Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter in Brooklyn in 1969, is one of hip hop's foundational commercial figures — rapper, Roc-A-Fella co-founder, 25-time Grammy winner. Reasonable Doubt (1996) and The Blueprint (2001) are the essentials; start with either and work outward. Explore Jay-Z vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Shawn Corey Carter, performing as Jay-Z, was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 4, 1969 and raised in the Marcy Houses public housing project. He launched his recording career in the late 1980s under the name Jaz-O before launching Roc-A-Fella Records in 1996 with Damon Dash and Kareem Burke. His debut Reasonable Doubt (1996) is widely cited as one of the foundational documents of New York hip hop. He has won 25 Grammy Awards across multiple decades - the most by any solo artist in any genre at the time of his most recent wins. He has been married to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter since 2008, with whom he recorded Everything Is Love (2018) as the Carters. He has been involved in business ventures including Roc Nation, the broader Roc-A-Fella enterprise, the Brooklyn Nets ownership (2003-2013), the streaming service Tidal (acquired 2015), and various sports management work. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 - the first solo hip hop artist to be inducted. He briefly retired in 2003 (The Black Album) and returned in 2006.
Jay-Z's sound combines hip hop, East Coast hip hop, gangsta rap, mafioso rap, and conscious hip hop with his distinctive flow and lyrical content addressing his Marcy Houses origins, Black entrepreneurship, hip hop history, marriage, and contemporary politics. His foundational influence on contemporary hip hop is widely documented.
Original Roc-A-Fella pressings of the Jay-Z catalog are foundational items in hip hop collecting. Multiple anniversary editions, including the deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Reasonable Doubt, have been released.
Listeners new to Jay-Z typically start with The Blueprint (2001) or Reasonable Doubt (1996).
