小简介
Jay-Z自从1996年出道以来迅速的就成为了整个东海岸说唱的统帅级人物，他不仅是一位最顶尖的说唱歌手同时还是最出色的音乐制作人之一，在流行音乐界拥有很高的地位。除此以外，Jay-Z所经营的Roc-A-Fella唱片公司，在整个黑人音乐市场中也是商业成绩最突出的厂牌之一，对于整个说唱音乐的市场有着非常重要的影响力。Jay-Z的每一张专辑销量都超过白金，而在进入新世纪以后，随着音乐上不断的取得新成就，以及音乐影响力的增强，Jay-Z的触角也从说唱音乐本身渐渐移向其他音乐上，比如加大与东海岸以外的南方说唱和西海岸说唱之间的合作以及在R&B音乐的制作等方面，为推动说唱音乐以及整个流行音乐都做出了不小的贡献。
Jay-Z原名Shawn Carter，又名Sean Carter，于1970年12月4日出生在美国纽约的布鲁克林区，和在这里出生的其他说唱歌星一样，Shawn Carter的父亲在他很小的时候就离开了他和他的母亲Gloria Carter，这段艰苦的岁月是Shawn Carter印象最为深刻的。少年的Shawn Carter独自撑起了他和母亲的生活，不久他就成了街头一名普通的黑人说唱歌手，最初的时候他为自己取了一个源自爵士乐的名字“Jazzy”，不久之后简化为Jay-Z。当一名说唱歌手并不能挣足够的钱，为了生存，Jay-Z还必须和那里其他的年轻人一样从事一些并不光明的行为，不过更多的时候Jay-Z还是靠在一些小录音室自己录制一些磁带然后拿出去卖来赚钱糊口。在Jay-Z的说唱才华渐渐被附近的人所了解之后，Jay-Z开始在当地一些小的说唱组合和一些歌手那里打短工，在这里他有机会接触到说唱音乐的制作等工作，而这些唱片录制工业也激起了Jay-Z的野心，Jay-Z并没有像其他歌手一样和大的唱片公司签约，而是和两个朋友Damon Dash和Kareem "Biggs" Burke一起创办了Roc-A-Fella唱片公司，他把自己的唱片公司依附于Def Jam公司(当时还叫做Priority Records)的旗下，并且开始制作和发行音乐专辑。
1996年，Jay-Z录制并发行了自己的第一张个人专辑，同时也是Roc-A-Fella唱片公司的第一张专辑《Reasonable Doubt》，这张发行自东西海岸说唱音乐争斗最残酷时期的帮匪说唱专辑非常令人惊奇，多首单曲成为排行榜主打，到了如今他也被公认是Jay-Z在上个世纪最杰出的专辑，同时也成为了帮匪说唱专辑的经典作品。《Reasonable Doubt》的初获成功也为Jay-Z的下一张专辑以及Roc-A-Fella唱片公司的发展开了一个好头。1997年，Jay-Z的第二张专辑《In My Lifetime, Vol. 1》发行，富有商业头脑的Jay-Z在这张专辑中为了吸引更多的听众以及扩大他的知名度和唱片公司的影响力，把专辑的音乐风格从偏激的帮匪说唱转变为了更加易于各方面听众接受的流行说唱，同时在专辑中邀请了包括吹牛老爹Sean "Puffy" Combs在内的多位大牌歌星助阵，而这些措施效果显著，不仅拥有多首单曲打榜，而且这张专辑的销量也迅速超过了《Reasonable Doubt》，杀进了Billboard 200排行榜的前三名，Jay-Z已经成为了一名一流的说唱歌星。
1998年9月29日，Jay-Z的第三张个人专辑《Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life》正式发行，这张纯粹的流行音乐专辑的14首单曲中近半数成为排行榜热门，其中的一些在现在已经成为了Jay-Z的标志性作品，比如《Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)》，Jay-Z借此更进一步的扩大了自己的领地，同时这张专辑也在发行后成为了Billboard 200排行榜的冠军，这也是Jay-Z第一张冠军专辑，已经完全转变成为了流行说唱歌手的Jay-Z在1998年度第41届格莱美颁奖典礼上获得了到目前为止他个人唯一的一尊格莱美奖杯，专辑《Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life》获得了年度最佳说唱专辑大奖(Best Rap Album)，Jay-Z成为了被各方面都认可的最顶尖的说唱明星。
1999年，Jay-Z发行了第四张个人专辑，这张专辑是依旧讲述自己的故事的《Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter》。此时的Jay-Z已经普遍的采用和其他歌星合作演唱的方式来表演歌曲，这张专辑中几乎每一首歌都是由Jay-Z和其他歌星共同演唱的，在商业上也依旧保持着自己的辉煌，而这种大面积和其他歌星合作的做法也使Roc-A-Fella唱片公司渐渐成为了说唱工业的一个重要的组成部分。2000年，Jay-Z发行了第五张个人专辑《Dynasty Roc la Familia》，除了唱片本身依旧保持着很高的商业成绩以外，已经在业界名声鹊起的Roc-A-Fella唱片公司开始在这张专辑中逐渐的推出自己公司的一些新人来和Jay-Z一起演唱歌曲。也许是因为确实缺乏大牌歌星的加盟，因此在销量上比以往出现了一些下降。不过在这张专辑里，Jay-Z开始和一些超级音乐制作人展开合作，比如大名鼎鼎的the Neptunes和Kayne West等，这在一定程度上也为Jay-Z在制作人方向的发展期了一定的推动作用。
