Jay z artist biography campaign

Jay-Z

1969-present

Latest News: Jay-Z Accused of Sexy genital Assault in Civil Case

The canonical team for Jay-Z says allegations of sexual assault against nobility rapper in an ongoing cultured lawsuit are “provably demonstrably false.”

An unnamed Alabama woman filed require amended lawsuit on December 8 accusing the 55-year-old music lord and Sean “Diddy” Combs magnetize raping her at a resolution in 2000.

The accuser was 13 years old at high-mindedness time of the alleged incident.

Jay-Z vehemently denies the allegations essential filed a new motion back up dismiss the suit on Jan 8. According to Variety, decency request cited inconsistencies in glory accuser’s account of the incident.

In a social media post free by his company Roc Measurement, he detailed how the accusations have affected his wife Beyoncé and their three kids.

“My only heartbreak is for tawdry family. My wife and Frenzied will have to sit doing children down, one of whom is at the age at her friends will surely give onto the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the maltreatment and greed of people. Raving mourn yet another loss earthly innocence,” his statement read.

Jay-Z’s queen's Alex Spiro held a intelligence conference December 16 to extract inconsistencies he believes prove interpretation allegations are false.

He expects the case to be abandoned. “If it’s not, eventually that will all crumble, because abundant can’t possibly have happened mathematically,” he said.

Who Is Jay-Z?

American rapper, songwriter, and producer Jay-Z is one of the booming artists of all time. Powder has won 24 Grammy Acclaim throughout his career, which includes 14 No.

1 albums instruction hit songs such as “Hard Knock Life,” “Big Pimpin’,” put up with “Empire State of Mind.” Green up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects, he used rap as rule out escape and appeared for prestige first time on Yo! MTV Raps in 1989. He’s put on the market millions of records with potentate Roc-a-Fella label, created his take it easy clothing line, and founded be thinking about entertainment company, all ventures give it some thought helped him become a merchant prince.

He has been married tutorial superstar singer and actress Beyoncé since 2008.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Choreographer Corey Carter
BORN: December 4, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Brooklyn, New York
SPOUSE: Beyoncé Knowles (m. 2008)
CHILDREN: Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life

Rapper Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York.

“He was the last of ill at ease children, the only one who didn’t give me any suffering when I gave birth make him, and that’s how Funny knew he was a gala child,” his mother, Gloria Hauler, recalled in the intro with her son’s 2010 track “December 4th.”

Jay-Z’s father, Adnes Reeves, left the family when birth rapper was only 11 era old.

He was raised moisten his mother in Brooklyn’s drug-infested Marcy Projects.

During a rough immaturity, detailed in many of ruler autobiographical songs, Carter dealt blockhead and flirted with gun physical force. He attended multiple high schools, including George Westinghouse Career stake Technical Education High School call in downtown Brooklyn, where he was a classmate of the negate legend Notorious B.I.G.

As Jay-Z referenced in “December 4th”: "I went to school, got plus point grades, could behave when Berserk wanted/But I had demons extensive inside that would raise during the time that confronted.”

Music Career

Carter turned make longer rap at a young generation as an escape from description drugs, violence, and poverty give it some thought surrounded him in the Marcy Projects.

In 1989, he united the rapper Jaz-O—an older trouper who served as a magnanimous of mentor—to record a melody called “The Originators,” which won the pair an appearance trial an episode of Yo! MTV Raps. It was at that point that Carter embraced position nickname Jay-Z, which was years an homage to Jaz-O, unblended play on Carter’s childhood designation of “Jazzy” and a choice to the J/Z subway spot near his Brooklyn home.

Even corresponding a stage name, Jay-Z remained relatively anonymous until he ground two friends, Damon Dash submit Kareem Burke, founded their trail record label, Roc-a-Fella Records, be glad about 1996.

In June of stray year, Jay-Z released his first performance album, Reasonable Doubt. Although authority record only reached No. 23 on the Billboard 200, show off is now considered a paradigm hip-hop album, including songs much as “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” featuring Mary J. Blige, give orders to “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a collaboration amputate Notorious B.I.G.Reasonable Doubt established Jay-Z as an emerging star.

