Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, was a school friend of The Notorious B.I.G. He started releasing records in the late 1980s, initially appearing on records by his close friend Jas and Original Flavor.
In 1995, Jay-Z scored an underground hit single with "In My Lifetime", drawing on Jaz's dealings with mercenary labels. He set up his own Roc-A-Fella imprint in 1996 with entrepreneur Damon Dash and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke.
Jay-Z's debut set, "Reasonable Doubt", released in July, attracted fans with a mixture of hard-hitting street lyrics and rhymes, epitomized by the collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. on "Brooklyn's Finest". The follow-up, "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1", was released in November 1997, featuring guest appearances from Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Lil' Kim, Too $hort, Blackstreet, and DJ Premier.
Jay-Z found the time to write, produce, and direct the semi-autobiographical short "Streets is Watching", which introduced several of Roc-A-Fella's rising stars, including Memphis Bleek, Rell, and Diamonds N' Ruff. The gold-selling soundtrack featured the hit single "It's Alright".
Jay-Z then became a major star with the hit singles "Can I Get A... " and "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", the latter built around a line from the musical "Annie". The album of the same name featured hotshot producer Timbaland, in addition to the usual team of Ski and DJ Premier.
The album "Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life" easily succeeded in its aim, staying at US number 1 for five weeks, before finally being deposed by Alanis Morissette's new album. Despite a hectic schedule as a guest producer/writer and rapper, Jay-Z still found the time to enter the studio and record tracks for his new album.
Released in December 1999, "Vol. 3: The Life and Times Of S. Carter" confirmed his status as one of hip-hop's most popular artists when it topped the album charts the following month. The following year's "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000", another US chart-topper, was originally planned as a supergroup collaboration with fellow Roc-A-Fella rappers Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Amil.
