There is a reason Shawn Carter aka HOV aka Jay-Z is the G.O.A.T of rap music. Notably, he made history by being the first black man to reach a 10 multi-platinum albums milestone. He also just gave us a unique insight into the why and the how. He did so when he recently released Jay-Z: The Book of HOV a chronology exhibition of his music career. Let’s explore some of the history of the greatest rapper of all time.
How it started
The Brooklyn legend burst onto the music scene in 1996 with his debut album Reasonable Doubt. It was not a huge commercial success but critics could not stop talking about the lyrical content and easy flow of the rapper. However, that album is now considered a classic and has stood the test of time. It started what would become Jay-Z’s calling card, him rapping on the spot. He never writes down a lyric. He does it all in his head and delivers it in the recording booth from memory. The artist would release an incredible one album per year until he announced retirement while sitting on top of the music charts in 2003.
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With each album, the mega force of HOV’s influence grew, as each other album debuted at number one. That led to him being the rapper with the most number-one albums of all time. As mentioned, he retired in 2003 after releasing The Black Album, considered by many to be the perfect rap album. That retirement lasted 3 years before he came back like a typhoon with The BluePrint, which was immediately deemed a classic. His last solo effort was 4:44. Jay-Z is the 1st rap artist to be inducted in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Currently, he holds an incredible 23 Grammys among many other music awards.
I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!
While Jay-Z has had a widely successful music career envied by many, it is his business acumen that sets him apart. He is now a multi-billionaire according to Forbes. Starting with Roc-A-Fella, the record label he co-owned that developed into what is now the juggernaut Roc-Nation. Jay-Z understood ownership is power. Roc-Nation is now a record label, a sports agency with clients like Lebron James, and a tv/film production company.
Again, he understood the power of ownership so invested heavily in companies like Uber in its early stages and then bought ownership into The Brooklyn Nets. He bought the streaming music service Tidal, grew it then sold it to Twitter’s Jack Dorsey for $300 million. He had a disagreement with Crystal, so he bought into a lesser-known brand Ace of Spades, grew along with the cognac Dusse and then sold to LMVH for an impressive $640 million. The man just understands how to parley his influence in making critical money moves. As well as investments he does through his venture capital company Marcy Venture Projects.
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Philanthropy
As he builds wealth, Jay-Z is just as committed to philanthropic causes. Through his Shawn Carter Foundation, he is constantly donating to HBCUs, his ‘About Love’ scholarships benefit many students who pursue the arts in major universities across the US. He pours funds into many social justice causes as well as GLAAD, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, United Way, and Keep Music Alive to name a few.
Jay-:Z The Book of HOV exhibition is at the Brooklyn Library until the fall. Heavy is the crown of the G.O.A.T, but Jay-Z seems to have been built for this.
Feature image: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Sean Combs
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