Tim Zubek 4th Period

Jay-Z. Jay-Z is a famous American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and actor. Shawn Corey Carter, known for his stage name Jay-Z, was born December 4, 1969. He was won 13 grammys and has made 450 million dollars and two of his albums are considered landmarks in the genre. Jay-Z is ranked as one of the greatest rappers of all-time. He is considered a hip-hop artist but raps. He is ranked the 4th best rapper behind Eminem, nelly and 50 cent. Shawns early life wasnt the best. He was abandoned by his father and in 1982 he shot his borther for stealing his jewelry. He attended 3 different highschools and didnt graduate. His music started from banging beets on the kitchen table, his Mom then bought him a boombox for his birthday which he started writing lyrics and was called Jazzy in his neighborhood which lead to his stage name. In 1994 he became known to a wide audience. Jay-Zs mugical career started out rough. In 1995, after not being signed by an labels, Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs created Roc-A-Fella Records as there own independent label. His first album, Reasonable Doubt, was distributed in 1996. The album reached 28 on billboard 200. He stated his earliest exposure to music was through his parents records of soul artists such as Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. He says "I grew up around music, listening to all types of people... I'm into music that has soul in it, whether it be rap, R&B, pop music, whatever. As long as I can feel their soul through the wax, that's what I really listen to." He often samples music from these artists into his music. People call Jay-Z the king of flow, because of how well he can control the flow of his music. The music Jay-Z performs is Hip-Hop, similar to pop and dance. The rapping he performs in his music includes the same instruments as other genres, hip-hop, pop, dance, even rock. Jay-Z was influenced by music in general and became famous for his own.