Jay Z subsequently decided to make an untraditional decision and start his own label rather than sign with an established label as Jaz had done. He also participated in the group Original Flavor for a short time.

From Jaz he learned how to navigate the rap industry and what moves to make. As he vividly discusses in his lyrics, Jay Z also became a street hustler around this time, doing what needed to be done to make money.įor a while, he ran around with rapper Jaz-O, aka Big Jaz. Known as 'Jazzy' in his neighborhood, he soon shortened his nickname to Jay Z and did all he could to break into the rap game. Without a man in the house, he became a self-supporting youth, turning to the streets, where he made a name for himself as a fledging rapper. Born in and raised in the rough Marcy Projects of Brooklyn, New York, Jay Z underwent some tough times after his father left his mother before the young rapper was even a teen. After his self-declared retirement from rapping inhe assumed the presidency of the seminal rap label Def Jam and, as an industry executive, embarked on another phase in his illustrious career. He similarly collaborated with the hottest rappers, everyone from East Coast contemporaries like the Notorious B. Jay Z and his Roc-a-Fella associates greatly influenced the industry and established many of the trends that pervaded during the late '90s and early s.

He retained a strongly devoted fan base and challenged whatever rivals attempted to oust him from atop the rap game, sparring most memorably with Nas. In the wake of his debut, Reasonable Doubt, Jay Z's albums sold millions upon millions, and his endless parade of hits made him omnipresent on urban radio and video television.

How to check airpod battery without caseĮmbodying the rags-to-riches rap dream, Jay Z pulled himself up by his bootstraps as a youth to eventually become the reigning rapper of New York City and, in turn, a major-label executive following his short-lived retirement from music-making.

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