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Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, ; alternately stylized as JAY-Z, Jaÿ-Z (appears on ''Reasonable Doubt''), Jay Z, and Jay:Z throughout his career.}} is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and ''Vibe'' in 2023. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. He is the richest musician, worth $2.6 billion as of 2025.

A protégé of the fellow New York City-based rapper Jaz-O, Jay-Z began recording music in the late 1980s. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 to release his first two studio albums ''Reasonable Doubt'' (1996) and ''In My Lifetime, Vol. 1'' (1997), both of which received acclaim. His 11 subsequent albums, including ''The Blueprint'' (2001), ''The Black Album'' (2003), ''American Gangster'' (2007), and ''4:44'' (2017), debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200. His discography also includes the collaborative albums ''The Best of Both Worlds'' (2002) and ''Unfinished Business'' (2004) with R. Kelly, ''Collision Course'' (2004) with Linkin Park, ''Watch the Throne'' (2011) with Kanye West, and ''Everything Is Love'' (2018) with Beyoncé. Jay-Z has 14 number-one albums, tied with Drake for the second-most for a solo artist. He has topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on four occasions: once as a lead artist with his 2009 single "Empire State of Mind" (featuring Alicia Keys), and thrice with his guest performances on "Heartbreaker" (1999) by Mariah Carey, "Crazy in Love" (2003) by Beyoncé, and "Umbrella" (2007) by Rihanna.

Jay-Z served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, during which he helped launch the careers of successful artists including West, Rihanna, and Ne-Yo. He co-founded Rocawear, a clothing retailer, in 1999, and founded the 40/40 Club, a luxury bar chain, in 2003. As both grew into multi-million-dollar businesses, he launched Roc Nation, a multi-disciplinary entertainment agency, in 2008. In 2015, he acquired the technology company Aspiro and led the expansion of its media streaming service Tidal. Through his business ventures, Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019. He married Beyoncé in 2008; they have three children.

One of the best-selling music artists with 140 million records sold, Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards, the eighth-most of all time and the most of any hip-hop artist. He is the recipient of the NAACP's President's Award and three Emmy Awards (including two Primetime Emmy Awards), in addition to being nominated for a Tony Award. Ranked by ''Billboard'' as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time, Jay-Z was the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the first solo living rapper inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ''Time'' named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. Provided by Wikipedia