• How Many Albums Jay Z Sold
• Gloria Carter

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969),^[6] known professionally as Jay-Z (/ˈdʒeɪˈziː/; stylized as JAY-Z),^[a] is an American rapper, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and record executive. Considered among the best rappers of all time,^[9] he is regarded as one of the world's most significant cultural icons and has been a global figure in popular culture for over two decades.^[10][11][12]

Born and raised in New York City, Jay-Z first began his musical career after founding the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, and subsequently released his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. The album was released to widespread critical success, and solidified his standing in the music industry. He has gone onto release twelve additional albums, which have all attained generally positive critical reception and universal commercial success, with The Blueprint (2001) and The Black Album (2003) albums later being heralded as modern musical classics.^[13][14] He has also released the full-length collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) and Everything Is Love (2018) with Kanye West and wife Beyoncé, respectively.^[15]

Outside of his musical career, Jay-Z has also attained significant success and media attention for his career as a businessman. In 1999, he founded the clothing retailer Rocawear,^[16] and in 2003, he founded the luxury sports bar chain 40/40 Club. Both businesses have grown to become multi-million dollar corporations, and allowed Jay-Z to fund the start-up for the entertainment company Roc Nation, which was founded in 2008. In 2015, he acquired the tech company Aspiro, and took charge of their media streaming service Tidal, which has since become the world's third-largest online streaming company.^[17] His marriage to musician Beyoncé has also been a source of substantial media attention.^[5]

JAY-Z's decision to keep his 2007 album based on the Denzel Washington film 'American Gangster' off of the iTunes store was founded in his distaste for single track sales diluting the importance.

Jay-Z is among the most critically acclaimed musicians and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 100 million records sold worldwide.^[18] He has won a total of 22 Grammy Awards, the most by a rapper, and holds the record for the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200, with 13.^[19] He has been ranked by Billboard and fellow music publication Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time.^[20][21] In 2017, he became the first rapper to be honored into the Songwriters Hall of Fame,^[22] and in 2018, received the commemorative 'Salute to Industry Icons' award at the 60th Grammy Awards.^[23]

• 2Music career
• 3Musical style
• 5Personal life
• 8Tours

Early life

Carter was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and was raised in Marcy Houses, a housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.^[24] After their father, Adnis Reeves,^[25][26] abandoned the family, Shawn and his three siblings were raised by their mother, Gloria Carter. Reeves would later meet and reconcile with Jay-Z before dying in 2003. Jay-Z claims in his lyrics that in 1982 at age 12, he shot his older brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry.^[27][28] Along with future rapper AZ, Carter attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn until it was closed down. He then attended the nearby George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School with future rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, followed by a stint at Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, though he did not graduate.^[29] According to his interviews and lyrics, during this period he sold crack cocaine^[28] and was shot at three times.^[27]

According to his mother, Carter used to wake up his siblings at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. She bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling and writing lyrics.^[30] Known as 'Jazzy' around the neighborhood, Carter later adopted the showbiz/stage name 'Jay-Z' in homage to his mentor Jaz-O.^[24][31]

Jay-Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-O's early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including 'The Originators' and 'Hawaiian Sophie.'^[2] Jay-Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s.^[32] He first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut 'Show and Prove' on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddy's Home. Jay-Z has been referred to as Big Daddy Kane's hype man during this period,^[33] although Kane explains that he didn't fill the traditional hype man role, and was instead basically making cameo appearances on stage. 'When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage.'^[34][35] The young Jay-Z appeared on a popular song by Big L, 'Da Graveyard', and on Mic Geronimo's 'Time to Build', which also featured early appearances by DMX and Ja Rule in 1995. His first official rap single was called 'In My Lifetime', for which he released a music video in 1995. An unreleased music video was also produced for the B-side 'I Can't Get with That.'^[36]

Music career

1995–1997: Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1

With no major label to give him a record deal, Jay-Z sold CDs out of his car^[27] and, with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs, created Roc-A-Fella Records as an independent label in 1995. After striking a distribution deal with Priority, Jay-Z released his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt with beats from acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Super DJ Clark Kent and an appearance by The Notorious B.I.G.. The album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, and was generally favored by critics.^[24] This album would later be included in Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' as No. 248 and eventually reach platinum status.^[37]

After reaching a new distribution deal with Def Jam in 1997, Jay-Z released his follow-up In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Produced by Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs, it sold better than his previous effort. Jay-Z later explained that the album was made during one of the worst periods of his life when he was reeling from the death of his close friend, The Notorious B.I.G. The album was a personal revelation for Jay-Z as he told the stories of his difficult upbringing.^[38] The album's glossy production stood as a contrast to his first release, and some dedicated fans felt he had 'sold out.' However, the album did feature some beats from producers who had worked with him on Reasonable Doubt, namely DJ Premier and Ski. Like its predecessor, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 earned platinum status in the United States.^[37]

1998–2000: Vol. 2..., Vol. 3... and The Dynasty

In 1998, Jay-Z released Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life which spawned the biggest hit of his career at the time, 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'. He relied more on flow and wordplay, and he continued with his penchant for mining beats from the popular producers of the day such as Swizz Beatz, an upstart in-house producer for Ruff Ryders, and Timbaland.^[39] Other producers included DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, The 45 King, and Kid Capri. Charting hits from this album included 'Can I Get A...', featuring Ja Rule and Amil, and 'Nigga What, Nigga Who', also featuring Amil. Vol. 2 would eventually become Jay-Z's most commercially successful album; it was certified 5× Platinum in the United States and has to date sold over five million copies.^[37] The album went on to win a Grammy Award, although Jay-Z boycotted the ceremony protesting DMX's failure to garner a Grammy nomination.^[40]

In 1999, Jay-Z dueted with Mariah Carey on 'Heartbreaker', a song from her seventh album, Rainbow. In that same year, Jay-Z released Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The album proved successful and sold over 3 million copies.^[37]Vol. 3's most successful single was 'Big Pimpin', featuring UGK.

In 2000, Jay-Z released The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, which was originally intended to become a compilation album for Roc-A-Fella artists but Def Jam turned into a Jay-Z album.^[41] The album helped to introduce newcomer producers The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Bink, which have all gone on to achieve notable success. This is also the first album where Jay-Z utilizes a more soulful sound than his previous albums. The Dynasty sold over two million units in the U.S. alone.^[37]

2001–2002: Feud with Nas, The Blueprint and The Blueprint²

In 2001,Jay-Z spoke out against Prodigy after he took an issue with a Jay-Z line from 'Money, Cash, Hoes' that he felt alluded disparagingly to Mobb Deep and Prodigy's dispute with Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and Death Row Records. He later performed the song 'Takeover', at Summer Jam 2001, which initially attacked Prodigy and revealed photos of Prodigy dressed like Michael Jackson.^[42] A line at the end of 'Takeover' referred to Nas, who criticized him on 'We Will Survive'.^[43] Nas responded with a diss track called 'Ether' and Jay-Z straightaway added a verse to 'Takeover' which dissed Nas and would start a feud between the two rappers. The feud had ended by 2005, Jay-Z stated Mark Pitts had helped them settle the feud.^[44]

On September 11, 2001, hours before the September 11 attacks, Jay-Z released his sixth studio album, The Blueprint, which received a coveted 5 mic review from hip-hop magazine The Source. Written in just two days,^[45] the album sold more than 427,000 copies, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200^[46] and reached 2x platinum status in the U.S.^[37] It was lauded for its production and its balance of 'mainstream' and 'hardcore' rap. Eminem was the only guest rapper on the album, producing and rapping on the song 'Renegade'. Four tracks were produced by Kanye West and the album represents one of West's first major breaks in the industry. The Blueprint includes the popular songs 'Izzo (H.O.V.A.)', 'Girls, Girls, Girls', 'Jigga That Nigga', and 'Song Cry'. As of February 2012, the album had sold 2,700,000 copies worldwide, even though its initial success had been overshadowed by the tragic events of 9/11.^[47] In 2019, The Blueprint was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'.^[48]

In October 2001, Jay-Z pleaded guilty to stabbing record producer Lance Rivera at the Kit Kat Klub in New York City in 1999.^[49] For this second degree felony, Jay-Z was sentenced to three years probation.^[50]

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^[37] and surpassing The Blueprint.^[51] 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 Beyoncé. 'Guns & Roses', featuring Lenny Kravitz, and 'Hovi Baby' were two successful radio singles as well. The album also contained the tracks 'A Dream', featuring Faith Evans and the late The Notorious B.I.G.; and 'The Bounce', featuring Kanye West. The Blueprint 2.1 featured tracks that do not appear on The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, such as 'Stop', 'La La La (Excuse Me Again)', 'What They Gonna Do, Part II' and 'Beware' produced by and featuring Panjabi MC.^[52]

2003–2005: The Black Album and initial retirement

After visiting the south of France,^[53] Jay-Z announced work on his eighth studio album The Black Album at the opening of the 40/40 Club.^[54] He worked with several producers including Just Blaze, The Neptunes, Kanye West, Timbaland, Eminem, DJ Quik, 9th Wonder, The Buchanans, and Rick Rubin. Notable songs on the album included 'What More Can I Say', 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder', 'Change Clothes', and '99 Problems'. The Black Album has sold more than 3 million copies in the US.^[37] Jay-Z collaborated with R. Kelly and released a collaborative studio album, The Best of Both Worlds.

