Jay-Z

Jay-Z

﻿﻿Table of Contents Article Analysis Works Cited

Early Life Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter was born December 4th, 1969 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He lived much of his early life in the Marcy Housing Projects of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn. At an early age, he and his family were abandoned by his father. Many of his songs have referenced his purported dealing of crack cocaine. On his 2004 song, “December 4th”, his mother discusses his interest in music at an early age. Jay-Z began rapping the 80's, appearing on songs with Big Daddy Kane, Big L, Mic Geronimo,and his mentor Jaz-O, who’s stage name is referenced by Jay-Z’s own moniker. In his early years rapping, he rapped with a number of other rappers, including DMX, Ja Rule, Positive K, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Early Rap Career
In 1996, Jay-Z founded hip-hop record label Roc-A-Fella Records with friends Damon “Dame” Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke and released his first album, Reasonable Doubt, to positive reviews from music critics. The initial distribution of Roc-A-Fella records was through Priority Records. In 1997, Jay-Z released his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol.1, on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album was considerably more polished than its predecessor and featured fellow record executive Sean “Diddy” Combs as an executive producer. It was Jay-Z’s first album distributed though Island Def Jam Music Group, a business relationship which would feature prominently in his later life. Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life was released by Jay-Z in 1998, to mixed reviews. It featured Jay-Z’s most commercially successful track until that point, Hard Knock Life, a song sampling the song of the same name from the musical Annie. In 1999, Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter was released and was a far greater commercial success than Vol. 2, but also widespread piracy. This lead to an incident in a club in Lance “Un” Rivera, a record executive was stabbed. He claimed Jay-Z was angry at him for leaking his music and had caused a scuffle which Jay-Z had used for cover to stab him. Jay-Z initially pleaded innocent, but later accepted a deal for three years probation. ** A New Decade **

In 2000, Roc-A-Fella Records released an album entitled The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. The album was originally intended to showcase new talent at Roc-A-Fella, it turned into a guest-heavy solo album by Jay-Z. It featured several new producers that Jay-Z and his team had discovered, including Bink!, Just Blaze, The Neptunes and Kanye West, along with a new, more sample driven sound, as opposed the the synthesizer driven sound popularized by producers like Timbaland on previous album. At Summer Jam 2001 in New York City, Jay-Z performed a new song taking shots at fellow New York rappers Prodigy and Nas, called Takeover. The ensuing feud was one of the most memorable in hip-hop history, that between Jay-Z and Nas for the place atop the New York rap scene in the period after the death of Charles “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. The song, Takeover, landed on Jay-Z’s sixth album, released on September 11th, coinciding with the attacks on the World Trade Center. The following year, Jay-Z released The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, a sprawling double disc album. It was widely criticized for it’s overwhelming pop-oriented content, and was followed closely by The Blueprint 2.1, a more streamlined version featuring many of the same tracks.

Retirement
In 2003, rumors surfaced of a possible retirement for Jay-Z. Soon Afterwards, they were confirmed by Jay-Z himself. He soon released his eighth album, The Black Album, which was released to critical acclaim. The album was eventually nominated for Best Rap Album of The Year at the 2005 Grammys. In November 2005, a concert was held at Madison Square Garden which was Jay-Z’s “retirement party”. It included a slew of guest appearances, including the mothers of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Following Jay-Z’s “retirement”, he focused on his business ventures. After buying out Roc-A-Fella records from his co-founders, he was appointed president and CEO of Island Def Jam following the the departure of Lyor Cohen for a position at Interscope. The first of his nightclub line, the 40/40 Club, opened in New York City, and was followed by locations in Atlantic City and Chicago. He also bought out his Rocawear clothing line giant from “Dame” Dash in 2006 and sold it’s rights for more than $200 million, while retaining a controlling share and creative control. **The Return ** In 2007, Jay-Z headlined a concert, following a three year hiatus, called “I Declare War”. It featured many guest artists and a reconciliation of the seven year long feud with rapper Nas. Jay-Z released the album Kingdom Come the same year, which sold more than 650,000 copies in his first week, but was criticized by some for it’s sharp departure from the more street-oriented subject matter of previous albums. This prompted Jay-Z to release another album the following year, entitled American Gangster. 2009 saw more activity from Jay-Z since his pre-retirement days. In partnership with Sony Music worth hundreds of millions of dollars, started a new recording, management and production company called RocNation. He also released his eleventh album, The Blueprint 3, which r ﻿ eached number one on in sales following it’s early September release. This pushed Jay-Z past Elvis Presley for the record for most number one albums by a solo artist.


