Jay Z

Born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn's Bedford‑Stuyvesant neighborhood, Jay‑Z emerged from the late‑1980s New York scene, first alongside Jaz‑O and later in Big Daddy Kane's circle, before co‑founding Roc‑A‑Fella Records in 1995 to release his own records. Jay‑Z developed a rap rooted in East Coast hip‑hop and mafioso rap, characterized by dense writing, urban narratives, frequent wordplay and a delivery often set over soul and boom‑bap productions before becoming more open to R&B and pop. His solo discography ranges from Reasonable Doubt (1996) and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998), The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003), American Gangster (2007), The Blueprint 3 (2009), Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013) to 4:44 (2017). He has also released several collaborative projects, notably Watch the Throne with Kanye West in 2011 and Everything Is Love with Beyoncé as The Carters in 2018. Over the years Jay‑Z has also ran Def Jam, launched Roc Nation and moved between street rap, mainstream formats and major international stages.