On November 25, 2003, Jay-Z held a concert—billed as a 'retirement party' at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which would later be the focus of his film Fade to Black. All proceeds went to charity. Other performers included collaborators like the Roots (in the form of his backing band), Missy Elliott, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Siegel, Freeway, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Twista, Ghostface Killah, Foxy Brown, Pharrell Williams and R. Kelly with special appearances by Voletta Wallace and Afeni Shakur, the mothers of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur respectively.^[55] While Jay-Z had attested to a retirement from making new studio albums, various side projects and appearances soon followed. Included in these were a greatest hits record, as well as the release and tour of Unfinished Business, the second collaborative album between Jay-Z and R. Kelly.

In 2004, Jay-Z collaborated with rock group Linkin Park, in which they released their collaborative remixEPCollision Course, which featured mashups of both artists' songs, as well as a concert DVD. The album's only single, 'Numb/Encore', went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and was performed with Linkin Park live at the Grammys, with a special appearance by Paul McCartney, who added verses from the song 'Yesterday'. The EP sold over 1 million copies in the US.^[37] Jay-Z was the executive producer of The Rising Tied, the debut album of Fort Minor, the hip hop side project of Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda. Jay-Z also planned to retire in 2004.^[56]

Later in 2004, Jay-Z was named president of Def Jam Records, which led to Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs selling their remaining interests in Roc-A-Fella Records and Jay-Z taking control of both of the companies.^[57] Reportedly this major industry move was prompted by disagreements between Jay-Z and Dash as to what direction Roc-A-Fella could undertake.^[58] The publicized split between Jay-Z, Dash, and Biggs led to the former partners sending jabs at each other in interviews.^[59]

2005–2007: Kingdom Come and American Gangster

On October 27, 2005, Jay-Z headlined New York's Power 105.1 annual concert, Powerhouse. The concert was entitled the 'I Declare War' concert leading to intense speculation in the weeks preceding the event on whom exactly Jay-Z would declare war. As he had previously 'declared war' on other artists taking lyrical shots at him at other events, many believed that the Powerhouse show would represent an all-out assault by Jay-Z upon his rivals.^[60] The theme of the concert was Jay-Z's position as President and CEO of Def Jam, complete with an on-stage mock-up of the Oval Office. Many artists made appearances such as the old roster of Roc-A-Fella records artists, as well as Ne-Yo, Teairra Marí, T.I., Young Jeezy, Akon, Kanye West, Paul Wall, The LOX, and Diddy.^[61]

At the conclusion of the concert, Jay-Z put many arguments to rest to the surprise of hip hop fans. The most significant development in this show was closure to the infamous hip hop rivalry between Jay-Z and Nas. The two former rivals shook hands and shared the stage together to perform Jay-Z's 'Dead Presidents' blended with Nas's song 'The World is Yours'.^[62]

Jay-Z returned with his comeback album on November 21, 2006, titled Kingdom Come.^[63] Jay-Z's comeback single, 'Show Me What You Got', was leaked on the Internet in early October 2006, scheduled to be released later on that month, received heavy air-play after its leak, causing the FBI to step in and investigate.^[64] Jay-Z worked with video director Hype Williams, and the single's video was directed by F. Gary Gray. The album features production from Just Blaze, Pharrell, Kanye West, Dr. Dre and Coldplay's Chris Martin (single entitled 'Beach Chair').^[65][66] The first week saw 680,000 sales of the CD, which Entertainment Weekly said was 'the highest single-week total in Jay's decade long career'.^[67] This album has sold 2 million copies in the US.^[37]

Jay-Z released his tenth album entitled American Gangster on November 6, 2007. After viewing the Ridley Scott film of the same name, Jay-Z was heavily inspired to create a new 'concept' album that depicts his experiences as a street-hustler.^[68]The album is not the film's official soundtrack, although it was distributed by Def Jam.^[69]Jay-Z's American Gangster depicts his life in correlation to the movie American Gangster. At the start of the album's first single, 'Blue Magic', Jay-Z offers a dealer's manifesto while making references to political figures of the late 1980s with the lyric: 'Blame Reagan for making me to into a monster, blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra, I ran contraband that they sponsored, before this rhymin' stuff we was in concert.'^[70] Also notable about the 'Blue Magic' music video was Jay-Z flashing €500 euro notes; Harvard Business School professor Rawi Abdelal called this a 'turning point in American pop culture's response to globalization.' The album has sold 1 million copies in the US.^[37] On January 1, 2008, Jay-Z resigned as president of Def Jam.^[71]

2008–2011: The Blueprint 3 and Watch the Throne

In the winter of 2008 it was announced that Jay-Z become the first major hip hop artist to headline Britain's 2008 Glastonbury Festival.^[72][73] Tickets sold out quickly. Former headliner Noel Gallagher of Oasis condemned the festival organizers for choosing Jay-Z to headline a traditionally guitar-driven festival. 'I'm sorry, but Jay-Z?' Gallagher asked, swearing. 'No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of, kind of, guitar music, do you know what I mean? And even when they throw the odd curve balls in on a Sunday night—you go, 'Kylie Minogue? I don't know about that', do you know what I mean?—but I'm not having hip hop at Glastonbury, no way, no, no. It's wrong.'^[74] As controversy mounted, Jay-Z replied, 'We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip hop has put in its work like any other form of music. This headline show is just a natural progression. Rap music is still evolving. We have to respect each other's genre of music and move forward.'^[75] Jay-Z opened his Glastonbury set with a tongue-in-cheek cover of Oasis's iconic song 'Wonderwall',^[76] and went on to deliver a performance heralded as a successful response to pre-festival criticism.^[77]

He also headlined many other summer festivals in 2008, including Roskilde Festival in Denmark,^[78]Hove Festival in Norway^[79] and O2 Wireless Festival in London.^[80] During Kanye West's concert of August 6, 2008 at Madison Square Garden, Jay-Z came out to perform a new song and he and Kanye proclaimed that it was to be on The Blueprint 3.^[81] 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^[82] and also partnered up with production team Stargate to start a record label called StarRoc.^[83][84] Jay-Z's 11th studio album The Blueprint 3 was originally to be released on September 11, 2009,^[85] but was instead released in North America on September 8, 2009, due to increasing anticipation.^[86] Its international release followed on September 14.^[87] It is his 11th album to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200^[88] and has surpassed Elvis Presley's previous record, making him the current solo artist record holder.^[89]

On October 9, 2009, Jay-Z kicked off his tour for The Blueprint 3, during which he supported his new album in North America. In a Shave Magazine review of his performance at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Jake Tomlinson expressed that 'It was the type of smooth performance you would expect from the hip-hop superstar.' The review gave this performance 4 stars. His North American tour continued until November 22, 2009.^[90] At his concert on November 8, 2009, at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, Rihanna joined him on stage and performed 'Hard' for the very first time, then performed 'Run This Town' with Jay-Z.^[91] Among his success, Jay-Z has ventured into producing Broadway shows. Along with Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Jay-Z helped produced the play Fela!, a musical celebrating the work of the late Nigerian star Fela Kuti.^[92] Jay-Z said he was inspired by the power of Kuti's work and his life story, which resulted in his interest to help produce the musical.^[92]Fela! is a story about an African pioneer and political activist who made his first moves on the scene during the 1970s.^[92]

