Jay-Z Biography: The Road To Success

The name of Jay-Z, the well known rapper, is now on cloths, on vodka, on bar and of course, on the brand that the singer is in himself.


Jay-Z, by his true name, Shawn Carter, grew up in the Project, in Brooklyn, New York. Troubles, financial and of other kind, determined the youngster to struggle for a better life. His father left while he was still a kid, but Shawn did not give up and made it in the rap music industry, while he found a solace in his songs.


Jay-Z was good friends with Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace). What most people admire about him is his special ability to create lyrics and music without writing anything down. At the beginning of his career, he discovered that rappers faced a serious threat represented by companies in the industry interested in only getting the best out of young talents, while paying them only pocket change.


The dilemma about how to get launched in the scene of rap music made Jay-Z interested in developing his own studio, with his gang formed of Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. This way, he founded Roc-a-Fella Records and then made a deal with Priority Records to sell his first record.


Jay-Z took a great risk with the first album he released, named "Reasonable Doubt". Even if it did well with the critics and a gold single came out of this, it seemed that fans were not that impressed. Still, he did not give up and the third album, called Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life did it for him, by taking the young rapper to the tops. The circumstances also contributed to the success, as Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., two of his greatest friends were killed, and Jay-Z remained the only grand name in east coast rap scene.


From there, his career took off. Over the next years, his albums sold in ten million copies. Among his well known hits, we will name only a few: Can I Get Open, You Must Love Me, Streets Is Watching, Can't Knock the Hustle, and Feelin It.


Besides music, Jay-Z launched in the movie industry, as well, with Roc-A-Fella Films, with movies like Streets is Watching, Backstage and State Property. Jay-Z rounded his revenues with a personal line of clothing called Rocawear, that brought him $150 million only in 2001. His brand appeared on an alcoholic beverage and he opened a lot of clubs all over New York.


Jay-Z did not forget his friends and helped them with their careers, as well. He got involved in many charity projects in New York, helping especially children with less opportunities. He started the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund to help young people in the Projects go to college.


The crown of his career was the winning of the 2001 Grammy award for Best Rap Album, with Vol. 3: Life And Times of S. Carter.

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