Gift & the Curse,
a double-album. The album debuted
on the Billboard 200 at number one,
selling over 3 million units in the
U.S. alone and surpassing The
Blueprint. It was later reissued in a
single-disc version,
The Blueprint 2.1, which retained
half of the tracks from the original.
The album spawned two massive hit
singles, "Excuse Me Miss" and "
'03 Bonnie & Clyde", which featured
Jay Z's future wife Beyonc.

The
Commercial songs: "
What More Can I Say, "
Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "
Change Clothes", and "99 Problems"
The Black Album has sold 3 million
copies in the US
Announced this would be his last
album
Retiring
2003

Figure 11: The Blueprint 2.1, wikipedia.com

Figure 12: The Black Album, tidal.com

Kingdom Come
American Gangster
Jay-Zs comeback album after

Tenth album released November 6,

retirement

2007

November 21, 2006

Jay Z's American Gangster depicts

"Show Me What You Got" Commerical Song off Album

People said Jay-Z was going soft

his life in correlation to the movie

American Gangster by Ridley Scott

Figure 13: Kingdom Come, tidal.com

Figure 14: American Gangster, tidal.com

The Blueprint 3
The Throne
Eleventh studio album by American
rapper Jay-Z, released September 8,
2009 on Roc Nation, through
distribution from Atlantic Records.
The final installment in The
Blueprint trilogy, preceded by
The Blueprint (2001) and
The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse
(2002).

Figure 14: The Blueprint 3, tidal.com

Figure 15: Watch the Throne,
albumcover.com

Watch
Collaborative studio album by American
rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released
on August 8, 2011, by
Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and
Def Jam Recordings.

Magna Carta Holy Grail

Released July 4, 2013
Magna Carta Holy Grail debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
Sold 528,000 copies in its first week
Commerical Hits: "Holy Grail", "Tom Ford" and "Part II (On the Run)" featuring Beyonc

Figure 16: Magna Carta, tidal.com

Some of Jay Zs Music

Song Cry-Jay Z
New York- Jay Z ft. Alicia Keys
22 Two's- Jay Z

Influenced by
Jay Z says his earliest exposure to music was through his parents' record collection,
which was mostly of soul artists such as Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway.
Influenced by OutKast, The Beatles, Nirvana, and Raekwon

Figure 17: Donny Hathaway, lyrics.wikia.com

Figure 18: Marvin Gaye, wikipedia.com

Jay Z the Businessman

In 2005, he was accepted a job as president of the legendary Def Jam label
On May 21, 2009, Jay Z announced he would be parting ways with Def Jam, and had struck a
multimillion-dollar deal to sign with Live Nation, with whom he would start his Roc Nation
imprint which would serve as a record label, talent/management agency, and music
publishing company
Manages Rihanna, Kanye and J.Cole, just to name a few

Figure 19: Def Jam, defjamrecordings.com

Figure 20: Rocnation, wikipedia.com

Contd...
Jay Z's owns Rocawear and Roc-a-Fella Films (Jay Z sold the rights to the Rocawear
brand to Iconix Brand Group, for $204 million.
He owns the 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that opened in New York City and later
added venues in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Atlanta.
Jay Z became part owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball franchise, which moved to a
new home, the Barclays Center, in 2012.
Figure 21: Jay-Z,
wikipedia.com

Personal Life
Married to Beyonc Knowles on April 4, 2008, in New York City
Jay Z and Beyonc welcomed their first child, a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter, on
January 7, 2012.

(Figure 22: Jay Z, Beyonce, and North,

hollywoodtakeout.com)

Philanthropy
In 2003, Jay Z, together with his mother, founded The Shawn Carter Foundation, which
has assisted eligible students facing socio-economic hardships through college.
In 2015, Jay Z held his first annual charity concert called Tidal X: 10/20. The show
raised around $1.5 million, with the funds to be used for social causes determined by
the New World Foundation and Sankofa.org, a nonprofit started by Harry Belafonte.

Figure 23: Tidal,

tidal.com

Awards and Nominations

Won 21 grammys
Nominated over 50 times
American Music Awards: Nominated (9), won (3)
link to awards

Figure 24: Jay Z, grammy.com

(jay z, 2016)

Random Facts
His nickname Hova comes from J-Hova (Jehovah).
Forbes lists him at number 17 on their list of the richest black Americans
Favorite color is blue
Jay-Z takes Beyonce on a pizza date every Sunday. They go to an undisclosed BYOB
spot in Brooklyn.
Jay Zs net worth is $552 million.

References
(2016). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/09/jay-z-i-was-addicted-to-t_n_280876.html
(2016). Biography.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from
http://www.biography.com/people/jay-z-507696
Jay z. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/jay-z-507696#comeback
Jay Z. (2016). Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Z#Awards_and_nominations
Jay Z Opens Up About His Dark Past. (2016). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016,
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/jay-z-drug-dealer_n_4019023.html

References Contd...
Jay-Z - The Blueprint. (2016). Discogs. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from
https://www.discogs.com/Jay-Z-The-Blueprint/master/46989
Jay-Z Biography. (2016). Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/jay-z/biography
Jay-Z,. (2010). Decoded. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau.
Jay-Z: I Shot My Brother When I Was 12. (2016). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April
2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/22/jayz-i-shot-my-brotherwh_n_786760.html
Red Bull Music Academy. (2016). Daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016,
from http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/07/jay-z-influences-and-inspirations