On January 23, 2010, Jay-Z released a track, 'Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)', with Rihanna, and U2's Bono and The Edge, as well as performing it at the Hope For Haiti Now telethon.^[93] In June 2010, Eminem and Jay-Z announced they would perform together in a pair of concerts in Detroit and New York. The event was dubbed The Home & Home Tour. The first two concerts rapidly sold out, prompting the scheduling of an additional show at each venue.^[94] Jay-Z was the supporting act for U2 on the Australian and New Zealand leg of their U2 360° Tour, beginning in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2010, followed by Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth in December.^[95] Jay-Z also appeared on stage during U2 performances of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', and in Auckland also on a five-track EP entitled Watch the Throne. Although, it was later revealed by West that the project had become a full-length LP. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations and began in November 2010. The first single released for the project was 'H•A•M'. The track was co-produced by Lex Luger and West himself. The track ended up being on the deluxe edition of the album. The follow-up to that was the second single 'Otis', which premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show, and was later released to the iTunes Store eleven days later. The song's existence, along with several other tracks from the album, was confirmed during a listening session hosted by Jay-Z.^[96] The album was first released on the iTunes Store, five days prior to it being released in physical format, a strategy Jay-Z later said was used to block an internet leak. It debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Store in 23 countries. It also broke Coldplay's record for most albums sold in one week on the online retailer, selling 290,000 copies on iTunes alone. It held that record, until Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV was released twenty-one days later, selling only 10,000 copies more. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at No. 1, selling 436,000 copies in its first week. The album received generally positive reviews. Jay-Z and West later gave a surprise performance of 'Otis' at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. In April 2011, Jay-Z launched a blog-like, lifestyle website by the name of Life + Times. It covers everything from music, to fashion, to technology, to sports. The site is curated based on Jay-Z's interests, and he himself works with a small staff to produce every single piece of content.

2012–2016: Magna Carta Holy Grail and other ventures

Jay-Z collaborated with M.I.A on her single 'XXXO', which achieved a fair level of success and went on to become remixed by several producers worldwide. In May 2012, Jay-Z and Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced Jay-Z as the curator and the headliner for the first annual 'Budweiser Made in America' festival at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on September 1 and 2, 2012. The performance was produced by Live Nation and assembled an eclectic lineup of 'rock, hip hop, R&B, Latin music and dance' musicians.^[97] Jay-Z and Rihanna were the two main headlining acts for BBC Radio 1's 2012 Hackney Weekend music festival on June 23 to 24.^[98] Jay-Z opened his set with an appearance from Rihanna, they performed 'Run this Town'. On September 6, 'Clique' was released, a single from the album 'Cruel Summer', by GOOD Music. Kanye West and Big Sean starred alongside Jay-Z on the track. Jay-Z took the subway to his sold out show at The Barclays Center on October 6, 2012.^[99] On November 12, 2012, Coldplay announced that they will be playing with Jay-Z at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 31.^[100]

On September 23, 2010, Q-Tip confirmed working on Jay-Z's follow up album to The Blueprint 3, saying the album was to hit stores by spring 2011.^[101] In May 2012 it was reported that Jay-Z would work on new music with Roc Nation producer Jahlil Beats. Beats told XXL: 'Me and Jay-Z been going back and forth. He picked a couple of my joints that he's working on. I don't even wanna say too much about Jay, but we definitely working on some stuff. I haven't even sent him a bunch of beats. I sent him my favorite stuff. He hit me right back like, 'Yo, I'ma go in on this,' or, 'I like this.'^[102] The album has been named one of the most anticipated albums of 2013 by Complex Magazine, MTV, and XXL Magazine. Production will come from Jahlil Beats, Kanye West, Rick Rubin, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams.^[103][104] Jay-Z also made an appearance on Justin Timberlake's comeback single 'Suit & Tie' from his third studio album The 20/20 Experience, the song itself was produced by both Jay-Z and Timberlake's mutual friend, Timbaland.^[105] Timberlake and Jay-Z embarked on the co-headlining Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour.^[106] During the fifth game of the 2013 NBA Finals, Carter announced his twelfth studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, and was released on July 4, 2013. Not long after, Jay-Z confirmed that the hyphen in his stage name would be left out and officially stylized in all capital letters^[107] Magna Carta Holy Grail debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 528,000 copies in its first week, which bypassed its predicted debut in the range of 350,000 to 400,000.^[108]In December 2013, it was announced that Jay-Z had received nine nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, more than any other artist.^[109] Jay-Z appeared on his wife Beyoncé's self-titled fifth studio album, Beyoncé, with a feature on the song 'Drunk in Love'. They performed this song together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards opening.^[110] The song and its accompanying album would later win three Grammy Awards including Best R&B Performance at the 2015 ceremony.

In 2016, he won a lawsuit for the song 'Made in America' with Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean against Joel McDonald.^[111]

2017–2018: 4:44 and Everything Is Love

In early June 2017, posters were displayed in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as banner ads on the Internet promoting a Tidal-related project titled 4:44.^[112] A teaser ad was aired during the NBA Finals on June 7 featuring actors Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong'o and Danny Glover in a one-minute video, ending in '4:44 – 6.30.17, Exclusively on Tidal'. On June 18, the project was confirmed to be a new Jay-Z album, and a clip featuring a song titled 'Adnis' was posted on Sprint's YouTube page.^[112]

4:44 was released through Roc Nation and Universal Music Group, as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal customers. The album is the first in a planned series of music exclusives from the Sprint–Tidal partnership. For a short time, on July 2, the album was made available for free digital download in Tidal's site. A physical edition was released on July 7, including three additional tracks. On the same day, the album was made available to other streaming platforms, such as Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music.

The album received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its emotional and personal content. On July 5, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in recognition of one million copies purchased by Sprint and offered to consumers as free downloads.^[113] It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making it Jay-Z's 13th consecutive studio album to top the chart. The album spawned two singles, the title track '4:44' and 'Bam', as well as several music videos, directed by a variety of high-profile collaborators. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year, while the title track was nominated for Song of the Year and 'The Story of O.J.' was nominated for Record of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.^[114]

On June 6, 2018, Jay-Z and Beyoncé kicked-off the On the Run II Tour in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Ten days later, at their final London performance, the pair unveiled Everything Is Love, their much-awaited joint studio album, credited under the name The Carters. The pair also released the video for the album's lead single, 'Apeshit', on Beyoncé's official YouTube channel.^[115][116] The song won two awards from eight nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.^[117]

Musical style

Influences

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. 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.'^[118] He often uses excerpts from these artists as samples in his work, particularly in the Kanye West-productions included on The Blueprint.^[118]

Rapping technique

Royce da 5'9' and Fredro Starr of Onyx both describe Jay-Z's emphasis on flow in the book How to Rap – Starr says that Jay-Z is 'a master of the flow—he can flow fast, he can flow slow'.^[119] The book describes how Jay-Z uses 'rests' to provide structure to a verse^[120] and how he uses 'partial linking' to add more rhymes to a verse.^[121] Jay-Z's early style is described by Vibe as 'a distinctly Das EFX-type, stiggety style' on his 12' single 'Can't Get With That',^[122] referring to the fast rhythms and vocal delivery of the group Das EFX. He is also known to write lyrics in his head, as described by Pusha T of Clipse in How to Rap,^[123] a style popular with many MCs such as The Notorious B.I.G.,^[123]Everlast,^[124]Bobby Creekwater^[125] and Guerilla Black.^[125]Shock G of Digital Underground describes Jay-Z's performance style, saying he 'rarely breaks a sweat, and instead uses smoothness and clever wordplay to keep the audience interested and entertained'.^[126]

Business career

Jay-Z appeared in a 2003 Reebok collection advertising his S. Carter Collection.^[127]