2001年9月18日，Jay-Z在新世纪最优秀的专辑《The Blueprint》正式发行，这张专辑中颇有些令人以外的没有邀请大牌的明星参与演唱，只是和Eminem一起演唱了《Renagade》，这张专辑也成为了自首张专辑《Reasonable Doubt》之后，最为Jay-Z个人化的作品，因此也被认为是Jay-Z自《Reasonable Doubt》之后最经典的专辑。巨大的销量和影响以及专辑中的多首优秀单曲使这张专辑更强有力的巩固了Jay-Z在说唱乐坛的地位，Jay-Z与吹牛老爹Sean "Puffy" Combs等人一起成为了说唱工业的代表性人物。但是这张专辑中的一些单曲引起了些麻烦，由于在此前演唱会中Jay-Z利用一些单曲进行了针对其他歌手的讽刺而引起了旷日持久的口水战，并且一直延续到了专辑发行之后的很长时间。但是在这之后Jay-Z又开始了和其他歌手的合作，他首先与the Roots合作在2001年稍晚的时候发行了MTV台的不插电现场专辑《Unplugged》又与另一名说唱歌星R. Kelly在2002年联合发行了专辑《Best of Both Worlds》。
2002年，Jay-Z发行了与其他明星合作的双CD专辑《The Blueprint? The Gift & the Curse》，以及在2003年上半年发行这张专辑的单CD版本《Blueprint 2.1》虽然这两张专辑作为2001年的《The Blueprint》的续集作品在商业上依旧是相当的火爆，并且在其中仍然包括了相当大量的明星，但是在歌迷和评论家眼中他们却都没有达到《The Blueprint》的高度。2003年11月14日，Jay-Z发行了号称是最后一张专辑的第十张专辑《The Black Album》。
Embodying the rags-to-riches rap dream, Jay-Z pulled himself up by his bootstraps as a youth to eventually become the reigning rapper of New York City and, in turn, a major-label executive following his short-lived retirement from music-making. In the wake of his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z's albums sold millions upon millions with each release, and his endless parade of hits made him omnipresent on urban radio and video television. He retained a strongly devoted fan base and challenged whatever rivals attempted to oust him from atop the rap game, sparing most memorably with Nas. Jay-Z and his Roc-a-Fella associates greatly influenced the industry and established many of the trends that pervaded during the late '90s and early 2000s. He consistently worked with the hottest producers of the day (Clark Kent, DJ Premier, Teddy Riley, Trackmasters, Erick Sermon, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz), and if they weren't hot at the time, they likely would be afterward (the Neptunes, Kanye West, Just Blaze, 9th Wonder). He similarly collaborated with the hottest rappers in the industry, everyone from East Coast contemporaries like the Notorious B.I.G. ("Brooklyn's Finest") and DMX ("Cash, Money, Hoes"), to the best rappers from the South (Ludacris, Missy Elliott) and the West Coast (Snoop Dogg, Too Short). After his self-declared retirement from rapping in 2003, he assumed the presidency of the seminal rap label Def Jam and, as an industry executive, embarked on another phase in his illustrious career.
