Jay-Z 1970–

Jay-Z 1970–

Rapper

At a Glance…

Controversial Hit Single

Toured With Success

Arrested in Stabbing Incident

Selected discography

Sources

Jay-Z is all too familiar with the hard knock life. In his hit single “Hard Knock Life,” Jay-Z samples the musical Annie’s signature song of the same name. “These kids sing about the hard knock life, things everyone in the ghetto feels coming up,” Jay-Z says of the orphans in Annie in People Weekly. “That’s the ghetto anthem.” The rap star grew up in a single-parent household in the projects of Brooklyn, New York. Known for his honesty, Jay-Z has admitted in both his autobiographical lyrics and interviews that he sold drugs as a teenager. For Jay-Z, rap was his way out of the hard knock life. First, the money that came with a successful rap career would take him out of the Brooklyn projects. Second, rap music was a means to express his feelings about knocks and blows he has taken over the years.

The way, however, was not easy and Jay-Z encountered more hard knocks along the road. When he could not get a record deal, Jay-Z, along with two friends, formed his own record label. The timing of Jay-Z’s arrest in early December of 1999 for the stabbing of record executive Lance “Un” Rivera at a Times Square nightclub could not have been worse. His much-awaited album, Volume 3: The Life & Times of S. Carter, was due to be released right after Christmas and it was uncertain whether the negative publicity from this latest incident would hurt sales. However, for a man who grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn this was just another one of the hard knocks that has formed his voice in rap.

Jay-Z was born Shawn Carter on December 4, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of four children. He grew up in the well-known Marcy Projects, where the J and Z subway trains run. His mother, Gloria Carter, worked as a clerk in an investment company. Jay-Z’s father left when he was 12. “To me, that was basically the end of our relationship,” Jay-Z told Vibe “That was when the hurt and then the healing began for me, from that day right there.” In his teens, Jay-Z was a cocaine dealer before he joined the world of rap.

When Jay-Z was first starting out in the rap world, he was introduced to Damon Dash, who, by the time he was 19, had already gotten record deals for two acts. Dash soon became Jay-Z’s manager and Dash’s childhood friend, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, was then hired as Jay-Z’s road manager. For two years, the three worked unsuccessfully to obtain a record deal. The trio then decided to form their own record company, Roc-A-Fella Records,

At a Glance…

Born Shawn Carter on December 4, 1970, in Brooklyn, NY.

Career: Rap artist, performing pop~rap, crossover rap, hardcore rap, East Coast rap, urban, hip-hop for Def Jam, Priority, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, BMG International labels; released debut album, Reasonable Doubt, Freeze/Roc-A-Fella, 1996; in My Lifetime, Voi /, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, 1997; released Voi2: Hard Knock Life, Roc-A-Felia/Def Jam, 1998; released Voi 3: The Life and Times of Shawn Carter, Def Jam, 1999; released The Dynasty: Roc la Familia, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, 2000,

Awards: Grammy Award, Best Rap Album of 1998, for Vol 2: Hard Knock Life, 1998; MTV Video Music Award, Best Rap Video, for “Can I Get A..,”1999.

Addresses: Record company—Def Jam Records, 160 Varick St., 12th Floor, New York City, NY 10013 Phone: (212) 229-5200 Fax: (212) 229-5299.

in which they would all serve as partners. Jay-Z’s role was that of marquee artist, Dash ran the company’s day-to-day operations, and Burke, according to Vibe, served as “a barometer of the streets.” After Roc-A-Fella secured a deal with Priority Records for the distribution of their albums, Jay-Z was ready to release his first record, Reasonable Doubt.

Controversial Hit Single

Jay-Z rose to fame with his 1996 gold-certified single,“Ain’t No N-G-A” (Like the One I Got), a duet with Foxy Brown. The controversy started immediately. The single’s title was not the language that even the most daring disc jockeys wanted to play. According to Janine McAdams of Billboard in June of 1996, “For now, ‘Ain’t No N-G-A’ has radio production rooms working overtime. None of the stations contacted for this story advocate the use of the n-word over the air, but their solutions are varied: Some edit the word out; others substitute ‘brother’ or ‘player.’” Still, radio stations pointed out that, however reluctant they were to broadcast that and other offensive words, the public knew when it was cut out anyway. In some cases, the change altered the content enough to lose its intended impact and appeal.