Jay-Z has also established himself as a successful entrepreneur with a business empire spanning a variety of industries from clothing lines, beverages, real estate, sport teams, and record labels.^[128] In an interview, he stated that 'my brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment.'^[129] Jay-Z and Damon Dash are the founders of the urban clothing brand Rocawear.^[130] Rocawear has clothing lines and accessories for men, women and children. The line was taken over by Jay-Z in early 2006 following a falling out with Dash. In March 2007, Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand to Iconix Brand Group, for $204 million. He retains his stake in the company and continues to oversee the marketing, licensing and product development.^[130][131] He also co-owns the 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that started in New York City and has since expanded to Atlantic City and Chicago. In 2008, the 40/40 club in Las Vegas was closed down and bought back by the hotel after attendance steadily declined.^[132] In 2005, Jay-Z became an investor in Carol's Daughter, a line of beauty products, including products for hair, skin, and hands.^[133] In September 2013, his stake in Barclays Center was sold for $1.5 million.^[134]

Jay-Z serves as co-brand director for Budweiser Select and collaborates with the company on strategic marketing programs and creative ad development. He provides direction on brand programs and ads that appear on TV, radio, print, and high-profile events.^[135] He is also yet to expand his 40/40 Club sports bar in as many as 20 airports, as he makes deals with his business partners, Juan and Desiree Perez.^[136] He is a part-owner of the Brooklyn NetsNBA team, having paid a reported $4.5 million for his share, which declined in value to $350,000 in April 2013.^[137] He encouraged the team's relocation to Brooklyn's Barclays Center (from New Jersey) in the 2012–2013 season, at which point the team took on the Brooklyn Nets moniker.^[138][139] In October 2005, he was reported in English media as considering buying a stake of Arsenal F.C., an English soccer team.^[140] He has also invested in a real estate development venture called J Hotels which recently acquired a $66 million mid-block parcel in Chelsea, New York. Jay-Z and his partners are contemplating constructing a high-end hotel or an art gallery building on the newly acquired site which has the potential to go up about twelve stories.^[141] Through his conglomerate company Gain Global Investments Network LLC, he had an interest estimated between 2 and 7% in the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) consortium, which in January 2010 was awarded a contract to operate a 4,500 slot machineracino at the Aqueduct Race Track. Jay-Z became interested in the project after New York GovernorDavid Paterson who awarded the contract said there had to be an affirmative action component to the ownership. Jay-Z initially approached by casino mogul Steve Wynn who was also bidding on the contract. On March 9, 2010, Jay-Z and Flake withdrew from the project and Paterson recused himself from further involvement.^[142][143]

On November 16, 2010, Jay-Z published a memoir entitled Decoded.^[144][145]

In April 2011, it was reported that Jay-Z had outbid executives at Universal Records and Jive Records to acquire independent record label Block Starz Music.^[146][147]

Jay-Z is also credited as the executive producer of the basketball video game NBA 2K13, where he worked on the look and feel of the game along with its soundtrack.^[148]

On April 2, 2013, ESPN Jay-Z launched his own sports agency, Roc Nation Sports, with a focus on the representations of various professional athletes. The sport management group will work as partners with Creative Artists Agency. In conjunction with the agency's launch, New York Yankees's second baseman Robinson Canó left agent Scott Boras to sign with the company. Sources have mentioned that Jay-Z himself is planning to be a certified sports agent, first in baseball and eventually in basketball and football. In order to represent clients in basketball, he would have to give up his small share of the Brooklyn Nets.^[149][150] On April 18, 2013, Jay-Z officially announced through his Life + Times website in a press release that he will be relinquishing his ownership in the Brooklyn Nets.^[151] The shares were eventually sold to singer, rapper, actor and entrepreneur Will Pan, making Wilber the first American of Taiwanese descent to own a US professional sports franchise.^[152][153] Jay-Z's cited Wilber's athletic background (he was a team captain of his high school basketball team and played in college), his multitude of musical styles, his influence in the Taiwanese American community, and his business acumen and portfolio (including being the founder and chief executive of software company Camigo Media and a co-founder of streetwear boutique N.P.C [New Project Center]), as reasons why his bid was successful.^[152][153]

How Many Albums Jay Z Sold

In 2014, Jay-Z invested $200 million in Armand de Brignac champagne owned Sovereign Brands, a New York-based wine and spirits company for a 100 percent stake, making it the second alcoholic product acquisition in his financial investment portfolio.^{[154][155][156]} The brand is known for its popularity with high-profile artists as being the gold bottles often referred to in media.^{[157][158][159][160][161]} His ties to the company date back to 2006, and he received millions of dollars per year for his association with Armand de Brignac before he bought the entire company.^[162]

In March 2015, Jay-Z completed the $56 million acquisition of Aspiro, a Norwegian media technology company that operates the subscription-based music streaming service Tidal, which has been in operation since October 2014.^[163] The music service was acquired through his company Project Panther Bidco Ltd. (an entity indirectly owned by Jay-Z's S. Carter Enterprises a company holding interests in leading international music, media and entertainment companies).^[164][165] The acquisition was completed with the help of Mooreland Partners, a leading global technology-focused M&A advisory firm, which acted as financial advisor to Aspiro.^[166] The music service combines lossless audio and high definition music videos with curated editorial. The main idea of the service is to bring major revenue streams back to the music artists themselves as the idea of an artist-owned streaming platform was stated as to 'restore the value to music by launching a service owned by artists.' Jay-Z currently^[when?] is a major shareholder in the company.^[167][168]

Parlux fragrances sued Jay-Z for $18 million for the failure of his cologne, Gold. They claim the cologne's failure is due to Jay-Z not doing social media posts and interviews about the cologne. Parlux claims they projected selling $15 million the first year, and $35 million the second, and subsequent years after the launch. The fragrance sold $14 million the first year and $6.1 million the second.^[169] Parlux supposedly lost money on the venture and have had constant returns of unsold inventory.^[170]

In July 2015, Carter made a significant investment to JetSmarter, an app helping people book private executive plane flights. The app was built by Sergey Petrossov.^[171] Jay-Z collaborated with Cohiba to launch his own cigars.^[172]

In 2016, he signed a two-year exclusive film and TV Deal with Weinstein Company and with the deal gives them first-look options to create scripted and unscripted TV projects and film projects, and those projects were in works.^[173] As part of his deal with Weinstein company, he produced a documentary series on the life of Kalief Browder who was imprisoned for three years and committed suicide upon his release. He also addressed racial profiling and police brutality in a conscious manner.^[174]

Personal life

Gloria Carter

Relationship with Beyoncé

Jay-Z is married to American singer Beyoncé. In 2002, Jay-Z and Beyoncé collaborated for the song '03 Bonnie & Clyde'. Jay-Z also appeared on Beyoncé's hit single 'Crazy in Love' as well as 'That's How You Like It' from her debut album Dangerously in Love. On her second album, B'Day, he made appearances on the 2006 hits, 'Déjà Vu' and 'Upgrade U'. In the video for the latter song, she comically imitates his appearance.^[176] The couple generally avoids discussing their relationship. Beyoncé has stated that she believes that not publicly discussing their relationship has helped them. Jay-Z said in a People article, 'We don't play with our relationship.'^[177] They kept a low profile while dating, and married in April 2008.^[178] It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008,^[179] but Beyoncé did not publicly debut her $5 million Lorraine Schwartz-designed wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008, in New York City.^[180]

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were listed as the most powerful couple for TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2006.^[181] In January 2009, Forbes ranked them as Hollywood's top-earning couple, with a combined total of $162 million.^[182] They made it to the top of the list the following year, with a combined total of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009.^[182]

At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Beyoncé revealed that she was pregnant with their first child^[183][184] and on January 7, 2012, she gave birth to their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.^[185] On January 9, 2012, Jay-Z released 'Glory', a song dedicated to their child, on his social website LifeandTimes.com.^[186] The song detailed the couple's pregnancy struggles, including a miscarriage Beyoncé suffered before becoming pregnant with their daughter.^[186] Because Blue's cries were included at the end of the song and she was officially credited on the song as 'B.I.C', at two days old she became the youngest person ever to appear on a Billboard chart when 'Glory' debuted on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 74.^[187] On June 18, 2017, Beyoncé's father Mathew Knowles confirmed that she had given birth to twins with Jay-Z, a daughter, Rumi, and a son, Sir.^[188]