Born and raised in the rough Marcy Projects of Brooklyn, NY, Jay-Z underwent some tough times after his father left his mother before the young rapper was even a teen. Without a man in the house, he became a self-supportive youth, turning to the streets, where he soon made a name for himself as a fledging rapper. Known as "Jazzy" in his neighborhood, he soon shortened his nickname to Jay-Z and did all he could to break into the rap game. As he vividly discusses in his lyrics, Jay-Z also became a street hustler around this time, doing what needed to be done to make money. For a while, he ran around with Jaz-O, aka Big Jaz, a small-time New York rapper with a record deal but few sales. From Jaz he learned how to navigate through the rap industry and what moves to make. He also participated in the group Original Flavor for a short time. Jay-Z subsequently decided to make an untraditional decision and start his own label rather than sign with an established label like Jaz had done. Together with friends Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, he created Roc-a-Fella Records, a risky strategy for cutting out the middleman and making money for himself. Once he found a reputable distributor, Priority Records (and then later Def Jam), Jay-Z finally had everything in place, including a debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996).
Though Reasonable Doubt only reached number 23 on Billboard's album chart, Jay-Z's debut eventually became recognized as an undisputed classic among fans, many of whom consider it his crowning achievement. Led by the hit single "Ain't No Nigga," a duet featuring Foxy Brown, Reasonable Doubt slowly spread through New York; some listeners were drawn in because of big names like DJ Premier and the Notorious B.I.G., others by the gangsta motifs very much in style at the time, still others by Jay-Z himself. By the end of its steady run, Reasonable Doubt generated three more charting singles — "Can't Knock the Hustle," which featured Mary J. Blige on the hook; "Dead Presidents," which featured a prominent sample of "The World Is Yours," a 1994 hit by Nas; and "Feelin' It" — and set the stage for Jay-Z's follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997).
Peaking at number three on the Billboard album chart, In My Lifetime sold much more strongly than its predecessor. The album boasted pop-crossover producers such as Puff Daddy and Teddy Riley, and singles such as "Sunshine" and "The City Is Mine" indeed showcased a newfound embrace of pop crossover. Yet there were still plenty of hard-hitting songs such as "Streets Is Watching" and "Rap Game/Crack Game" to lace In My Lifetime with gangsta rap as well as pop crossover. Jay-Z's next album, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life (1998), released a year after In My Lifetime, was laden with hit singles: "Can I Get A..." and "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" broke the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, while "Cash, Money, Hoes" and "Nigga What, Nigga Who" also charted. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life ended up winning a Grammy for Best Rap Album.
Like clockwork, Jay-Z returned a year later with another album, Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter (1999), which topped the Billboard 200 and spawned two hits: "Big Pimpin'" and "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)." The album was Jay-Z's most collaborative to date, featuring ten guest vocalists and a roll call of in-demand producers such as Dr. Dre and Timbaland. Jay-Z then scaled back a bit for Dynasty Roc la Familia (2000), his fifth album in as many years. The album showcased Roc-a-Fella's in-house rappers: Beanie Sigel guests on seven of the 16 tracks, Memphis Bleek guests on six, and both Amir and Freeway also make guest apperances. On Dynasty Roc la Familia, Jay-Z also began working with a few new producers: the Neptunes, Kanye West, and Just Blaze. The Neptunes-produced "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" became a particularly huge hit single this go-round.