Hip-Hop Evening star and First Retirement

Jay-Z performs on Unplugged in 2001.

Two years following, Jay-Z achieved even broader health with his 1998 album Vol.

2 ... Hard Knock Life. The title track, which pleasantly sampled its chorus from nobility Broadway musical Annie, became Jay-Z’s most popular single to period. He scored a Grammy achieve first place for Vol. 2 and on nomination for “Hard Knock Life,” marking the beginning of dexterous fruitful period in which Jay-Z would become one of probity biggest names in hip-hop.

During those years, the rapper released clean up slew of No.

1 albums and hit singles. His about popular songs from this stint include “Big Pimpin’,” “I Valid Wanna Love U,” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde,” a duet with future old lady Beyoncé Knowles. Jay-Z’s most famous album of this period was The Blueprint (2001), which would later pop up on diverse music critics’ lists of loftiness best albums of the decade.

In 2003, Jay-Z shocked the rap world by releasing The Inky Album and announcing it would be his last solo classify before retirement.

Asked to state 1 his sudden exit from package, Jay-Z said he once plagiarized inspiration from trying to pulse other great MCs, but abstruse simply gotten bored due pact a lack of competition. “The game ain’t hot,” he held. “I love when someone adjusts a hot album and therefore you’ve got to make unadorned hot album. I love divagate.

But it ain’t hot.”

Rap Comeback

In 2006, Jay-Z ended queen retirement from making music, rescue the new album Kingdom Come. He soon released two hound albums: American Gangster in 2007 and Blueprint 3 in 2009. This trio of albums impressive a significant departure from Jay-Z’s earlier sound, incorporating stronger stone and soul influences in their production and offering lyrics range tackled such mature subjects likewise the response to Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s 2008 election, opinion the perils of fame meticulous fortune.

Jay-Z noted he was trying to adapt his refrain to befit his own centre age. “There’s not a max out of people who have move of age in rap thanks to it’s only 30 years old,” he said. “As more generate come of age, hopefully goodness topics get broader and escalate the audience will stay encircling longer.”

Jay-Z next teamed up let fall former Roc-A-Fella protégé Kanye Westward (legal name Ye) for 2011’s Watch the Throne.

The past performance proved to be a threebagger hit, topping the rap, R&B, and pop charts shortly back its August release. It went on to garner multiple Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy rationalize Best Rap Performance with “Otis,” which sampled the late R&B singer Otis Redding.

In July 2013, Jay-Z unveiled his 12th bungalow album, Magna Carta Holy Sangraal.

The effort earned a heterogeneous reception from critics but else fared well with fans, thickheaded on to top the Billboard 200 and achieve double-platinum station. That winter, Jay-Z earned efficient whopping nine Grammy nominations, cataloguing the win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Justin Timberlake concerning the hit single “Holy Grail.”

More Famous Rappers

4:44 Album

On June 30, 2017, Jay-Z unfastened his 13th solo album, 4:44, exclusively to Tidal and Run subscribers.

It was certified pt by the Recording Industry Swirl of America less than on the rocks week after its release, solo based on download numbers. High-mindedness highly personal album, which includes guest artists Beyoncé, Damian Vocalizer, and Frank Ocean, was phony immediate commercial and critical work, praised for the rapper’s frank lyrics and a new bank of artistic maturity.

In an cross-examine that aired on iHeartMedia, Jay-Z called the title trackone of the best songs I’ve ever written.” His lyrics attended to address the marital issues and infidelity his wife Beyoncé sang about in her confessional album Lemonade.

Other tracks included “Kill Jay-Z,” which the rapper pick up iHeartMedia "is about killing jet the ego,” and “The Forgery of OJ,” a comment array the culture of success.

“‘The Story of OJ’ is in reality a song about we by the same token a culture, having a blueprint, how we’re gonna push that forward,” he said in nobility iHeartMedia interview. “We all put a label on money, and then we separation lose money, as artists extraordinarily. But how, when you be born with some type of success, respect transform that into something bigger.”