Despite the hardcore quality of his first album, as Shawnee Smith of Billboard, noted it was Jay-Z who also began to transform the hip-hop scene from its hardcore “gangsta rap” to something that bears a more refined style—that of “Armani suits, alligator boots, Rolex watches, expensive cars, broads and Cristel,” At the end of 1996, Havelock Nelson reflected on the year in rap for Billboard. Jay-Z, Nelson said, “masterfully reinvented himself after receiving battle scars from his previous rhyme life.”

In addition to making music, Jay-Z was also interested in the corporate side of the business. Since 1994, Jay-Z had been producing records for other artists as chief of operations for the Roc-A-Fella label. The same handle he had for money in the drug business translated well into the music industry. He talked about his future at that time; “Although my album has already gone gold, it will be my last one. From this point, it’s all about the business.” Jay-Z did not retire from rap, however. Jay-Z told Vibe that he realized his music had a powerful effect on his fans. “There were cats coming up to me like, ‘You must have been looking in my window or following my life’. It was emotional. Like big, rough hoodlum, hardrock, three-time jail bidders with scars and gold teeth just breaking down. It was something to look at, like, I must be going somewhere people been wanting someone to go for a while.” So he returned to rap in 1997, with the album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. In 1998 his best-selling, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, won him a Grammy award for best rap album.

Toured With Success

In 1999, Jay-Z headlined the Hard Knock Life Tour, which also featured DMX, Beanie Sigel, and others. Jay-Z used his stature as a hit-producing rap star to ensure that the rappers wanted would be included on the tour. At the outset, there were fears that violence would break out on the tour. The tour concluded without incident, however, and was a resounding success.

A documentary crew joined the tour, filming the rappers as they performed, hung out backstage, and traveled in tour buses. The resulting film, Backstage, was released in September of 2000. Some reviewers lamented that the documentary did provide as complete a picture of Rock-A-Fella/Def Jams’s place in the rap world. Although, Elvis Mitchell of the Contra Costa Times notes that hardcore fans are already familiar with the rivalries of the rap business. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle says that “The film makes no attempt to guide hip-hop novices. It just tosses the viewer into this musical experience, which will seem vital to some and depressing and repetitious to others.”

In 1999, Jay-Z was preparing to release his fourth album. In USA Today Steve Jones wrote that he noticed in a session he sat in on with Jay-Z and rapper Beanie Sigel, that Jay-Z never writes down a lyric. “I don’t write songs,” Jay-Z explained. “I just sit there and listen to the track, and I come up with the words. It’s a gift. A gift from God.” In the article Jay-Z also discussed his upcoming album, Vol. 3: The Life & Times of Shawn Carter. He talked about how his life had changed in the few short years of his success. “With five million records out there, there are all kinds of things that you have to deal with,” he said. “Even though it’s just been a year, people think that things change with you and start treating you differently. Street people start thinking that maybe you’ve gone soft. But I’m the same dude. That’s why I did the song, ’Come and Get Me.’ I’m still holding firm in my position.”

When Vol 3... came out, reviews were mixed. Soren Baker wrote in The Los Angeles Times, “For a man who rode to commercial prominence with the help of up-tempo, dance-ready tracks, Jay-Z is sounding pretty laid-back.” According to Baker, the album fell behind his Grammy-winning Vol. 2. It was from a calmer, even less-clever and humorous Jay-Z, in that reviewer’s opinion.

