Jay Z - Swagger celebrity

Jay Z

December 4 1969

Long before the likes of Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne even came to fame, Jay Z already put out a collective string of successful albums. In his decade long career, the American hip hop artiste has 11 albums to his name, and has sold a staggering 26 million albums in the United States alone. For his music efforts, Jay Z also has several Grammy awards in his bag. His debut album of 13 years old, Reasonable Doubt, ranked at #248 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Album Of All Time”.

The Reasonable Doubt era began humbly enough. Jay Z wasn’t one of the lucky hip hop musicians who got it easy. No record company would offer him a professional debut album. What’s a man to do then? Trust Jay Z to rise to the occasion. Along with Dame Dash and Kareem Biggs, Jay Z established Rock-A-Fella Records. In 1996, the Reasonable Doubt album was released. Commercially, it was no fanfare, having only reached number 23 on the Billboards chart, but it was critically well received.

It wasn’t 2 albums later that Jay Z scored his first megahit. His 1998 offering, Vol.2 Hard Knock Life, saw great commercial success. The album was certified 5x platinum and has sold over 8 million units. It was with Hard Knock Life that Jay Z earned his first Grammy win for Best Rap Album. The title track, Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) was certified Gold in 1999.

Through the nineties, Jay Z remained a strong force in the hip hop music industry, releasing one successful album after another. In the millennium, taking on the role of a mentor, he sidestepped in his career to help other aspiring stars carve a name. The project was named The Dynasty: Roc La Familia and its main purpose was to introduce these new artistes to the market.

That following year, Jay Z released what would be his unrivalled masterpiece in the many years to come. Till this day, The Blueprint is widely recognized as one of hip hop classic albums. It received the 5 mic review from The Source magazine, a highly circulated hip hop publication. And it is unsurprisingly so. Jay Z’s sixth album saw collaboration with famous rapper Eminem, and Kanye West had a hand at producing four of the album’s tracks.

For the next 3 years, Jay Z released 3 more albums; The Blueprint: The Gift & The Curse, The Black Album and Collision Course, which saw collaboration with him and rock band, Linkin Park. All 3 albums were well received by hip hop fans and critics, cementing Jay Z’s status as a hip hop mogul. The Black Album was his last before he announced his retirement from the industry, but as we all know it, true talents never stay away for too long.

His sabbatical ended when he dropped his comeback album in late 2006. Titled Kingdom Come, the album debuted at number 1, having sold an impressive 680,000 copies in the first week alone. This is a remarkable feat considering that sales in the music industry were in a slump. In 2007, the Jay Z-Rihanna collaboration song, Umbrella, arguably the biggest hit of the 21st century, reached number 1 on the Billboard charts.

Unlike some of his hip hop counterparts who have been known to squander their money away, Jay Z is unconventionally financially savvy. Not only does he enjoy immense success in the music industry, he has a strong footing in the business field as well. He was previously the CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc A Fella Records. Today, he helms The 40/40 Club, an All-American sports bars and co owns New Jersey Nets, a professional basketball team. This is a man who not only raps about swagger but is the walking epitome of it.

In 1999, along with his Roc-A-Fellas partners, he founded the urban clothing line, Rocawear. In 2007, Jay Z sold the rights of the enterprise to Iconix Branding Group, raking in $204 million in the handing over. Of his entrepreneur forays, Jay Z remarks that all of his brands are personal to him and he is emotionally involved in it. Instead of lending his name just to reap in the profits, Jay Z takes pride in all of his work.

Proving himself to be a very smart businessman, Jay Z is reportedly signing a deal with Live Nation for a swopping $150 million. This contract is one of the most lucrative contracts ever offered to a musician. Once finalized, Live Nation will contribute to Jay Z’s entertainment ventures, which include a record label, talent agency and a music publishing company. This is a far cry from Jay Z’s humble days, when he couldn’t even get a professional deal.

They say that behind every successful man is a woman. For an established man like Jay Z, this woman happens to be another renowned hip hop artiste. Jay Z is blissfully married to Beyonce Knowles. Unlike most other high profile celebrity couples, Jay Z and Beyonce have managed to keep their private lives out of the tabloid news. Preferring instead to lay low about their relationship, Jay Z and Beyonce did not trumpet their holy matrimony in early 2008. Keeping silence on their relationship, Jay Z says, has helped in their relationship.

Enjoying success in both family and career aspects, Jay Z is definitely one swagger man we all wish to become!

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