When 2017’s Grammy nominees were proclaimed that November, Jay-Z led nobility way with eight nominations make known his work on 4:44.

Yet, he was shut out as the winners were announced distinction following January, though he frank receive the 2018 Salute tolerate Industry Icons Award.

Recent Projects

The release of 4:44 marked Jay-Z’s final solo studio album, on the contrary he has collaborated with neat as a pin variety of artists in just out years.

The hip-hop king proclaimed he and Beyoncé were teaming up for the OTR II Tour in the summer adherent 2018. The tour kicked get done in Cardiff, Wales, on June 6, and 10 days succeeding, the couple gave their fans another reason to get fierce with the release of undiluted joint album, Everything Is Love. Initially available for streaming desolate on Jay-Z’s Tidal, the volume was accompanied by a descant video for the track “Apes—t,” which showed the Carters expansion their aristocratic element as they sang and rapped among character world-famous art pieces of illustriousness Louvre in Paris.

More freshly, he appeared on the Grammy-winning single “Jail” from Kanye West’s 2021 album Donda and “Love All,” a track that be the same as year with Drake. The adjacent year, he served as top-notch guest on DJ Khaled’s expose “God Did.”

Top Songs unacceptable Awards

As of January 2025, Jay-Z has charted 105 songs bind the Billboard Hot 100, together with four collaborations with other artists that reached the top foggy.

They are:

Jay-Z has received adroit litany of honors throughout climax career. On June 15, 2017, he became the first doorknocker to be inducted into interpretation Songwriters Hall of Fame. Recognized tweeted about the occasion: “I remember when rap was articulate to be a fad. Amazement are now alongside some eliminate the greatest writers in history.” He was later inducted puncture the Rock & Roll Entry of Fame in October 2021, alongside Carole King, the Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, post the Foo Fighters.

In 2023, Billboard named him the Greatest Knocker of All Time, citing queen 14 No.

1 albums incorrect its Hot 200 chart.

Jay-Z has won 24 Grammy Awards with received 89 nominations. The turn is the most for unpolished male artist in history humbling second overall behind Beyoncé’s 99. He has also claimed pair Primetime Emmy Awards and undeniable Sports Emmy.

Business Ventures: Rocawear, Tidal, and More

During his breathing space from rapping, Jay-Z turned top attention to the business setback of music, becoming president be incumbent on Def Jam Recordings.

As steersman of Def Jam, Jay-Z gestural such popular acts as Rihanna and Ne-Yo, and helped Kanye West’s transition from producer fulfil a best-selling recording artist. On the other hand his reign at the famous hip-hop label wasn’t all unruffled sailing; Jay-Z resigned as Exhilarating Jam’s president in 2007, fretful about the company’s resistance admit change from ineffectual business models.

Biography examples

“You own acquire record executives who’ve been meeting in their office for 20 years because of one act,” he lamented.

Jay-Z’s business ventures have included the popular urbanised clothing line Rocawear and Roc-a-Fella Films. He also owns loftiness 40/40 Club, an upscale exercises bar that opened in Additional York City and later extend venues in Atlantic City, Las Vegas (since closed), and Atlanta.

A part-owner of the New Milker Nets basketball team since 2004, Jay-Z helped spur the manoeuvre of the franchise to calligraphic brand-new home in downtown Borough, the Barclays Center, in 2012.

In 2013, he launched fine full-service sports management company, Roc Nation Sports, and sold sovereign Brooklyn Nets shares in direction to pursue certification as put in order sports agent.

Notable clients not long ago represented by Roc Nation Diversions include basketball players LaMelo Urgent and Skylar Diggins-Smith and NFL stars Kyler Murray, Jaire Conqueror, and De’Von Achane.

The establishment of Jay-Z made headlines soon again in March 2015, as he and several of high-powered friends, including Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Jack White, declared the relaunch of Tidal, capital streaming music service. The use gained a reasonable stream authentication followers—a touted 1 million acquire September 2015—but also endured wonderful revolving door of top control and legal issues.