Assault conviction

On December 1, 1999, Jay-Z, who had come to believe that record executive Lance 'Un' Rivera was behind the bootlegging of Vol. 3..., allegedly stabbed Rivera at the release party for Q-Tip's album Amplified at the Kit Kat Klub, a now-defunct night club in Times Square, New York City. Jay-Z's associates at the party were accused of causing a commotion within the club, which Jay-Z allegedly used as cover when he supposedly stabbed Rivera in the stomach with a five-inch (127 mm) blade.^[189] He surrendered to police the following evening and was placed under arrest, although he was soon released on $50,000 bail.^[190][191] When he was indicted in Manhattan Criminal Court in late January 2000, he pleaded not guilty; he and his lawyers contended that they had witnesses and videotapes proving he had been nowhere near Rivera during the incident. Nevertheless, he later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and accepted a three-year probation sentence.^[192]

Jay-Z later addressed the case in his 2010 book Decoded:

One night I went to Q-Tip's solo album release party and at some point in the night, I ran into the guy everyone's been telling me is behind the bootleg. So I approached him. When I told him what I suspected, to my surprise, he got real loud with me right there in the middle of the club. It was strange. We separated and I went over to the bar. I was sitting there like, 'No the fuck this nigga did not.....' I was talking to people, but I was really talking to myself out loud, just in a state of shock. Before I even realized what I was doing, I headed back over to him, but this time I was blacking out with anger. The next thing I knew, all hell had broken loose in the club. That night the guy went straight to the police and I was indicted...

There was no reason to put my life on the line, and the lives of everyone who depends on me, because of a momentary loss of control..... I vowed to never allow myself to be in a situation like that again.^[193]

Philanthropy

During his retirement, Jay-Z also became involved in philanthropic activity. In 2003, Jay-Z, together with his mother, founded The Shawn Carter Foundation, which has assisted eligible students facing socio-economic hardships through college.^[194] On August 9, 2006, he met with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan at the organization's headquarters in New York City. The rapper pledged to use his upcoming world tour to raise awareness of and combat global water shortage. Already on the look-out for a way to, in his own words, 'become helpful', he had been made aware of this issue during a visit to Africa by Bono from the rock group U2.^[195] The effort took place in partnership with the UN,^[196] as well as MTV, which produced a documentary entitled Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, first airing in November 2006.^[197] Along with Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Jay-Z pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross' relief effort after Hurricane Katrina.^[198] Jay-Z stated his support for Kanye West after the latter's outburst against President Bush during a live Katrina charity telethon.^[199] He also addressed the issue of the Katrina disaster, and the government's response, in his one verse song 'Minority Report'.^[200]

Jay-Z has previously stated in a song that 'the greatest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous' and, in 2013, it was revealed by author dream hampton, who co-wrote Jay-Z's book Decoded, that he quietly established a trust fund for Sean Bell's children.^[201]

Politics

In 2006, Jay-Z appeared with Russell Simmons in a PSA combatting racism and anti-Semitism organized by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.^[202] By 2008, Jay-Z was actively involved in the 2008 presidential campaign, where he supported increased voter participation and helped send voters to polling stations.^[203] He was an early supporter for the candidacy of Illinois senator and subsequent U.S. president Barack Obama, performing for free in voter-drive concerts financed by the Democrats' campaign.^[204] He also became acquainted with Obama himself, who stated 'Every time I talk to Jay-Z, who is a brilliant talent and a good guy, I enjoy how he thinks. That's somebody who is going to start branching out and can help shape attitudes in a real positive way.'^[205]During the 2010 mid-term elections' campaign, Jay-Z appeared, along with other artists, in an ad prepared by the HeadCount organization, urging voters, and especially younger ones, to register and vote.^[206] In May 2012, Jay-Z announced his endorsement of President Obama's support of same-sex marriage^[207] and participated in his re-election campaign.^[208]

Musician and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has been openly critical of Jay-Z and Beyoncé in their relatively safe political stances, saying that they 'have turned their back on social responsibility' in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.^[209] A Syracuse University finance professor^[210] also gave similar opinions, pointing to Jay-Z's only giving $6,000 to charity after making $63 million in 2012. He also voiced that the hip-hop mogul likely would never have come out in support of gay marriage had President Obama not first taken the initiative.^[211]

In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Jay-Z and Beyoncé supported presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at her rally in Cleveland. Clinton praised Jay-Z for addressing racism, oppression, and the criminal justice system.^[212]

Discography

Studio albums

• Reasonable Doubt (1996)
• In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997)
• Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998)
• Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)
• The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
• The Blueprint (2001)
• The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse (2002)
• The Black Album (2003)
• Kingdom Come (2006)
• American Gangster (2007)
• The Blueprint 3 (2009)
• Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)
• 4:44 (2017)

Filmography

• Streets Is Watching (1998)
• Backstage (2000)
• State Property (2002)
• Paper Soldiers (2002)
• Fade to Black (2004)
• The Great Gatsby (2013, executive producer)
• Made in America (2013, documentary)
• Annie (2014, producer)
• Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (2018, executive producer)

Tours

Headlining

• Hard Knock Life Tour (1999)^[213]
• Blueprint Lounge Tour (2001)^[214]
• Hangar Tour (2006)
• American Gangster Live (2007)
• Jay-Z Fall Tour/Blueprint 3 Tour (2009–2010)
• Magna Carter World Tour (2013–14)
• 4:44 Tour (2017)

Co-headlining

• Rock the Mic (with 50 Cent) (2003)^[215]
• Best of Both Worlds Tour(with R. Kelly) (2004)
• Heart of the City Tour(with Mary J. Blige) (2008)
• Jay-Z & Ciara Live(with Ciara) (2009)
• The Home & Home Tour(with Eminem) (2010)
• Watch the Throne Tour(with Kanye West) (2011–12)
• Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour(with Justin Timberlake) (2013)
• On the Run Tour(with Beyoncé) (2014)
• On the Run II Tour(with Beyoncé) (2018)

Supporting

• No Way Out Tour (with Puff Daddy & Bad Boy Records) (1997)^[216]
• Projekt Revolution 2008 Europe(with Linkin Park) (2008)
• Viva la Vida Tour(with Coldplay) (2008)^[217]
• U2 360° Tour(with U2) (2009–11)

Books

• Decoded by Jay-Z (2010: Spiegel & Grau, 336 pages) ISBN978-1-4000-6892-0. Part memoir and part a collection of Jay-Z lyrics with the stories behind them.^[218]

Awards and nominations

Notes

1. ^Alternately stylized as Jaÿ-Z, Jay Z, and Jay:Z throughout his career.^[7][8]

