Jay-Z

Jay-Z (2011)

Jay-Z (born December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn , New York ; real name Shawn Corey Carter ) is an American rapper , record producer and entrepreneur. He sometimes works under the pseudonyms Hov, Hova, J-Hova and Jigga. Jay-Z was the chief executive officer of Def Jam record company . Carter now owns the Rocawear fashion company and the Armand de Brignac champagne brand . Jay-Z has been married to R&B singer Beyoncé since 2008 .

Life

Jay-Z with his wife Beyoncé .

Raised by a single mother, Jay-Z was shaped by the harsh customs of New York Street. His stage name was originally "Jazzy" until he realized that there were already various artists with this name. After several unsuccessful attempts to start a career as an artist, Jay-Z finally founded the record company Roc-a-Fella Records with Damon Dash , through which he released his debut album Reasonable Doubt . Although this found some approval in the scene, it did not bring any commercial success. It contained four singles: Is not No Nigga (with Foxy Brown ) Can not Knock the Hustle (with Mary J. Blige ), Dead Presidents (which is a sample of the rapper Nas I'm Out for Dead Presidents to Represent Me contained ) and Feelin 'It .

In 1997, the follow-up album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 placed third on the US charts and laid the foundation for his financial success with a wider audience. A year later Jay-Z released the album Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life , shifting his focus from rap music to a mainstream audience. The singles Can I Get A… , Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) , Jigga What ?, Jigga Who? , It's Alright and Money Ain't a Thang decoupled.

In 1999, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter was released, a commercially successful album that gave further cause for criticism of the pop-oriented style of his music from the rap scene. Guest musicians on his next album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia include Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek , Amil , Scarface , Just Blaze , R. Kelly , Kanye West , The Neptunes and Snoop Dogg .

The next hit for Jay-Z was the 2001 album The Blueprint , followed by an unplugged album. Then the album Best of Both Worlds with R. Kelly was released. In 2002, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse came out a double album.

Jay-Z in March 2007

In 2003 Jay-Z toured with rappers like 50 Cent , Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul while working on his album The Black Album . A separate a cappella version of this was also produced to encourage remixes by other musicians. The best known and most controversial of these projects was 2004 The Gray Album by DJ Danger Mouse , who combined The Black Album with the White Album of the Beatles to create a mashup album. The record company EMI took legal action against the Gray album , which sparked the Internet protest action Gray Tuesday . Also in 2004, a collaboration album called Collision Course was created in collaboration with Linkin Park as part of the MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups .

In addition to musical activities, Jay-Z also tried his hand at the fashion industry with the designer label Roc-a-Wear . He also brought out a shoe collection called S. Carter and Shawn Carter together with the sports company Reebok . He is also a co-owner of the NBA basketball team Brooklyn Nets .

In December 2004 he was named the new president and chief executive officer of the hip-hop label Def Jam after Roc-a-Fella Records had completely taken over. Jay-Z's contract with Def Jam expired in late 2007 and was not renewed. He was succeeded in June 2008 by Shakir Stewart .

Jay-Z's nephew, Colleek D. Luckie, died on January 7, 2005 as a result of a car accident. Jay-Z had a close bond with him. In 2006 he reconciled after several years of dispute with Nas , who was featured on his album American Gangster . After the announced end of his musical career in the form of the Black Album , which was to be his last, his comeback album Kingdom Come was released on November 21, 2006. In autumn 2006 Jay-Z toured with Memphis Bleek and some artists from his label Roc-A-Fella Records through Europe, Australia, Japan and Africa on the Water for Life Tour , with the aim of making safe drinking water accessible to families in Africa .

In August 2007, reported Forbes Magazine that Jay-Z with an estimated annual income of 36 million US dollar earners in the field of hip-hop is. Between June 2009 and June 2010, Jay-Z earned $ 63 million, according to Forbes. The magazine estimates his net worth at 150 million US dollars in 2009.

On April 4, 2008, he married the singer Beyoncé , with whom he was listed by Forbes Magazine as the best-paid couple in Hollywood. On June 5, 2009, the promo single DOA (Death of Auto-Tune) was released for his album The Blueprint 3 , which was released on September 8 by Roc Nation . With over two million sales, it was more successful than its two predecessors. Most of the recordings had taken place in Hawaii . The first official single was Run This Town , which he recorded with Rihanna and Kanye West , and in 2010 the song won two Grammys . The next single, Empire State of Mind , became his most successful song and stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.

Originally announced as an EP , Jay-Z released the album Watch the Throne together with Kanye West as The Throne in August 2011 . Both rappers had worked together regularly since 2000; Jay-Z was also featured on two tracks from West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . The work was recorded in New York, Sydney, Paris and Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England, among others . The song H • A • M , which was received differently by the critics, and the more successful piece Otis were decoupled beforehand. For the latter, Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding was used. Unusually for an album with much media coverage , Watch the Throne was not leaked in advance due to increased security measures . With a chart entry at number one in Switzerland, number two in Germany and number twelve in Austria, Watch the Throne is the most successful work of the two artists in German-speaking countries. In the US, it was West's fifth album and Jay-Z's twelfth album. It set a record in the iTunes Store with 290,000 downloads in the first week. With almost 1.2 million sales, it landed at number 14 on the American annual charts. The artwork for the album was provided by Givenchy star designer Riccardo Tisci . The single, Niggas in Paris , became his eleventh top 5 hit in the US and later went four times platinum.