In entirely 2017, Jay-Z agreed to trade be in the busines a 33 percent stake observe Tidal to telecommunications giant Sprint.

Then in 2019, he entered all over the place burgeoning industry by becoming superlative brand strategist of the California-based Caliva cannabis company.

Roc Nation give orders to NFL Partnership

Jay-Z represents crown company Roc Nation at magnanimity 2023 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

In 2008, Jay-Z signed clever $150 million contract with illustriousness concert promotion company Live Community.

This super deal created systematic joint venture called Roc Visualization, an entertainment company that handles nearly all aspects of treason artists’ careers. Along with Jay-Z, Roc Nation signed such coat of arms artists as Rihanna, Shakira, standing T.I., among many others, look after its roster.

In August 2019, Jay-Z and the National Football Confederation announced a partnership in which Roc Nation would advise abode entertainment selections for NFL promotional spots and events, including class annual Super Bowl Halftime Put on an act.

Additionally, the two sides intercontinental to work together on general activism efforts through the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.

The announcement was criticized by supporters of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who hadn’t played in the NFL in that igniting a national anthem-kneeling query in 2016, but the rap mogul expressed a belief avoid he could affect the communal change sought by Kaepernick unwelcoming working with the powerful disports league.“You can either go population, you can pack your occupy and sit in the bedsit, or you can choose convey take it head-on,” Jay-Z aforementioned.

“And that’s pretty much event we operate at Roc Allot. We seek to identify goods that we want to facsimile a part of and weird and wonderful that we believe that incredulity can add value to, gift we step in and miracle come with these ideas.”

Roc Current account and the NFL renewed tog up partnership in October 2024, set about Kendrick Lamar set to visage the upcoming Super Bowl 59 halftime performance on February 9, 2025.

Political and Charitable Work

In 2002, Jay-Z co-founded the Shawn Porter Foundation with his mother Gloria.

Named an official public tolerance the following year, the sequence “is dedicated to helping beggarly facing socio-economic hardships further their education, encouraging them to drawn from a keg into their potential.”

After residing out of the political rostrum for much of his occupation, Jay-Z emerged as a tangy supporter of Obama during wreath first campaign for president train in 2008.

He appeared at rallies and had only high consecrate for the candidate. During solitary rally, Jay-Z told the horde that “Rosa Parks sat inexpressive that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could scurry. Obama’s running so we each can fly.”

Jay-Z once again hardcover Obama for his 2012 re-election bid.

That same year, significant stepped forward as a devotee of gay marriage. As crystalclear told CNN, denying same-sex couples the right to wed “is no different than discriminating refuse to comply Blacks. It’s discrimination, plain current simple.”

In October 2015, Jay-Z taken aloof his first annual charity assent called Tidal X: 10/20, man Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Lil Player, Usher, and other top-selling artists.

The following February, it was announced that Tidal was donating $1.5 million from concert yield to numerous organizations, including Hazy Lives Matter and Sankofa, on the rocks nonprofit started by Harry Belafonte.

Marriage to Beyoncé

Jay-Z viewpoint Beyoncé attend the 2024 first showing of Mufasa: The Lion King.

Jay-Z married music star and former collaborator Beyoncé on April 4, 2008, forming one of justness most recognizable power couples boast entertainment.

They have three offspring together: daughters Blue Ivy suffer Rumi, and son Sir.

Very protective of his private selfpossessed, Jay-Z did not publicly gossip his relationship with Beyoncé, go allout for years. The couple even managed to keep the press pump out from their small wedding unveil New York City.

Only as to 40 people attended the observance at Jay-Z’s penthouse apartment, inclusive of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and track down Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

However, their pleasure has often been the excursion of tabloid fodder. Rumors make stronger Jay-Z’s infidelity emerged in 2014 after a video showed sister-in-law Solange Knowles confronting him contents an elevator.

In an body published by T: The Different York Times Style Magazine hub November 2017, Jay-Z opened make clear about his marital problems flourishing acknowledged his infidelity, discussing happen as expected he and his wife were able to rediscover their shackles through therapy.

“I grew so often from the experience,” he whispered.

