Style(s) music(aux) : Music

Nationality : United States

Bio:

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York)a.k.a Jay-Z,jigga,Hova,Hov'or S.Carter is more than a rapper, he is the current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. In addition, he co-owns The 40/40 Club, and is co-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He is one of the most financially successful American hip-hop artists.
Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York, Jay-Z was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was twelve years old.

He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs, which he refers to in his music.
According to his mother Gloria Carter, a young Jay-Z used to wake his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. Eventually, she bought him a boom box for his birthday and thus sparked his interest in music. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time.

In his neighborhood, Carter was known as "Jazzy", a nickname which eventually developed into his stage name, "Jay-Z". The moniker is also a homage to his musical mentor Jaz-O (a.k.a. Jaz, Big Jaz) as well as to the J-Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn.

Known for his flow and blending of street and popular style. He can compose lyrics without the use of pen and paper. His critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was allegedly written in only two days. After announcing his retirement from recording music in 2003 he returned in late 2006 with the album Kingdom Come which sold 680,000 copies in its first week, Jay-Z's highest-selling album in a one-week period.

Along with Damon "Dame" Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay-Z was one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop record label. Jay-Z is the richest Hip-Hop Entertainer (followed by Sean "Puffy" Combs, a.k.a. Diddy), having a net-worth estimate of $547 million.
His album « American Gangster » is his tenth album.