Starting on September 28th, Jay-Z played a total of eight concerts through October 6th for the inauguration of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York . The basketball club Brooklyn Nets now plays there , in which he also holds shares. A live album was released for the concert series under the name Jay-Z Live in Brooklyn .

The fifth game of the NBA finals series between Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs , which took place on June 16, 2013, aired a Samsung-sponsored video at halftime that featured Jay-Z with producers Timbaland , Pharrell Williams , Swizz Beatz and Rick Rubin in the studio shows. His twelfth studio album was advertised with the name Magna Carta Holy Grail . This should, as widely propagated by those involved, "make history" by being available free of charge to one million Samsung smartphone users as early as July 4th and only available as a CD or download in stores on July 8th. Samsung bought a million downloadable albums from Jay-Z for several million US dollars. The great media attention was mostly limited to the spectacular promotion and publication, the album was described as rather average from a musical point of view. In the US, thanks to the mobile app , Magna Carta Holy Grail was the first album to go platinum on the day of its release, July 9th, and later became its thirteenth number one album. In Great Britain as well as in the German-speaking countries it became his highest-ranked solo album. Also on July 9th, his appearance at Coachella 2010 was released as a live album via iTunes in some countries .

Since June 25, 2014 he has been on an on-the-run tour together with his wife Beyoncé, whom he has already accompanied on individual concerts on previous tours such as The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour . This was advertised on May 18 with an elaborate trailer in which actors such as Sean Penn , Don Cheadle and Blake Lively have guest appearances. In the course of a second joint tour, the couple released a collaboration album for the first time in 2018 with Everything Is Love under the name The Carters .

Jay-Z is a billionaire , according to Forbes .

Reputation in the scene

The albums Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint are considered classics within the hip-hop scene. His album The Blueprint appears in the annual top lists of various music magazines, such as Rolling Stone , New Musical Express , Spin and Pitchfork Media . He is also considered one of the “most commercially successful black musicians of his time”. In a 2009 interview, The Game criticized Jay-Z's behavior as no longer age appropriate.

The Rolling Stone listed Jay-Z at 88th of the 100 greatest musicians and 68th of the 100 best songwriters of all time .

Discography

→ Main article : Jay-Z / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1996	Reasonable doubt	-	-	-	UK- silver UK	US23 platinum (18 weeks)US	First published: June 25, 1996 Sales: + 1,060,000
1997	In My Lifetime, Vol. 1	-	-	-	UK78 (1 week) UK	US3 platinum (24 weeks)US	First published: November 4, 1997 Sales: + 1,000,000
1998	Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life	DE76 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	UK- silver UK	US1 × 5 Quintuple platinum (69 weeks)US	First published: September 29, 1998 Sales: + 5,160,000
1999	Vol. 3 ... Life and Times of S. Carter	-	-	CH75 (3 weeks) CH	UK- silver UK	US1 × 3 Triple platinum (47 weeks)US	First published: December 13, 1999 Sales: + 3,110,000
2000	The Dynasty: Roc La Familia	DE98 (1 week) DE	-	CH89 (1 week) CH	UK86 silver (2 weeks)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (33 weeks)US	First published: October 31, 2000 Sales: + 2,060,000
2001	The blueprint	DE55 (3 weeks) DE	-	CH59 (5 weeks) CH	UK30th gold (10 weeks)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (35 weeks)US	First published: September 11, 2001 Sales: + 2,200,000
2002	The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse	DE61 (7 weeks) DE	-	CH52 (13 weeks) CH	UK23 gold (16 weeks)UK	US1 × 3 Triple platinum (26 weeks)US	First published: November 12, 2002 Sales: + 3,300,000
2003	The Black Album	DE47 (8 weeks) DE	-	CH29 (9 weeks) CH	UK34 platinum (24 weeks)UK	US1 × 3 Triple platinum (61 weeks)US	First published: November 14, 2003 Sales: + 3,400,000
2006	Kingdom Come	DE76 (1 week) DE	-	CH17 (5 weeks) CH	UK35 gold (5 weeks)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (19 weeks)US	First published: November 21, 2006 Sales: + 2,300,000
2007	American gangster	DE99 (1 week) DE	-	CH17 (4 weeks) CH	UK30th silver (5 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (26 weeks)US	First published: November 6, 2007 Sales: + 1,110,000
2009	The Blueprint 3	DE22 (6 weeks) DE	AT37 (2 weeks) AT	CH12 (26 weeks) CH	UK4th platinum (38 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (55 weeks)US	First published: September 8, 2009 Sales: +3,000,000
2013	Magna Carta ... Holy Grail	DE9 (9 weeks) DE	AT14 (4 weeks) AT	CH1 (18 weeks) CH	UK1 gold (15 weeks)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (37 weeks)US	First published: July 4th, 2013 Sales: + 2,180,000
2017	4:44	DE15 (3 weeks) DE	AT11 (2 weeks) AT	CH5 (7 weeks) CH	UK3 silver (9 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (26 weeks)US	First published: June 30, 2017 Sales: + 1,060,000