 * Analysis **

Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has had a wide impact on both the business world and the rap community. Jay-Z has been representative of many current trends, from his debut to his most recent projects. Unlike many other rap artists, Jay-Z has had an enormous ability to stay relevant for nearly fifteen years by switching the focus of his music, and often staying a step ahead of current trends. His switch from gangster-rap-oriented material to more mature topics illustrates how he has accommodated the economic pressures of the day and created a sound more suitable for those suffering from the economic downturn of the late 00’s rather than celebrating the economic prosperity of the 90’s. At the time of his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z’s primary subject matter was that of gangster rap and mafioso rap, genres popularized by rappers and groups such as Wu-Tang Clan, N.W.A, and Big Daddy Kane, a mentor of Jay-Z and a major influence on his style. Much of his early work reflects the same attitude. Gangster rap and it’s related subgenres can be attributed to the poor economic state of the late 70’s and 80’s, when domestic and global factors led to a recession and an epidemic of cocaine hitting the inner cities of the United States. Many rap artist claim to have sold cocaine or crack cocaine, including Jay-Z, contributing to a subgenre known as cocaine rap. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Around the time of The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, Jay-Z began a transition away from gangster rap towards more radio friendly topics, change that has helped him stay ahead of trends and stay relevant even in bubblegum pop dominated times. He frequently references this change in subject matter in his music, including his 2009 song, What We Talkin About:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I'm talkin' bout life and all I hear is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh yeah, he keeps talkin' bout crack” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Another way in which Jay-Z has had a cultural impact is through his choice of fashion. Throughout much of his early career, his fashion style frequently consisted of a simple outfit of a jersey and sagged jeans, a style popular with many rappers of the late 90’s and early 00’s. However, around the beginning of the 00’s, Jay-Z fashion style underwent somewhat of a change from a more street oriented set of attire, to a more professional style of clothing, consisting of suits and designer clothes. He makes a reference to this style change in his 2004 song, What More Can I Say:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“And I don't wear jerseys I'm thirty plus <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Give me a crisp pair of jeans, [expletive], button ups” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">An additional way in which Jay-Z had made an impact is in his influence of other artists. Many artists today cite him as an influence on their own style, in addition to having launched a number of other artist’s careers. While CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records, he signed artists like Kanye West, Cam’Ron, and The Diplomats. During his time at Island Def Jam Music Group, he was responsible for the signing of artists like Rihanna, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. His most recent recording, production and management company venture with Sony, RocNation, has began the careers of artist J Cole, Alexis Jordan and Willow Smith, the daughter of actor and rapper, Will Smith. Even his marketing style has influenced other rappers who manage their own labels. Jay-Z was notorious for appearing in guest spots on the songs of new signees to Roc-A-Fella Records in order to give popularity boosts to them, a marketing tactic mimicked by rappers such as Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jay-Z is one of a multitude of public figures to have a cultural impact during the last decade and a half. He has influenced, been influenced by, and, in the end, been representative of trend from his first album to the present. He remains a relevant artist in many different ways, through his ability to adapt to changing times and to predict coming trends in music and fashion.

= Works Cited = = = Jay-Z. The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam, 2002. MP3.

Jay-Z. The Black Album. Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam, 2004. MP3.

Jay-Z. The Blueprint 3. RocNation/Atlantic, 2009. MP3.

Charnas, Dan. The Big Payback: the History of the Business of Hip-hop. New York: New American Library, 2010. Print.

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Speilberg, Theo. "Jay-Z Goes Up For Auction." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 May 2011. <[]>.

Curan, Catherine. "Jay-Z's 99 Problems - NYPOST.com." New York News | Gossip | Sports | Entertainment | Photos - New York Post. The New York Post, 19 May 2010. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>.

Collins, Taylor. "The Blueprint – Jay-Z and His Impact on Hip-Hop Music | MusiQologY." MusiQologY | Where Music's Past & Present Collide. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 May 2011. <[]>.