Jay z biography mtv cribs

1969-present

Latest News: Jay-Z Accused of Sexual Assault in Civil Case

The legal team for Jay-Z says allegations of sexual assault against the rapper in an ongoing civil lawsuit are “provably demonstrably false” and has asked a court for dismissal.

An unnamed Alabama woman filed an amended lawsuit on December 8 accusing the 55-year-old music mogul and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her at a party in 2000. The accuser was 13 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Jay-Z vehemently denies the allegations and already filed a motion to dismiss the suit on December 9. In a social media post released by his company Roc Nation, he detailed how the accusations have affected his wife Beyoncé and their three kids. “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence,” his statement read.

Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro held a news conference December 16 to outline inconsistencies he believes prove the allegations are false. He expects the case to be dropped. “If it’s not, eventually this will all crumble, because it can’t possibly have happened mathematically,” he said.

Who Is Jay-Z?

American rapper, songwriter, and producer Jay-Z is one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has won 24 Grammy Awards throughout his career, which includes 14 No. 1 albums and hit songs such as “Hard Knock Life,” “Big Pimpin’,” and “Empire State of Mind.” Growing up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects, he used rap as an escape and appeared for the first time on Yo! MTV Raps in 1989. After selling millions of records with his Roc-a-Fella label, he also created his own clothing line and founded an entertainment company, becoming a billionaire. He has been married to superstar singer and actress Beyoncé since 2008.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Shawn Corey Carter
BORN: December 4, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Brooklyn, New York
SPOUSE: Beyoncé Knowles (m. 2008)
CHILDREN: Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life

Rapper Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. “He was the last of my four children,” his mother, Gloria Carter, later recalled, “the only one who didn’t give me any pain when I gave birth to him, and that’s how I knew he was a special child.” His father, Adnes Reeves, left the family when Jay-Z was only 11 years old. The young rapper was raised by his mother in Brooklyn’s drug-infested Marcy Projects.

During a rough adolescence, detailed in many of his autobiographical songs, Carter dealt drugs and flirted with gun violence. He attended multiple high schools, including George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School in downtown Brooklyn, where he was a classmate of the rap legend Notorious B.I.G. As Jay-Z later recalled in one of his songs (“December 4th”): "I went to school, got good grades, could behave when I wanted/But I had demons deep inside that would raise when confronted.”

Music Career

Carter turned to rap at a young age as an escape from the drugs, violence, and poverty that surrounded him in the Marcy Projects. In 1989, he joined the rapper Jaz-O—an older performer who served as a kind of mentor—to record a song called “The Originators,” which won the pair an appearance on an episode of Yo! MTV Raps. It was at this point that Carter embraced the nickname Jay-Z, which was simultaneously an homage to Jaz-O, a play on Carter’s childhood nickname of “Jazzy” and a reference to the J/Z subway station near his Brooklyn home.

Even with a stage name, Jay-Z remained relatively anonymous until he and two friends, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke, founded their own record label, Roc-a-Fella Records, in 1996. In June of that year, Jay-Z released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Although the record only reached No. 23 on the Billboard 200, it is now considered a classic hip-hop album, including songs such as “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” featuring Mary J. Blige, and “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a collaboration with Notorious B.I.G.Reasonable Doubt established Jay-Z as an emerging star.

Hip-Hop Star and First Retirement

Two years later, Jay-Z achieved even broader success with his 1998 album Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life. The title track, which famously sampled its chorus from the Broadway musical Annie, became Jay-Z’s most popular single to date. He scored a Grammy win for Vol. 2 and another nomination for “Hard Knock Life,” marking the beginning of a fruitful period in which Jay-Z would become one of the biggest names in hip-hop.

During those years, the rapper released a slew of No. 1 albums and hit singles. His most popular songs from this period include “Big Pimpin’,” “I Just Wanna Love U,” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde,” a duet with future bride Beyoncé Knowles. Jay-Z’s most acclaimed album of this period was The Blueprint (2001), which would later pop up on several music critics’ lists of the best albums of the decade.