Filmography

• 1998: Streets Is Watching
• 2000: Hard Knock Life
• 2002: State Property
• 2002: Paper Soldiers
• 2004: Fade to Black
• 2006: Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life

Awards

Grammy Awards

• 1999: Best Rap Album : Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
• 2001: Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Big Pimpin (with UGK )
• 2004: Best R&B Song: Crazy in Love (with Beyoncé )
• 2004: Best Rap / Song Collaboration: Crazy in Love (with Beyoncé)
• 2005: Best Rap Solo Performance: 99 Problems
• 2006: Best Rap / Song Collaboration: Numb / Encore (with Linkin Park )
• 2008: Best Rap / Song Collaboration: Umbrella ( Rihanna feat. Jay-Z)
• 2009: Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Swagger Like Us (Jay-Z & TI feat.Lil'Wayne & Kanye West )
• 2010: Best Rap Solo Performance: DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)
• 2010: Best Rap / Sung Collaboration: Run This Town (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)
• 2010: Best Rap Song : Run This Town (Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West)
• 2011: Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group: On to the Next One (Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz)
• 2011: Best Rap / Sung Collaboration: Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z, Alicia Keys)
• 2011: Best Rap Song: Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z, Alicia Keys)
• 2014 : Best Rap / Sung Collaboration: Holy Grail (Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake )
• 2014: Best Music Video: Suit & Tie (Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z)
• 2015 : Best R&B Song: Drunk in Love
• 2015: Best R&B Performance: Drunk in Love (Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z)

Further nominations

• 1999: Best Rap Solo Performance: Hard Knock Life
• 1999: Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Money Ain't a Thang (with JD)
• 2001: Best Rap Album: Vol. 3: The Life and Times of S. Carter
• 2002: Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Change the Game (with Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek & Static)
• 2002: Best Rap Solo Performance: Izzo (HOVA)
• 2003: Best Male Rap Solo Performance: Song Cry
• 2004: Best Rap Album: The Blueprint 2: The Gift & Curse
• 2004: Best Rap Song: Excuse Me Miss (with Pharrell Williams )
• 2004: Best Rap / Song Collaboration: Frontin (with Pharrell Williams )
• 2004: Record of the Year: Crazy in Love (with Beyoncé )
• 2005: Best Rap Album: The Black Album
• 2005: Best Rap Song: 99 Problems

Soul Train Music Award

• 2005: Soul Train Music Award for Best R & B / Soul or Rap Music Video: 99 Problems
• 2007: Soul Train Music Award for Best R & B / Soul or Rap Music Video: Show Me What You Got

Web links

Commons : Jay-Z  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official German website
• Roc-a-Fella Records
• Official website (English)
• Jay-Z at Allmusic (English)
• Jay-Z in the Internet Movie Database (English)

swell

1. ↑ News report on rap.de ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ http://www.rocafella.com/News.aspx?item=101361§ionid=137
3. ↑ Jay-Z top earner in hip-hop ( Memento from December 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Article at RauteMusik.FM
4. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/53/celeb-100-10_Jay-Z_WRB5.html
5. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/06/richest-black-americans-busienss-billionaires-richest-black-americans_slide_18.html
6. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1629585/jayz-beyonce-named-topearning-couple-entertainment.jhtml
7. ↑ The new supergroup from Kanye West and Jay-Z. In: urban.de. July 24, 2011, accessed August 31, 2011 . 
8. ↑ “Watch the Throne” was not leaked. (No longer available online.) In: rap.de. August 9, 2011, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved September 2, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Kanye West and Jay-Z break iTunes record. In: stern.de. August 16, 2011, accessed August 31, 2011 . 
10. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/06/16/jay-z-new-album-samsung/2429537/
11. ↑ Platinum status on the day of publication. In: sueddeutsche.de. July 2, 2013, accessed March 9, 2018 . 
12. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/magna-carta-holy-grail/jay-z
13. ↑ http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/
14. ↑ RUN trailer on YouTube ( Memento from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on August 10, 2014)
15. ↑ faz.net: From drug dealer to billionaire
16. ↑ forbes.com: Artist, Icon, Billionaire: How Jay-Z Created His $ 1 Billion Fortune
17. ^ Steve Huey: Reasonable Doubt - AllMusic Review. AllMusic , accessed February 4, 2017 . 
18. ^ Jason Birchmeier: The Blueprint - AllMusic Review. AllMusic, accessed February 4, 2017 . 
19. ^ Thomas Lindemann: The Blueprint in: Rolling Stone special issue Sounds. Popular music edition. No. 1/2008, p. 102, ISSN  1618-5129
20. ↑ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/40568-staff-list-the-top-100-albums-of-2000-04-part-two/page_3 ( Memento from June 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
21. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 7, 2017 . 
23. ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 . 
24. ↑ Ryan Book: The Best-Selling Labor Day Albums: Beyonce, Jay Z and More. In: The Music Times. September 2, 2013, accessed July 21, 2019 .