The life of a rapper, entrepreneur, investor, and businessman, Jay-Z. Jay-Z has become successful because of talent, sound business decisions, and diversity. It is possible for people to be productive and successful, even though they may not start their life in an ideal environment.
Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4th, 1969. He was the last of four children. His Parents are Gloria Carter and Adnis Reeves, Jr. His siblings were Andrea, Eric, and Michelle Carter. When Shawn was born he lived with his grandparents, Adnis and Ruby Reeves, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn until 1975 when his family moved to the Marcy projects of Brooklyn, New York. Carter tried to stay out of trouble, in spite of his surroundings, by finding positive influences. Shawn’s parents loved music and when they had parties, he would sneak out of his room at night and sit by the doorway to listen to the music. The flamboyant sounds soaked into his core. His parent’s played rap
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He denied doing it, and Rivera eventually dropped the charges. The prosecutor went after Jay-Z anyway, and he ended up getting 3 years of probation. (Jay-Z) Jay-Z’s businesses are very personal to him. In one of songs, he states, “I’m not a businessman/I’m a business, man.” “The clothes are an extension of me. The music is an extension of me. All my businesses are part of the culture, so I have to stay true to whatever I’m feeling at the time, whatever direction I’m heading in. And hopefully, everyone follows.” (DeCurtis) It seems as though he has some followers, with nearly 55 million albums sold. He also has an empire that includes clothing, fragrances, sports bars, liquor, and hotels. With everything else, he also collaborated with some fellow artists to create a streaming music service, Tidal, which has a following of about 1 million listeners as of last September. He has made himself one of the biggest brands in the world.