The battle caught the eye of many record labels, as Jay-Z was able to hold his own against Zai. His career had a jump start when he battled a rapper by the name of Zai. Jay-Z can be heard on several of The Jaz's early recordings, including 1988's "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie", he also collaborated with Inglewood, California producer Three-1-Zero which began his popularity as an artist. the Jaz, Big Jaz) as well as to the J-Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn. 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 partner Lee Dub ( Jaz-O (a.k.a. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time. Eventually, she bought him a boombox for his birthday and thus sparked his interest in music.
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In addition to this, Jay-Z has lyrically alluded to having sold crack cocaine and marijuana in Virginia and Maryland.Īccording to his mother, a young Jay-Z used to keep his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs on the streets of New York in the Marcy Projects. Jay-Z attended George Westinghouse High School in Downtown Brooklyn, NYC and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey but did not graduate. Originally from the infamous Marcy Houses projects in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn in New York City, Shawn Carter was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was only twelve years old and he was consequently raised by his mother Gloria Carter. He is one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip-hop record label which also launched the careers of artists such as Beanie Sigel, Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Young Gunz, Freeway, and Teairra Mari. He married his long time girlfriend Beyonce in April 2008 after dating for over seven years. He is one of the most respected rappers in the music industry, and is admired for his ability to craft songs from memory without the use of pen and paper. He is regarded as one of the most prolific and successful American blend artists of the mid-90s and early 2000s and is known for his use of metaphors, freestyling abilities, word play, flow, and blending of street and popular hip hop. Carter, Jigga, Hova, J-Hova, Hov, and Young Hov. He is more commonly known by a variety of stage names including Jay-Z, S.
Shawn Corey Carter (born Decemin Brooklyn, New York, United States), is an American rapper and former president and CEO of Roc A Fella Records.