JAY Z
Biography
![Picture](/uploads/1/7/4/3/17438393/498967792.jpg)
Jay Z was born on December Fourth, 1969 as Shawn Carter to his mother, Gloria Carter in Brooklyn, New York. His father left him when he was only eleven years old, thus making him one of the only supporting factors for his family. He ended up selling illegal substances in order to make money for his mother and siblings. To release the stress that came from living in a bad environment, he began to rap. Due to his amazing memory, he has never had to write down a rap; he speaks them all out and remembers them. Rapping became a huge outlet in his life. As he got older, he held more and more interest in rap and wanted to make a career out of it. Instead of trying to get signed to a big record company, he decided to become a businessman and create his own label, which goes by the name of "Roc-A-Fella".
Influence
"Roc-A-Fella" was one of the first successful independently owned rap labels. Jay Z made himself something great from nothing, and paved the way for future popular rap artists in the future industry. He provided many hit songs such as "Hard Knock Life" (which is featured above), "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Empire State of Mind". He has sold over twenty five million records in the past decade and has become a household name.