In 2003, Jay-Z shocked the hip-hop world by releasing The Black Album and announcing that it would be his last solo record before retirement. Asked to explain his sudden exit from rap, Jay-Z said he once derived inspiration from trying to outshine other great MCs, but had simply gotten bored due to a lack of competition. “The game ain’t hot,” he said. “I love when someone makes a hot album and then you’ve got to make a hot album. I love that. But it ain’t hot.”

Rap Comeback

In 2006, Jay-Z ended his retirement from making music, releasing the new album Kingdom Come. He soon released two more albums: American Gangster in 2007 and Blueprint 3 in 2009. This trio of albums marked a significant departure from Jay-Z’s earlier sound, incorporating stronger rock and soul influences in their production and offering lyrics that tackled such mature subjects as the response to Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s 2008 election, and the perils of fame and fortune. Jay-Z noted he was trying to adapt his music to befit his own middle age. “There’s not a lot of people who have come of age in rap because it’s only 30 years old,” he said. “As more people come of age, hopefully the topics get broader and then the audience will stay around longer.”

Jay-Z next teamed up with former Roc-A-Fella protégé Kanye West (legal name Ye) for 2011’s Watch the Throne. The album proved to be a triple hit, topping the rap, R&B and pop charts shortly after its August release. It went on to garner multiple Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy for Best Rap Performance with “Otis,” which sampled the late R&B singer Otis Redding.

In July 2013, Jay-Z unveiled his 12th studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. The effort earned a mixed reception from critics but otherwise fared well with fans, going on to top the Billboard 200 and achieve double-platinum status. That winter, Jay-Z earned a whopping nine Grammy nominations, sharing the win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Justin Timberlake for the hit single “Holy Grail.”

More Famous Rappers

4:44 Album

On June 30, 2017, Jay-Z released his 13th solo album, 4:44, exclusively to Tidal and Sprint subscribers. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America less than a week after its release, solely based on download numbers. The highly personal album, which includes guest artists Beyoncé, Damian Marley, and Frank Ocean, was an immediate commercial and critical success, praised for the rapper’s candid lyrics and a new level of artistic maturity.

In an interview that aired on iHeartMedia, Jay-Z called the title track “one of the best songs I’ve ever written.” His lyrics appeared to address the marital issues and infidelity his wife Beyoncé sang about in her confessional album Lemonade.

Other tracks included “Kill Jay-Z,” which the rapper told iHeartMedia "is about killing off the ego,” and “The Story of OJ,” a comment on the culture of success. “‘The Story of OJ’ is really a song about we as a culture, having a plan, how we’re gonna push this forward,” he said in the iHeartMedia interview. “We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger.”

When the list of the year’s Grammy hopefuls was announced November, Jay-Z led the way with eight nominations for his work on 4:44. He wound up getting shut out when the winners were announced the following January, though he did receive the 2018 Salute to Industry Icons Award.

Recent Projects

The release of 4:44 marked Jay-Z’s final solo studio album, but he has collaborated with a variety of artists in recent years.

The hip-hop king announced that he and Beyoncé were teaming up for the OTR II Tour in summer 2018. The tour kicked off in Cardiff, Wales, on June 6, and 10 days later, the couple gave their fans another reason to get excited with the release of a joint album, Everything Is Love. Initially available for streaming solely on Jay-Z’s Tidal, the album was accompanied by a music video for the track “Apes—t,” which showed the Carters in their aristocratic element as they sang and rapped among the world-famous art pieces of the Louvre in Paris.

More recently, he appeared on the Grammy-winning single “Jail” from Kanye West’s 2021 album Donda and “Love All,” a track that same year with Drake. The following year, he served as a guest on DJ Khaled’s song “God Did.”

Top Songs and Awards

As of December 2024, Jay-Z has charted 105 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including four collaborations with other artists that reached the top spot. They are:

Jay-Z has received a litany of honors throughout his career. On June 15, 2017, he became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He tweeted about the occasion: “I remember when rap was said to be a fad. We are now alongside some of the greatest writers in history.” He was later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October 2021, alongside Carole King, the Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, and the Foo Fighters.