References

1. ^Frank, Robert (August 23, 2017). 'Inside Jay Z and Beyonce's mansion-hunting journey'. cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved January 13, 2019. Jay Z and Beyonce purchased a 30,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles' Bel Air neighborhood for $88 million.
2. ^ ^abEdwards 2009, p. 14
3. ^Birchmeier, Jason. 'Jay-Z Biography'. allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved January 12, 2019. After debuting in the late '90s with Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime, Vol 1, he began a chart run that notched over a dozen number one albums spread over two decades, including the multiplatinum, Grammy-winning Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life (1999), the Blueprint series ('01, '02, '09), and The Black Album (2003).
4. ^Flanagan, Andrew; Hampp, Andrew (March 30, 2015). 'It's Official: Jay Z's Historic Tidal Launches with 16 Artist Stakeholders'. Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2019. Jay-Z's ambitious entrance into the streaming music business, which came as a surprise to industry observers, debuted Monday (March 30) at an event at New York's James A. Farley Post Office in Herald Square.
5. ^ ^ab'Jay-Z is worth $900 million — see how the rapper-turned-mogul makes and spends his fortune'. Business Insider. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
6. ^'Jay Z'. Biography.com. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
7. ^'Jay Z is spelling his name with an umlaut again'. April 29, 2015.
8. ^Ketchum III, William E. (June 20, 2017). 'JAY-Z's Name: A Complete Timeline of Shawn Carter's Rap Alias'. Revolt. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
9. ^'Grammy Awards: Fun., Black Keys, Jay-Z win big'. Newyork.newsday.com. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
10. ^Chad, Norman (June 17, 2013). 'Chad: Jay-Z's split personalities deliver success'. The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
11. ^Robinson, Lisa (October 14, 2013). 'Jay Z Has the Room'. Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
12. ^'RIAA – Gold & Platinum – August 8, 2008'. Riaa.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
13. ^'Rolling Stone ranks Reasonable Doubt No. 250 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
14. ^'Rolling Stone ranks The Blueprint No. 252 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
15. ^'Rolling Stone ranks The Black Album No. 349 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
16. ^Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN978-1-118-17176-9.
17. ^O'Malley Greenburg, Zack (May 17, 2017). 'Beyoncé And Jay Z Are Officially A Billion-Dollar Couple'. Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
18. ^'Who Are The Top GRAMMY Winners Of All Time?'. Grammy. May 15, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
19. ^'Jay-Z and Kanye West Conquer Albums Chart with 'Watch the Throne''. Rap-Up.com. August 17, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
20. ^'Billboard – Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video'. Billboard.
21. ^'100 Greatest Artists: Jay-Z'. Rolling Stone. 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
22. ^'Jay Z to Be the First Rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame'. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
23. ^'JAY-Z to Receive 2018 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award'. PEOPLE.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
24. ^ ^abcBirchmeier, Jason. Jay-Z Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
25. ^Abrams, Dennis; D, Chuck (2009). Jay-Z. Infobase Publishing. ISBN9781438103464.
26. ^Cohen, Stefanie (November 4, 2010). 'Jay-Z: How I went from rags to riches'. New York Post. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
27. ^ ^abc'The King of Rap'. CBS News. November 18, 2002.
28. ^ ^abAdaso, Henry. How Well Do You Know Jay-Z?Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine About.com. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
29. ^'Jay-Z Picture, Profile, Gossip, and News at'. Celebritywonder.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2002. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
30. ^'December 4', The Black Album – Jay-Z
31. ^Yoo, Noah (June 19, 2017). 'JAY-Z's Name: The Hyphen Is Back, And Now It's in All Caps Pitchfork'. Pitchfork. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
32. ^Koroma, Salima (May 15, 2009). 'Industry Insider Reveals 'Secret War' Between LL Cool J and Jay-Z'. HipHopDX. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
33. ^Edwards 2009, p. 316
34. ^'Big Daddy Kane – The Unkut Interview unkut.com – A Tribute To Ignorance (Remix)'. unkut.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
35. ^'Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority'. Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
36. ^'I Can't Get With That Music Video'. YouTube. November 22, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
37. ^ ^abcdefghijk'RIAA – Gold & Platinum'. RIAA. Archived from the original on August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
38. ^'Jay-Z –'. Askmen.com. December 4, 1969. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
39. ^'101.9 THE MIX LIVE Stream Chicago'. 101.9 THE MIX LIVE Stream Chicago. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
40. ^Reid, Shaheem (February 27, 2002). 'Where's The Love? Jay-Z Disses Grammys Again'. MTV News. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
41. ^Jones, Steve (November 7, 2000). 'Jay-Z's rap dominates'. USA Today. Gannett Company, Inc.
42. ^Reid, Shaheem (December 12, 2001). 'Mobb Deep Strike Back at Jay-Z on Infamy'. MTV. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
43. ^Hinds, Selwyn Seyfu (January 15, 2002). 'Kings of New York'. The Village Voice. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
44. ^XXL Staff (February 6, 2008). 'The #7 Biggest Moment: Jay-Z & Nas Squash Beef'. XXL Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
45. ^Recounted by Jay-Z on the documentary Collision Course . Collision Course. Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Roc-A-Fella/Warner Bros./Machine Shop Recordings. 2004.
46. ^Martens, Todd (September 20, 2001). 'Jay-Z Draws 'Blueprint' For Chart Dominance'. Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
47. ^Grein, Paul (February 29, 2012). 'Week Ending Feb. 26, 2012. Albums: Half of the Top 10 Chart Watch (NEW) – Yahoo Music'. Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
48. ^Andrews, Travis M. (March 20, 2019). 'Jay-Z, a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and 'Schoolhouse Rock!' among recordings deemed classics by Library of Congress'. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
49. ^'Jay-Z Pleads Guilty To Stabbing, Faces Three Years' Probation'. MTV News.
50. ^Dangelo, Joe (December 6, 2001). 'Jay-Z Gets Three Years' Probation For 'Un' Rivera Stabbing'. MTV News. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
51. ^Martens, Todd (November 20, 2002). 'Jay-Z Scores 5th Chart-Topper With 'Blueprint''. Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
52. ^'Jay-Z remix spices interest in Panjabi MC'. USA Today. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
53. ^Reid, Saheem (July 30, 2002). 'Jay-Z Returns From European Vacation, Ready To Hit Studio'. MTV News. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
54. ^Reid, Shaeem (June 25, 2003). 'Jay-Z Taking It 'Way Back to the Roots' On New Album'. MTV News. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
55. ^Hoard, Christian (November 26, 2003). 'Jay-Z Rocks the Garden'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
56. ^Fairfax, Jesse (October 11, 2016). 'Jay Z retires in 2004'. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
57. ^Hall, Rashaun (December 8, 2004). 'Jay-Z, Dame Dash Sell Roc-A-Fella Records; Jay Named Def Jam Prez'. MTV News. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
58. ^Konigsberg, Eric (June 12, 2006). 'Why Former Roc-A-Fella Records Partner Damon Dash Hates Mondays'. New York Magazine. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
59. ^Lelinwalla, Mark (April 10, 2006). 'Damon Dash Speaks About Jay-Z'. Archived from the original on April 11, 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
60. ^Reid, Shaheem (September 15, 2005). ''I Declare War!' Jay-Z Says He's Going To Air Some Rappers Out Onstage'. MTV News. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
61. ^Sims, Seandra; Williams, Houston (October 27, 2005). 'Hip-Hop Harmony: Jay-Z And Nas Officially Dead Beef'. AllHipHop.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
62. ^Reid, Shaheem (October 28, 2005). 'Jay-Z And Nas Put Beef To Sleep in Onstage Show of Unity'. MTV News. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
63. ^Welte, Jim (September 13, 2006). 'Jay-Z preps Kingdom Come'. MP3.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2006.
64. ^'Legal Action to be Taken over Jay-Z Single Leak?'. World Entertainment News. October 9, 2006. Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2006.
65. ^'Jay-Z Ends His Retirement With Star-Studded Comeback Album'. San Francisco Chronicle. September 15, 2006. Retrieved September 16, 2006.
66. ^Reid, Shaheem (September 14, 2006). 'Jay-Z's 'Retirement' Is Finally Over: New Album Due In November'. MTV News. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
67. ^Jay-Z Reclaims His 'Kingdom' With No. 1 DebutArchived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Billboard.com. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
68. ^Halbfinger, David M.; Leed, Jeff (September 20, 2007). 'For Jay-Z, Inspiration Arrives in a Movie'. The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
69. ^Shake (September 20, 2007). 'Jay-Z to Release 'American Gangster''. HipHopDX. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
70. ^Biddle, Sam (November 15, 2007). 'New Vibrations – American Gangster'. The Johns Hopkins News-letter. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
71. ^'BREAKING NEWS: Jay-Z Leaves Def Jam'. AllHipHop.com. December 24, 2007. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
