The Evolution of Jay-Z

Born Shawn Corey Carter, Jay-Z was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 4, 1969. He was the youngest of four children to Gloria Carter and Adnis Reeves. He grew up in the now-famous Marcy Projects where his love for music came from.

If y’all are wondering where he got the name Jay-Z from, he got it from his mentor Jaz-O. Jay can be heard in many of Jaz’s early songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Jay-Z’s name started buzzing around New York when he hopped on the posse cut, “Show and Prove” on Big Daddy Kane’s 1994 album Daddy’s Home. Jay-Z also appeared on the now-deceased Big L’s “Da Graveyard” which also raised Jay’s profile.

With no record deal to speak of, Jay-Z and his friends Damon “Dame” Dash and Karem “Biggs” Burke started Roc-A-Fella Records as an independent label in 1995. A year late, they signed a distribution deal with Priority Records and Jay released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. While at the time the album do okay, it is considered by many, one of Jay-Z’s best albums and one of the best rap albums of all time.

In 1997, Roc-A-Fella signed a new distribution deal with Def Jam, where Jay-Z released his next three albums: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 in 1997, Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life in 1998 and Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter in 1999. All three of those albums included hit records that raised the popularity of Jay-Z as one of the biggest rappers in the country.

A feud between Jay-Z and Queens rapper Nas in 2001 spawned one of the most talked-about rap beef of all time. Jay first came at Nas on “Takeover,” and in response, Nas destroyed (in my opinion) Jay on “Eather.” Jay then added an extra verse to “Takeover” on his next album The Blueprint. The beef has since been squashed.

Released hours before the 9/11 attacks, Jay-Z’s fourth studio album is probably his most revered and critically acclaimed. The album launched Jay as the biggest rapper in the game. Half of the album was produced by up-and-coming Chicago producer Kanye West.

The power couple started dating in 2001 and got married in 2008 secretly. They have since had three kids.

A year after dropping maybe his best album ever, Jay-Z dropped a follow-up, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, a double album. The album had a song featuring Beyoncé called, “03’ Bonnie & Clyde.”

Advertised as his final album before retiring, Jay-Z released The Black Album in 2003. Like Michael Jordan, we all know now that Jay did not stay retired for long and eventually returned to music. He even held a concert called the “retirement party” at Madison Square Garden. A year later, Jay-Z became president of Def Jam Records, leading his former business partners Dame Dash and Biggs to sell their remaining interests in Roc-A-Fella Records.

In 2006, Jay-Z returned with his comeback album Kingdom Come and saw the biggest first-week sales total of his career.

In conjunction with the movie of the same name, Jay-Z released the concept album American Gangster in 2007. The movie is about 1970s Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas and he is played by legendary actor Denzel Washington.

In 2009, Jay-Z released The Blueprint 3 which features the classic New York City anthem “Empire State of Mind,” featuring fellow New York City artist Alicia Keys.

Before releasing The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z announced that he would be leaving Def Jam and signing with Live Nation, where he would start his own imprint, Roc Nation. Some of his first signees included popstar Rihanna and then up-and-coming rapper J. Cole

In January 2011, Jay-Z and Kanye West released their collaboration album Watch the Throne with the album artwork being done by Virgil Abloh. The album birthed hit records like “Otis,” “No Church in the Wild” and “Niggas in Paris.”

Born on January 7th, 2012, Jay-Z and Beyoncé had their first child Blue Ivy Carter.

In 2013, Jay-Z released his twelfth studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail. For the release of the album, Samsung released an app for people to listen to the album leading to it going number 1 on the Billboard 200.

You knew we would get to it. A video was released by TMZ showing Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s sister, Solange, arguing where you see Solange screaming, hitting, and spitting on Jay.

Jay and Bey had twins in the summer of 2017! As you would imagine, social media and the Bey hive went crazy about the news of the power couple having more children

For his 13th album released in 2017, Jay-Z got as personal and introspective as he has ever been. Rapping about his relationship with his wife, mother, children, and even himself. The album was both well received by fans and critics and features the notable songs “The Story of O.J.” and “Moonlight.”

After Jay-Z released 4:44 in 2017 and Beyoncé released Lemonade in 2016, the power couple released their collaborative album EVERYTHING IS LOVE under the name THE CARTERS.

In 2019, Roc Nation entered a multi-year partnership with the NFL to improve the league’s live game experience and better their social justice efforts. Jay-Z’s work with the NFL led to the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime show being headlined by Hip-Hop acts.

Jay-Z was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 along with fellow New York rap legend LL Cool J and pop icon Tina Turner

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, the Brooklyn Public Library created an installation titled, “The Book of Hov,” which explores Jay-Z’s legacy and journey as an artist, businessman, and philanthropist.

Hov made history in 2023, becoming the first Black male artist and the second Black person overall to have at least 10 solo albums go multi-platinum, joining only Mariah Carey with her 11 solo records.