

The recipient of the NAACP's President's Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Sports Emmy Award, he has also received a nomination for a Tony Award. Jay-Z also holds the record for the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 (14). One of the world's best-selling music artists, with over 140 million records sold, Jay-Z has won 24 Grammy Awards, the joint-most Grammy awards of any rapper along with Kanye West. In 2020, he launched "Monogram", a line of cannabis products. In 2015, he acquired the tech company Aspiro and took charge of their media streaming service Tidal. Both businesses have grown to become multi-million-dollar corporations, and allowed him to start up Roc Nation in 2008. In 1999, he founded the clothing retailer Rocawear, and in 2003, he founded the luxury sports bar chain 40/40 Club. Through his business ventures Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire. He also released the full-length collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) with Kanye West and Everything Is Love (2018) with his wife Beyoncé. He went on to release twelve additional albums, including the acclaimed albums The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003), American Gangster (2007), and 4:44 (2017). The album was released to widespread critical success, and solidified his standing in the music industry. īorn and raised in New York City, Jay-Z began his musical career in the late 1980s he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and released his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. Often regarded as the greatest rapper of all time, he was the CEO of Def Jam Recordings and has been central to the creative and commercial success of artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, and J. Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation.
