In 2013 Time Magazine released its list of the 100 most influential people. In the “Titan” section of the list, a man who less than 20 years before had been selling Crack Cocaine on the streets of New York. The piece was written by the 8th richest man in the world who at the time was the Mayor of New York. Michael Bloomberg wrote in that piece, “He’s an artist-entrepreneur who stands at the center of culture and commerce in 21st century America, and his influence stretches across races, religions and regions.” The man, Sawn Carter better known as Jay-Z. The evolution of Hip Hop fans is perfectly chronicled by the fans of Jay-Z. In June of 1995 he dropped his first album, Reasonable Doubt. This album and its subsequent tour had a fan base …show more content…
One statistic that we used to get an understanding is how his most current album is doing. His album, 4:44 was certified platinum within a week of its release. Over one million people bought the album within a week of it coming out. These numbers also do not reflect streaming the music through a music service. This time frame shows just how much the fan base has grown since Reasonable Doubt’s release in June of 1996. It took 5 years, 7 months and 3 days for the debut album to go platinum. The importance of Jay-Z’s success has led to his fan base growing so large that he can sell the same number of albums in a week that took him 5 and half years a little over 20 years earlier. After Jay-Z’s first studio release in June of 1996, Reasonable Doubt introduced Shawn Carter’s Marcy House Projects drug-dealing chronicles to the rest of the world. To rap fans outside the streets of Brooklyn, Jay-Z was an underground hip-hop artist, especially with the spotlight of New York hip hop focusing on artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Run-DMC, Rakim, and A Tribe Called …show more content…
Nick is a Caucasian student from a suburb of Philadelphia. When asked if his race and upbringing made him feel like an outsider amongst fans, he stated, “I know that me being white would have made me an outsider a decade or two ago, but when I went to my first Hip Hop concert I did not feel out of place.” The present group not only has members of all races but from all backgrounds. The 44th President Barack Obama is a noted Jay-Z fan, and has even said that he has listened to Jay-Z in the Oval Office. There are very few areas that members of this group are not present. Jay-Z’s fan base, which is one of the most diverse groups in music today, clearly exemplifies the growing hip-hop community in various ways. We have had a first-hand experience in witnessing the various rankings of members throughout the group. As well as the distinctiveness between all individuals within it as well. Jay-Z is one of the main pioneers who brought hip-hop to mainstream music fans, and has even gained the attention and admiration of the former president of the United States, Barack