72. ^'Jay-Z confirmed for Glastonbury'. BBC News. February 1, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
73. ^'Jay-Z confirmed to headline Glastonbury 2008'. NME. Archived from the original on February 4, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
74. ^Paterson, Colin (April 12, 2008). 'Hip-hop 'wrong' for Glastonbury'. BBC News. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
75. ^'Noel Gallagher is narrow minded: Jay-Z'. NDTVmusic.com. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
76. ^'Jay-Z's Glastonbury Wonderwall dig at Noel Gallagher'. Sunday Mirror. June 29, 2008. Archived from the original on August 12, 2008.
77. ^'Jay-Z answers critics in Glastonbury performance'. Google. AFP. June 29, 2008. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
78. ^'Roskilde Festival: Forside'. Roskilde-festival.dk. August 20, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
79. ^'Hove Festival'. Web.archive.org. January 29, 2017. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
80. ^'Official O2 Wireless Festival line-up'. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
81. ^Jay-Z performs Blueprint 3 track with KanyeArchived March 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
82. ^I.B. Bad Contemplates The Great UnknownArchived August 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine'. HITS Daily Double. May 22, 2009. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
83. ^Tai Saint Louis (September 28, 2008). 'Jay-Z Statement on New StarRoc Label'. AllHipHop.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010.
84. ^Jason (September 23, 2008). 'Details on Jay-Z's New Label'. Rap Basement. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011.
85. ^Kreps, Daniel (May 21, 2009). 'Jay-Z Buys Out Def Jam Contract, 'Blueprint 3' Heads to Roc Nation'. Rolling Stone.
86. ^Kreps, Daniel (September 8, 2009). 'Jay-Z Pushes Up 'Blueprint 3 ' Release, Announces Tour'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
87. ^'Jay-Z interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' August 2009'. Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
88. ^'Thee Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z'. Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
89. ^Access Hollywood. Jay-Z Beats Elvis For No. 1 Albums Record'Archived January 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. MTV. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
90. ^Tomlinson, Jake. 'Jay Z Fall 2009 Concert Tour Review'. Shave. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
91. ^Jocelyn Vena, Rihanna Joins Jay-Z Onstage At Los Angeles ConcertArchived December 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, MTV.com, November 9, 2009
92. ^ ^abc'Jay-Z Becomes A Broadway Producer For 'Fela!''.
93. ^'News > 'Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)' raising funds for Haiti'. U2.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
94. ^'Eminem And Jay-z Announce More 'Home & Home' Dates'.
95. ^'Jay-Z To Join U2's 360 Tour in Australia'. James Dinh. August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
96. ^Kim Osorio, Jay-Z Unveils Watch The Throne At Exclusive Listening SessionArchived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, BET.com, July 8, 2011
97. ^Itzkoff, Dave (May 13, 2012). 'Jay-Z to Curate and Star in Two-Day Music Festival in Philadelphia'. The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
98. ^Jonsin, Miranda. 'Rihanna And Jay-Z Headlining 2012 Olympics Festival'. MTV. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
99. ^'Jay-Z Rides in Style to Final Performance at Barclay's Center'. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
100. ^'Coldplay and JZ Join Forces'. New York Music News. December 7, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
101. ^'Q-Tip Confirms Jay-Z's Upcoming New Album'. Rap Basement. September 22, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
102. ^Horowitz, Steven. 'Jay-Z Working With Jahlil Beats on New Music'. Hip Hop DX. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
103. ^'XXL Presents... The 35 Most Anticipated Albums of 2013'. XXL. January 14, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
104. ^'Jay-Z And Eminem Return With 2013's Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums'. MTV. January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
105. ^'Justin Timberlake Countdown'. Countdown.justintimberlake.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
106. ^'Top 25 Tours of 2013'. Billboard. December 13, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
107. ^Battan, Carrie (July 18, 2013). 'The Artist Formerly Known as Jay-Z Removes Hyphen From His Name'. Pitchfork. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
108. ^Jay-Z Announces New Album, 'Magna Carta Holy Grail,' In Samsung CommercialArchived May 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Billboard (June 16, 2013). Retrieved on July 4, 2013.
109. ^'Jay Z dominates Grammys shortlists with nine nominations'. BBC News. December 8, 2013.
110. ^Stone, Rolling (January 26, 2014). 'Beyoncé and Jay Z Open Grammys With Steamy 'Drunk in Love' Performance'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
111. ^Hogan, Marc (October 12, 2016). 'Jay Z, Frank Ocean, and Kanye West win lawsuit against Joel McDonald'. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
112. ^ ^abBlistein, Jon. 'Jay Z Details New Album '4:44''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
113. ^Caulfield, Keith (July 4, 2017). 'JAY-Z's '4:44' Certified Platinum Following Sprint Promotion'. Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
114. ^Kreps, Daniel (November 28, 2017). 'Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars Lead 2018 Grammy Nominees'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
115. ^Iasimone, Ashley (June 16, 2018). 'Beyonce & JAY-Z, AKA the Carters, Drop Joint 'Everything Is Love' Album'. Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
116. ^Elder, Sajae (June 16, 2018). 'Beyoncé and Jay Z release the video for their single 'Apeshit''. The Fader. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
117. ^'2018 MTV Video Music Awards list of winners'. Fox News. August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
118. ^ ^abAnderson, Kyle (August 24, 2009). 'A Young Jay-Z Describes His Early Influences'. MTV News. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
119. ^Edwards 2009, pp. 65, 112
120. ^Edwards 2009, p. 129
121. ^Edwards 2009, p. 91
122. ^Vibe magazine, Jan 2004, Vol. 12, No. 1, published by Vibe Media Group, p. 75.
123. ^ ^abEdwards 2009, p. 144
124. ^Edwards 2009, pp. 144–145
125. ^ ^abEdwards 2009, pp. 145
126. ^Edwards 2009, p. 292
127. ^Rooney, Kyle (July 29, 2016). 'Jay Z promotes Reebok'. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
128. ^'Jay-Z's Business Portfolio'. KSFM. May 18, 2010. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
129. ^'Jay-Z Talks Business, Success in New Interview'. idiomag. March 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
130. ^ ^ab'Iconix to Buy Rocawear, Jay-Z's Clothing Line'. The New York Times. March 7, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
131. ^'Jay-Z: Down To 98 Problems Yet?'. MTV. February 7, 2007. Archived from the original on March 9, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
132. ^Stutz, Howard (August 28, 2008). '40/40 Club closing to make way for Palazzo sports book'. Casino City Times. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
133. ^'Will Smith, Jay-Z back beauty line'. CNN. May 18, 2005. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
134. ^Ozanian, Mike (September 17, 2013). 'Jay Z Set To Get $1.5 Million For His Barclays Center Stake'. Forbes. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
135. ^Jay-Z Gets a Marketing Title at Anheuser-BuschArchived October 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine – Advertising Age, October 17, 2006
136. ^Jay-Z Bringing His 40/40 Club To AirportsArchived December 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
137. ^'Report: Jay-Z to drop Nets ownership stake, become player agent'. SI.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013.
138. ^Brooks, Matt (September 26, 2011). 'Washington Post – Jay-Z: Brooklyn Nets to debut at Barclays Center in 2012'. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
139. ^'Jay-Z makes it official: 'Brooklyn Nets' for 2012–13'. National Basketball Association. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
140. ^Beyoncé's Rapper Lover Is After A Piece Of Arse: Jay-Z's Footie BidArchived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Sunday Mirror, October 9, 2005
141. ^'''HHWorlds.com' – Jay-Z Teams Up With J Hotels To Develop On $66 million New York Site'. Hhworlds.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
142. ^'Rev. Flake, rapper Jay-Z exit sinking Aqueduct bid – crainsnewyork – March 9, 2010'. Crainsnewyork.com. March 9, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
143. ^Katz, Celeste (March 9, 2010). 'Paterson Recuses Himself From Racino Project – New York Daily News – March 9, 2010'. Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
144. ^Marikar, Sheila (November 16, 2010). 'Jay-Z's 'Decoded': From Hip-Hop to Barack and Beyond'. ABC News. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
145. ^Crosley, Hillary (November 16, 2010). 'Jay-Z's 'Decoded': The Five Most Revealing Excerpts'. MTV News. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
146. ^'The NYC Power List'. The Hollywood Reporter. April 20, 2011.
147. ^Comment *. 'Jay Z Jay-jay Z Acquires Independent German Label'. Contactmusic.com. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
148. ^Robinson, Jon. 'Jay-Z named 'NBA 2K' executive producer – Sports Technology, Gaming – Tech Blog – ESPN Playbook – ESPN'. Espn.go.com. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
149. ^Olney, Buster (April 2, 2013). 'Robinson Canó hires Jay-Z'. ESPN. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
150. ^Goble, Corban (April 2, 2013). 'Jay-Z Starts Roc Nation Sports Agency, Signs Yankees Player Robinson Canó'. PitchforkMedia. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