Jay-Z's next album, The Blueprint (2001), solidified his position atop the New York rap scene upon its release in September. Prior to the album's release, the rapper had caused a stir in New York following his headlining performance at Hot 97's Summer Jam 2001, where he debuted the song "Takeover." The song features a harsh verse ridiculing Prodigy of Mobb Deep, and Jay-Z accentuated his verbal assault (including the lines "You's a ballerina/I seen ya") by showcasing gigantic photos of an adolescent Prodigy in a dance outfit. The version of "Takeover" that later appeared on The Blueprint includes a third verse, this one dissing Nas, who, in response to the Summer Jam performance, had called out Jay-Z, "the fake king of New York," in a freestyle known as "Stillmatic." As expected, "Takeover" ignited a sparring match with Nas, who responded with "Ether." Jay-Z accordingly returned with a comeback, "Super Ugly," where he rapped over the beats to Nas' "Get Ur Self a..." on the first verse and Dr. Dre's "Bad Intentions" on the second. The back-and-forth bout created massive publicity for both Jay-Z and Nas. In addition to "Takeover," The Blueprint also featured "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," one of the year's biggest hit songs, and the album topped many year-end best-of charts.
Jay-Z capitalized on the runaway success of The Blueprint with a number of follow-up projects. He collaborated with the Roots for the Unplugged album (2001) and with R. Kelly for Best of Both Worlds (2002). He then went on to record, over the course of the year, 40 or so new tracks, 25 of which appeared on his next record, the double album The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse (2002). Though billed as a sequel, The Blueprint² was considerably different from its predecessor. Whereas the first volume had been personal, considered, and focused, the second instead offered an unapologetically sprawling double-disc extravaganza showcasing remarkable scope. As usual, it spawned a stream of singles, led by his 2Pac cover "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" (featuring his glamorous girlfriend, Beyoncé Knowles from Destiny's Child). Furthermore, Jay-Z guested on a pair of summer 2003 hits: Beyoncé's chart-topping "Crazy in Love" and the Neptunes' Top Five hit "Frontin'."
It was then that Jay-Z announced his imminent retirement after the release of one more album. That LP, The Black Album (2003), was rush-released by Def Jam and soared to the top spot in the album charts at the end of the year. As always, it spawned a couple big hits — "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "99 Problems" — and inspired a popular mash-up bootleg, The Grey Album, by Danger Mouse. The subsequent year (2004) was a whirlwind for the retiring Jay-Z. He embarked on a farewell tour that was topped off by an extravagant Madison Square Garden performance documented on the Fade to Black DVD, and he also embarked on an ill-fated arena tour with the embattled R. Kelly that resulted in an exchange of ugly multi-million-dollar lawsuits.
With his final album behind him and his reputation better than ever, Jay-Z accepted an offer to assume the role of president at Def Jam Records. The seminal rap label was struggling and needed someone to guide it through a rocky transitional phase. Jay-Z accepted the challenge and took over the company began by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin roughly 20 years earlier. (As part of its deal with Jay-Z, Def Jam's parent company, Universal, bought Roc-a-Fella, which resulted in some bitterness among certain associates upset by the buyout.) Considerable fanfare met the presidential inauguration, as Jay-Z became one of the few African-American major-label executives in the business, and he also became one of the few rappers to transition into that side of the business. Numerous rappers owned or operated their own boutique labels, but none had ever risen to such major-label heights. And the rapper-turned-president didn't take his job lightly, either, at least judging by his initial year in office. Within months of assuming his position, he fostered a string of newfound talents — Young Jeezy, Teairra Marí, Rihanna, and Bobby Valentino, all of whom enjoyed considerable commercial success — and only had a few setbacks (disappointing returns on albums by Memphis Bleek and Young Gunz).
In 2005 Jay-Z came out of retirement for the I Declare War concert in New York City. The ambitious show featured a parade of high-profile guest stars, including Diddy, T.I., Kanye West, and in a peacemaking move, Nas. With this longstanding beef squashed, Jay-Z announced he was coming out of retirement for good. He made it official when Kingdom Come hit the shelves in late 2006. Less than a year later, Jay-Z returned with another post-retirement album, American Gangster (2007), this one inspired by the concurrent film of the same name.