Arrested in Stabbing Incident

In early December of 1999, Jay-Z was charged with first-degree assault and second-degree assault after Untertainment Records executive Lance “Un” Rivera was stabbed once in the stomach and once in the shoulder. According to Newsweek, Jay-Z suspected that Rivera had released bootleg copies of his fourth album, an act that would lead to the loss of millions of dollars in rightful profits. When the two came face to face at a record-release party for rapper Q-tip held in a New York nightclub, eye-witnesses reported that there was an altercation between the two. In the commotion that followed, Rivera was stabbed. At his arraignment in early 2000, Jay-Z pleaded not guilty.

In the weeks between the stabbing incident in New York, and the release of his new album, Jon Caramanica talked about Jay-Z’s difficult week in early December of 1999. “After the breakout success of last year’s Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, the expectations on Jay-Z were greater than ever,” Caramanica wrote. “In fact, it’s been speculated that the entire stabbing incident was part of some large marketing conspiracy to guarantee strong buzz and sales. In hip-hop, where crime is often flipped as a marketing tool, having your artist splashed across the cover of the Daily News may well work financial wonders, but that option seems absurd for a man in Jay’s position. Still, the very existence of such a theory hints at an underlying belief that Jay, of all rappers, is too smart to go out like this. Business, never personal.” Although his lawyers have advised him not to discuss the case until the trial is concluded, Jay-Z did comment in Vibe on the fact that, one year after the stabbing incident, a trial date still had not been set. “I feel that if it was any other person,” Jay-Z said, “it wouldn’t still be dragging on this long.” Yet Jay-Z maintains a positive attitude. He told Vibe, “Everything happens for a reason. It’s another learning experience for me.”

Jay-Z has worked with some of the biggest stars of the rap and hip-hop scene, including, Lil’ Kim, Jermaine Dupri, Busta Rhymes, Kelly Price, Doug Wilson, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Nasheim Myrick, Kid Capri, Mase, Deric Angelettie, Too $hort, Joe Quinde, Sauce Money, Stephen Dent, Big Jaz, and Stevie J.

Despite the mixed reviews of Vol. 3: Life and Times of Shawn Carter and his legal troubles, Jay-Z still shows no signs of retiring from rap. The album was an instant platinum success, emphasizing what a number one seller he still was in the genre he has helped to define. In 2000, Jay-Z released Dynasty: Roc la Familia. He told Vibe, “I could make records as long as I have to desire to really dig deep and challenge myself to do it. I can do it for as long as I want.” It does not look like Jay-Z be running out of words any time soon.

Selected discography

Singles

“In My Lifetime,” Ffrr, 1995.

“Dead Presidents,” Priority, 1996.

“Can’t Knock the Hustle,” Priority 1996.

“Feelin’,” It, Roc-A-Fella/Priority, 1997.

“This City Is Mine,” Def Jam, 1998.

“Money Cash Hoes,” Def Jam, 1999.

“Can I Get a Rush Hour,” BMG International, 1999.

“Hard Knock Life,” Def Jam, 1999.

“Do It Again,” Def Jam, 1999; released on Polygram International, 2000.

“Things That U Do,” Def Jam, 2000.

“Anything,” Def Jam, 2000.

Albums

Reasonable Doubt, 1996.

In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, 1997.

Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, 1998

Vol. 3: The Life and Times of Shawn Carter, 1999.

Dynasty: Roc la Familia, 2000.

Sources

Periodicals

Billboard, June 29, 1996; Nov. 23, 1996; Dec. 28, 1996.

Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), Sept. 7, 2000.

Jet, September 27, 1999.

Los Angeles Times, Dec. 27, 1999; Dec. 31, 1999.

Newsweek, Dec. 13, 1999.

New York Times, Dec. 26, 1999; Dec. 30, 1999; Jan. 1, 2000.

People Weekly, April 5, 1999.

Rolling Stone, Oct. 14, 1999.

San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 6, 2000.

USA Today, Dec. 27, 1999; Jan. 3, 2000.

Vibe, December, 2000.

Village Voice, Dec. 14, 1999.

Washington Post, Dec. 14, 1999; Jan. 2, 2000.

Other

Additional information was obtained on-line at, All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com and MTV Online, http://www.mtv.com.

—Laura Hightower and Jennifer M. York