Jay-Z
Jay-Z (aka the Jigga, HO and Hova, born Shawn Carter December 4, 1969) is an American rapper, originally from the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised by a single mother and, as a young man, began hustling on the streets of New York. He briefly attended high school in Trenton, NJ where he honed his rap skills and is remembered as constantly rhyming. After several unsuccessful attempts to launch a career (with Jaz-O, and then as part of a group called Original Flavor), Jay-Z co-founded Roc-a-Fella Records with Damon Dash, releasing his debut album Reasonable Doubt, to considerable acclaim within the rap community, though it did not achieve widespread success. It included four charting singles, "Ain't No Nigga" (with Foxy Brown), "Can't Knock the Hustle" (with Mary J. Blige), "Dead Presidents" and "Feelin' It".
According to VH1, he was known as "Jazzy" in his neighborhood and soon shortened his nickname to Jay-Z and did all he could to break into the rap game. The name Jay-Z is also both an homage to his former mentor Jaz-O as well as to the J,Z subway lines that go from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
In 1997, Jay-Z's follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, peaked at #3 and helped establish his career and mainstream success. In spite of the success, Jay-Z's image was tarnished by a perceived pandering to mainstream sales, and a watering down of his sound. The next year, Jay-Z released Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, continued this evolution towards a pop-oriented market. This included several huge singles, including "Can I Get A...", "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Jigga What?", "It's Alright" and "Money Ain't a Thang".
In 1999, Jay-Z released Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter, which was another big hit in spite of continued criticism for his pop-oriented sound, and a large roster of collaborators that many felt crowded out Jay-Z himself. His next album, Dynasty Roc la Familia, was originally intended as a collaboration album with many guests from Roc-a-Fella's roster, including Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek and Amil, as well as Scarface, Just Blaze, R. Kelly, Kanye West, The Neptunes and Snoop Dogg.
2001's The Blueprint is considered to be a masterpiece, containing the perfect blend of street credibility and mainstream appeal. However, it never eclipsed "Reasonable Doubt" in terms of street respect. It contains "H to the Izzo", a top ten hit, and tracks insulting Prodigy (Mobb Deep) and Nas. The latter responded with his own track, and the pair's rivalry escalated into one of the most famous rap rivalries since the East Coast/West Coast feud of the mid-1990s. The feud between Jay-Z and Nas had escalated until 2003, when the two rappers had eventually ended their feud without violence or animosity. The Blueprint featured only one collaboration, with Eminem on "Renegade".
This was followed by an Unplugged album, and collaborating with R. Kelly on Best of Both Worlds. Jay-Z returned in 2002 with The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse, a sprawling double-album.
In 2003, he toured with: 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul while finishing work on his final album, The Black Album. Again, the street fans were disappointed for the lack of producing from legend DJ Premier and the commercialism brought by The Neptunes.
In 2004, an a capella special edition of The Black Album (which sported a red CD cover) was released with the intention of allowing others to create remixes. The most controversial of the ensuing remixes was by DJ Danger Mouse, entitled "The Grey Album". It combined the a capella version with instrumental samples of The Beatles' White Album. DJ Danger Mouse was sent a cease and desist order from EMI, The Beatles' record company, due to illegal sampling. As a result, many copies were destroyed and an original is now a rare find.
Jay-Z and R. Kelly released a follow up to the Best of Both Worlds album in October 2004 under the new name Unfinished Business which includes 11 previously unreleased tracks by the duo. This release is timed to coincide with The Best of Both Worlds Tour, but eventually R. Kelly left halfway through the tour, accusing Jay-Z's entourage of attacking him.
On April 15, 2004, the popular jam band Phish covered Jay's 2002 hit "Girls, Girls, Girls." Later that year, on Friday, June 18, 2004, Jay-Z appeared live with Phish at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, New York. This was the first of a two-night stint in Brooklyn for Phish (this was announced to be their final farewell tour). During the second set, Phish debuted Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and "Big Pimpin'", and they featured the "retired" rapper himself (as well as Cyro Baptista on percussion).
On November 30, 2004, Jay-Z will be featured on Collision Course, a collaboration with Linkin Park. It features rap-style remixes of songs from Meteora.
In addition to his large, loyal, and steadily growing fanbase, rappers and rap critics cite Jay-Z as one of the most talented rappers of all-time. He is highly regarded for his metaphoric lines, freestyle abilities (he often listens to a beat briefly, composes in his head, and recording within minutes, all without writing down any lyrics), and blending of street and popular rap sounds. Many listeners are upset with his 2003 retirement and feel that he has left too early.
Hit singles
- 1997 "Can't Knock the Hustle" (feat. Mary J. Blige) #30 UK
- 1997 "Ain't No Playa" (feat. Foxy Brown) #31 UK
- 1997 "I'll Be" (Foxy Brown feat. Jay-Z) #7 US, #9 UK
- 1997 "Sunshine" (feat. Babyface & Foxy Brown) #25 UK
- 1998 "Wishing on a Star" (feat. Gwen Dickey) #13 UK
- 1998 "The City Is Mine" (feat. Blackstreet) #38 UK
- 1998 "Can I Get a" (feat. Amil & Ja Rule) #19 US, #24 UK
- 1998 "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" #15 US, #2 UK
- 1998 "Jigga That Nigga" #28 US
- 1999 "Be Alone No More" (remix) (Another Level feat. Jay-Z) #11 UK
- 1999 "Heartbreaker" (Mariah Carey feat. Jay-Z) #1 US, #5 UK
- 2000 "Anything" #18 UK
- 2000 "Big Pimpin'" (feat. UGK) #18 US, #29 UK
- 2000 "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" #11 US, #17 UK
- 2001 "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" #8 US, #21 UK
- 2002 "Girls, Girls, Girls" #17 US, #11 UK
- 2002 "Honey" (R. Kelly & Jay-Z) #35 UK
- 2003 "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (feat. Beyonce Knowles) #4 US, #2 UK
- 2003 "Excuse Me Miss" #8 US, #17 UK
- 2003 "Crazy in Love" (Beyonce feat. Jay-Z) #1 US, #1 UK
- 2003 "Beware of the Boys (Mundian to Bach Ke)" (Panjabi MC feat. Jay-Z) #33 US, #5 UK
- 2003 "Beware of the Boys (Mundian to Bach Ke)" (Panjabi MC feat. Jay-Z - re-release) #25 UK (double A-side with Jogi)
- 2003 "Frontin'" (Pharrell Williams feat. Jay-Z) #5 US, #6 UK
- 2003 "Change Clothes" #10 US, #32 UK
- 2004 "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" #5 US
- 2004 "99 Problems" #30 US; #12 UK (double A-side with Dirt Off Your Shoulder in the UK)
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