In 2023, Billboard named him the Greatest Rapper of All Time, citing his 14 No. 1 albums on its Hot 200 chart.

Jay-Z has won 24 Grammy Awards and received 89 nominations. The latter is the most for any male artist in history and second overall behind Beyoncé’s 99. He has also claimed two Primetime Emmy Awards and one Sports Emmy.

Business Ventures: Rocawear, Tidal, and More

During his hiatus from rapping, Jay-Z turned his attention to the business side of music, becoming president of Def Jam Recordings. As president of Def Jam, Jay-Z signed such popular acts as Rihanna and Ne-Yo, and helped Kanye West’s transition from producer to a best-selling recording artist. But his reign at the venerable hip-hop label wasn’t all smooth sailing; Jay-Z resigned as Def Jam’s president in 2007, complaining about the company’s resistance to change from ineffectual business models. “You have record executives who’ve been sitting in their office for 20 years because of one act,” he lamented.

Jay-Z’s business ventures have included the popular urban clothing line Rocawear and Roc-a-Fella Films. He also owns the 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that opened in New York City and later added venues in Atlantic City, Las Vegas (since closed), and Atlanta.

A part-owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team since 2004, Jay-Z helped spur the relocation of the franchise to a brand-new home in downtown Brooklyn, the Barclays Center, in 2012. In 2013, he launched a full-service sports management company, Roc Nation Sports, and sold his Brooklyn Nets shares in order to pursue certification as a sports agent.

Notable clients currently represented by Roc Nation Sports include basketball players LaMelo Ball and Skylar Diggins-Smith and NFL stars Kyler Murray, Jaire Alexander, and De’Von Achane.

The business of Jay-Z made headlines once again in March 2015, when he and several of his high-powered friends, including Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Jack White, announced the relaunch of Tidal, a streaming music service. The service gained a reasonable stream of followers—a touted 1 million in September 2015—but also endured a revolving door of top management and legal issues. In early 2017, Jay-Z agreed to sell a 33 percent stake of Tidal to telecommunications giant Sprint.

Then in 2009, he entered another burgeoning industry by becoming chief brand strategist of the California-based Caliva cannabis company.

Roc Nation and NFL Partnership

In 2008, Jay-Z signed a $150 million contract with the concert promotion company Live Nation. This super deal created a joint venture called Roc Nation, an entertainment company that handles nearly all aspects of its artists’ careers. Along with Jay-Z, Roc Nation signed such top artists as Rihanna, Shakira and T.I., among many others, to its roster.

In August 2019, Jay-Z and the National Football League announced a partnership in which Roc Nation would advise on entertainment selections for NFL promotional spots and events, including the annual Super Bowl Halftime Show. Additionally, the two sides agreed to work together on social activism efforts through the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.

The announcement was criticized by supporters of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who hadn’t played in the NFL since igniting a national anthem-kneeling controversy in 2016, but the hip-hop mogul expressed a belief that he could affect the social change sought by Kaepernick by working with the powerful sports league.“You can either go home, you can pack your bag and sit in the house, or you can choose to take it head-on,” Jay-Z said. “And that’s pretty much how we operate at Roc Nation. We seek to identify things that we want to be a part of and things that we believe that we can add value to, and we step in and we come with these ideas.”

Roc Nation and the NFL renewed its partnership in October 2024, with Kendrick Lamar set to headline the upcoming Super Bowl 59 halftime performance on February 9, 2025.

Political and Charitable Work

In 2002, Jay-Z co-founded the Shawn Carter Foundation with his mother Gloria. Named an official public charity the following year, the organization “is dedicated to helping individuals facing socio-economic hardships further their education, encouraging them to tap into their potential.”

After staying out of the political arena for much of his career, Jay-Z emerged as a strong supporter of Obama during his first campaign for president in 2008. He appeared at rallies and had only high praise for the African American candidate. During one rally, Jay-Z told the crowd that “Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama’s running so we all can fly.”