151. ^Jay-Z, 'Brooklyn's Finest'Archived April 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Life + Times, April 18, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
152. ^ ^ab'潘瑋柏買下NBA球隊股份　擠身籃網老闆'. Yahoo 新聞香港. April 21, 2013.
153. ^ ^ab'Pan bought shares of NBA teams place among the Nets owner'. best-news.us. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.
154. ^'Jay Z Buys Armand de Brignac Champagne From Sovereign Brands'. Rick.com. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
155. ^Emily Smith and Ian Mohr (November 10, 2014). 'Jay Z drops $200 million for stake in champagne company'. Page Six. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
156. ^'Jay Z spent $256 million on champagne'. November 12, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
157. ^Sydney Ember (November 5, 2014). 'Jay Z Acquires Luxury Champagne Brand Armand de Brignac'. The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
158. ^Greenburg, Zack (November 6, 2014). 'The Real Story Behind Jay Z's Champagne Deal'. Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
159. ^Gibbs, Alexandra. 'Jay Z's got 99 problems but champagne ain't one'. CNBC. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
160. ^Sarah Spickernell. 'How much is Jay-Z worth? Rapper adds luxury champagne brand Armand de Brignac to personal empire with purchase from Sovereign Brands'. City A.M.Missing or empty url= (help); access-date= requires url= (help)
161. ^Natasha. 'Jay Z Locks Down Deal To Buy Stake in Armand de Brignac'. TON THAT SPADE ISH. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
162. ^Anthony Osei. 'Did Jay-Z Make $50 Million Off Ace of Spades?'. Complex. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
163. ^Bloomberg: 'That's Business, Man: Why Jay Z's Tidal Is a Complete Disaster. He set out to save the music industry from the economics of streaming, and make himself a fortune in the process. So far, Jay Z is doing neither' by Devin LeonardArchived April 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine May 28, 2015
164. ^Joe Chidley (February 2, 2015). 'If you can't be Jay-Z, be the guy who sells companies to him'. Financial Post. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
165. ^Courtney Connley (February 2, 2015). 'Jay Z Makes $56 Million Bid to Buy Music Streaming Company'. Black Enterprise. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
166. ^'Mooreland Partners Advises Aspiro on Offer from S. Carter Enterprises'. PR Newswire. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
167. ^'Jay Z relaunches Tidal with music's biggest artists as his co-owners'. The Verge. March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
168. ^1:44 video mark'Tidal Live Press Conference Ft. Jay Z, Madonna, Beyoncé and Kanye West!'. YouTube. March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
169. ^'He's got 99 Problems, But a Breach Might NOT be One'. The National Law Review. Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. February 8, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
170. ^Lilah, Rose (January 26, 2016). 'Jay Z Sued For $18 Million Over Failed Cologne Venture'. Hotnewhiphop. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
171. ^'With $20M In The Bank, JetSmarter Is Building The Uber Of The Skies'. TechCrunch. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
172. ^Greenburg, Zack O'Malley. 'Inside Jay Z's Cohiba Comador Cigar Venture'. Forbes. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
173. ^Lilah, Rose (September 29, 2016). 'Jay Z inks two-year deal with Weinstein Company'. Hotnewhiphop. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
174. ^Schwartz, Danny (October 7, 2016). 'Jay Z documents life of Kalief Browder'. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
175. ^Owoseje, Toyin (June 18, 2012). 'Beyoncé Buys Jay-Z $40m Private Jet for Father's Day'. International Business Times. Newsweek Media Group. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
176. ^'Beyoncé – Upgrade U (official video)'. YouTube. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
177. ^Tauber, Michelle (October 25, 2004). 'The Good Life'. People. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
178. ^'Source: Beyoncé and Jay-Z Are Married'. People. April 4, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
179. ^Ehrich Dowd, Kathy; Clehane, Diane; Helling, Steve (April 22, 2008). 'Beyoncé and Jay-Z File Signed Marriage License'. People. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
180. ^'Beyoncé's ring revealed!' People, Vol. 70, No. 12, September 22, 2008, pg. 26.
181. ^'Beyoncé, Jay-Z the richest pair'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
182. ^ ^abKaufman, Gil (January 13, 2010). 'Jay-Z And Beyoncé Named Top-Earning Couple in Entertainment'. MTV News. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
183. ^Krupnick, Ellie (August 28, 2011). 'Beyoncé Pregnant, Flaunts Baby Bump on VMA Red Carpet'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
184. ^'Beyoncé & Jay-Z Expecting a Baby'. People. August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
185. ^'Beyoncé Gives Birth To a Baby Girl'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
186. ^ ^abSinha-Roy, Piya (January 9, 2012). 'Jay-Z reveals Beyoncé's miscarriage in ode to daughter'. Reuters. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
187. ^'Blue Ivy Carter, Jay-Z and Beyoncé's Daughter, Becomes Youngest Person Ever to Appear on a Billboard Chart'. Billboard. January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
188. ^France, Lisa Respers; Melas, Chloe. 'Beyoncé and Jay Z welcome twins'. CNN. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
189. ^Handlin, Sam. Jay-Z pleads guilty to stabbing record executiveArchived January 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Courttv.com. October 18, 2001. Retrieved June 18, 2006.
190. ^Juan Forero (December 3, 1999). 'Police arrest hip-hop star in a stabbing at a nightclub'. The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
191. ^'Rapper is indicted in nightclub stabbing'. The New York Times. February 1, 2000. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
192. ^D'Angelo, Joe (October 17, 2001). 'Jay-Z Pleads Guilty To Stabbing, Faces Three Years' Probation'. MTV. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
193. ^Jay-Z (2010). Decoded. Spiegel & Grau. p. 162.
194. ^'- Shawn Carter Foundation'. shawncartersf.com.
195. ^Jay-Z helps UN focus on world water crisis, USA Today, August 9, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2006.
196. ^'International Decade for Action: Water for Life, 2005–2015'. United Nations. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
197. ^'Water for Life'. MTV. Archived from the original on September 22, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
198. ^'Diddy, Jay-Z give $1 million to Red Cross'. MSNBC. September 2, 2005. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
199. ^'Jay-Z backs Kanye West's telethon outburst'. MSNBC. September 7, 2005. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
200. ^'For The Record: Quick News On Jay-Z, Metallica, Bow Wow, John Legend, J Dilla, Sufjan Stevens & More'. MTV. February 12, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
201. ^New York Times: Rapper Creates Trust for Sean Bell's childrenArchived October 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. May 3, 2008. Accessed February 16, 2015.
202. ^'We are One-Jay-Z and Russell Simmons'. Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
203. ^'Daily News – : Jay-Z Gets Political in New PSA To Encourage Voters'. Allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
204. ^'Jay-Z To Perform at Obama Voter Drive'. The Huffington Post. October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008.
205. ^'Inside Barack Obama's Rolling Stone Music'. Rolling Stone. June 25, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
206. ^Wilkie, Christina (October 20, 2010). 'Rapper Jay-Z hits the political airwaves'. TheHill.com. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
207. ^Jay-z, gay marriage stance right thing to doArchived March 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine retrieved May 16, 2012
208. ^'I got 99 problems but Mitt ain't one': Jay-Z jabs at Romney as he joins Springsteen in helping out Obama on last leg of campaignArchived April 22, 2013, at Archive.today retrieved November 8, 2012
209. ^Zawia, Alexandra (August 7, 2012). 'Harry Belafonte on Capitalism, Media Moguls, and His Disappointment with Jay-Z and Beyoncé (Q&A)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
210. ^'Dr. Boyce Watkins, Dept. of Finance, Syracuse University'. Syracuse University. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010.
211. ^Watkins, Boyce (August 8, 2012). 'Harry Belafonte Calls Out Jay-Z and Beyoncé for Selfishness'. Kulture Kritic. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012.
212. ^'Beyoncé and Jay Z Headline Rally for Hillary Clinton in Ohio'. Time. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
213. ^'Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man, Redman Launch 'Hard Knock Life' Tour'. MTV. Viacom. March 1, 1999. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
214. ^'Jay-Z Announces Blueprint Lounge Tour Dates'. MTV. Viacom. August 27, 2001. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
215. ^'Jay-Z, 50 Cent Ready To 'Roc The Mic''. Billboard. May 1, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
216. ^'Jay-Z Quits No Way Out Tour'. MTV. Viacom. December 8, 1997. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
217. ^'Coldplay European Tour Support'. coldplay.com. June 19, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
218. ^'Jay-Z 'Decoded'Archived March 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Fresh Air interview transcript, November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.

Further reading

• Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (2011). Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office. New York: Portfolio/Penguin. ISBN978-1-59184-381-8.
• Edwards, Paul (2009). How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN9781556528163.

External links

• Official website
• Jay-Z on IMDb