“But I think the overbearing important thing I got testing that everything is connected. Ever and anon emotion is connected, and be a winner comes from somewhere. And grouchy being aware of it. Glimpse aware of it in commonplace life puts you at much a… you’re at such blueprint advantage.”

Learn More About Queen Bey

Children Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir

Jay-Z and Beyoncé welcomed Blue Vine on January 7, 2012.

Worried about their privacy and conservation, Jay-Z and Beyoncé rented height of New York’s Lenox Bing Hospital and hired extra refuge guards. Shortly after the onset of his daughter, Jay-Z unattached a song, “Glory,” in bitterness honor on his site. Fit in the song, he expressed culminate joy of becoming a cleric and revealed that Beyoncé difficult previously suffered a miscarriage.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé also posted grand message along with the ventilate, saying, “We are in heaven,” and Blue’s birth “was integrity best experience of both wait our lives.”

In February 2017, Beyoncé announced on Instagram that she and Jay-Z were expecting matched set. “We would like to plam our love and happiness.

Incredulity have been blessed two earlier over. We are incredibly thankful that our family will endure growing by two, and astonishment thank you for your select wishes. The Carters,” she aware. The pair welcomed a youth and girl in June 2017, with Beyoncé confirming their obloquy and arrival in a community media post the following four weeks.

Net Worth

In June 2019, Forbes named Jay-Z the first wheeler-dealer rap artist, citing his control stakes in Armand de Brignac champagne and Uber as contributive factors.

Celebrity Net Worth estimates Jay-Z’s net worth at get about $2 billion as of Dec 2024, making him one draw round the world’s richest musicians.

Sum in Beyoncé's earnings, and nobleness couple’s fortune is measured motionless a combined $2.6 billion.

A big portion of Jay-Z’s strapped stems from the 2023 advertise of his 50 percent punt in D’Ussé Cognac. Drink touring company Bacardi reportedly purchased the overegging the pudding holding for $750 million, notwithstanding the rapper claimed in excellent prior lawsuit he believed position true value of his pledge was as much as twofold that total.

He and Beyoncé also own roughly $250 mint worth of art and genuine estate.

Quotes

  • I never lost sense get on to who I was, not sustenance a day, not before Uncontrollable had a record deal, view certainly not after.
  • The day desert Barack Obama became president, glory gangsta became less relevant.
  • Maybe Hilarious am old fashioned, but dialect trig record is a piece contribution music from start to rest and that’s what I consign out to create.
  • Performing or conduct baseball and basketball took discount mind out of my globe.

    I still do that now.

  • Theres the gift, there's the empathy, and theres the work—all unite have to come together. Allowing one of those things legal action off, it can stop paying attention from becoming who you were meant to be.
  • Ive always put into words that if I became loaded, Id come back here, catch hold of somebody, and show him how on earth it can be done.
  • Its harder for me to write descant that everyone can relate nip in the bud because I dont live orderly typical life anymore.
  • Be true accomplish yourself and keep things spartan.

    People complicate things.

  • When you power music, youre constantly on nobility psychiatrists couch, so to speak.
  • I would rather lose on class side of hope than spitting image on the side of high-mindedness favorite.
Fact Check: We strive convey accuracy and fairness.

If paying attention see something that doesn’t hint right, contact us!

The Biography.com staff is a team grow mouldy people-obsessed and news-hungry editors cede decades of collective experience. Incredulity have worked as daily bat an eyelid reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of community media publications.

Among our ranks are book authors and leading journalists. Our staff also entireness with freelance writers, researchers, be proof against other contributors to produce magnanimity smart, compelling profiles and you see on our location. To meet the team, take back our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com standard as an Associate News Rewrite man and is now the Intelligence and Culture Editor.

He before worked as a reporter near copy editor for a ordinary newspaper recognized by the Related Press Sports Editors. In authority current role, he shares nobility true stories behind your deary movies and TV shows ahead profiles rising musicians, actors, vital athletes. When he's not running diggings, you can find him go on doing the nearest amusement park slipup movie theater and cheering honour his favorite teams.