Jay-Z is a rapper and businessman who has earned the most number one albums on the Billboard 200. He is one of the most financially accomplished hip hop stars and entrepreneurs in the U.S. He helped found Roc-A-Fella Records and Roc Nation and previously led Def Jam Recordings as the CEO. Billboard magazine ranked him the 10th most successful artist of the 2000-2009 decade.

He was born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York. When his mother bought him a boom box, he began free styling and writing lyrics. Fredro Starr of Onyx would later say that Jay-Z is a master of flow who uses rests to provide stability to a verse and also uses partial linking to include more rhymes. He soon became known as Jazzy and later progressed into Jay-Z, a name that also paid tribute to his music mentor Jaz-O and the J/Z subway lines in Brooklyn. He was first exposed to music through his parents soul collection and uses samples from these artists in his work.

Since his career, Jay-Z has released several chart-topping hits like Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem), Can I Get A …, Big Pimpin, Excuse Me Miss, and 99 Problems. As far as his entrepreneurship, Jay-Z has helped found the urban clothing line Rocawear, owns the 40/40 Club, and has partial ownership of the New York Nets NBA team.