Jay-Z once again backed Obama for his 2012 re-election bid. That same year, he stepped forward as a supporter of gay marriage. As he told CNN, denying same-sex couples the right to wed “is no different than discriminating against Blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”

In October 2015, Jay-Z held his first annual charity concert called Tidal X: 10/20, starring Beyoncé, Minaj, Lil Wayne, Usher and other top-selling artists. The following February, it was announced that Tidal was donating $1.5 million from concert proceeds to numerous organizations, including Black Lives Matter and Sankofa, a nonprofit started by Harry Belafonte.

Marriage to Beyoncé

Jay-Z married music star and previous collaborator Beyoncé on April 4, 2008, forming one of the most recognizable power couples in entertainment. They have three children together: daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi, and son Sir.

Very protective of his private life, Jay-Z did not publicly discuss his relationship with Beyoncé, for years. The couple even managed to keep the press away from their small wedding in New York City. Only about 40 people attended the celebration at Jay-Z’s penthouse apartment, including actress Gwyneth Paltrow and former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

However, their relationship has often been the subject of tabloid fodder. Rumors of Jay-Z’s infidelity emerged in 2014 after video showed sister-in-law Solange Knowles confronting him inside an elevator. In an article published by T: The New York Times Style Magazine in November 2017, Jay-Z opened up about his marital problems and acknowledged his infidelity, discussing how he and his wife were able to rediscover their bond through therapy.

“I grew so much from the experience,” he said. “But I think the most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere. And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a… you’re at such an advantage.”

Learn More About Queen Bey

Children Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir

Jay-Z and Beyoncé welcomed Blue Ivy on January 7, 2012. Concerned about their privacy and safety, Jay-Z and Beyoncé rented part of New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital and hired extra guards. Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Jay-Z released a song in her honor on his site. On “Glory,” he expressed his joy of becoming a father and revealed that Beyoncé had previously suffered a miscarriage. Jay-Z and Beyoncé also posted a message along with the song, saying “we are in heaven” and Blue’s birth “was the best experience of both of our lives.”

In February 2017, Beyoncé announced on Instagram that she and Jay-Z were expecting twins. “We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. The Carters,” she posted. The pair welcomed a boy and girl in June 2017, with Beyoncé confirming their names and arrival in a social media post the following month.

Net Worth

In June 2019, Forbes named Jay-Z the first billionaire rap artist, citing his ownership stakes in Armand de Brignac champagne and Uber as contributing factors.

Celebrity Net Worth estimates Jay-Z’s net worth at around $2 billion as of December 2024, making him one of the world’s richest musicians. Add in Beyoncé's earnings, and the couple’s fortune is measured at a combined $2.6 billion.

A big portion of Jay-Z’s money stems from the 2023 sale of his 50 percent stake in D’Ussé Cognac. Drink company Bacardi reportedly purchased the majority holding for $750 million, though the rapper claimed in a prior lawsuit he believed the true value of his stake was as much as double that total. He and Beyoncé also own roughly $250 million worth of art and real estate.

Quotes

• I never lost sense of who I was, not for a day, not before I had a record deal, and certainly not after.
• The day that Barack Obama became president, the gangsta became less relevant.
• Maybe I am old fashioned, but a record is a piece of music from start to finish and that’s what I set out to create.
• Performing or playing baseball and basketball took my mind out of my environment. I still do that now.
• There’s the gift, there's the spirit, and there’s the work—all three have to come together. If one of those things is off, it can stop you from becoming who you were meant to be.
• I’ve always said that if I became successful, I’d come back here, grab somebody, and show him how it can be done.
• It’s harder for me to write music that everyone can relate to because I don’t live a typical life anymore.
• Be true to yourself and keep things simple. People complicate things.
• When you make music, you’re constantly on the psychiatrist’s couch, so to speak.
• I would rather lose on the side of hope than win on the side of the favorite.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us!