Jay-Z

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Jay-Z is one of the most popular and financially successful hip-hop artists in the world. His success has come from his own work, including hugely successful albums like Vol.2... Hard Knock Life and The Blueprint, and from his work with most of rap's A-list performers; he has helped a host of artists start or advance their careers.

Jay-Z was one of the co-creators of the independent record label Roc-a-Fella Records, on which he brought out his debut, Reasonable Doubt, which featured Notorious B.I.G.. After slow initial sales, strong singles took the album to platinum status. After the success of his second album, In My Lifetime Vol. 1 produced by Puff Daddy, the follow-up Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life sold over eight million copies and won a Grammy Award. The album included "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" which was a crossover pop chart success, although there were dissenting voices from within the rap community that the sound was too 'pop'.

His next album, Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter, was again a huge seller. He seemed to have struck a balance between popular success and musical credibility, silencing the dissenting voices. The Blueprint was released on 9/11, 2001. The album went into the charts at No.1, and is regarded among hip-hop fans as a classic. The single "Renegade" was performed with and produced by Eminem. Kanye West's early production work can also be heard on some of these tracks. The album has subsequently made double platinum sales. The Blueprint 2: the Gift and the Curse sold over four million copies in the US alone, and featured collaborations with Lenny Kravitz and Beyoncé Knowles, Jay-Z's girlfriend.

Jay-Z soon announced his retirement, saying that The Black Album (2003) would be his last. The album came in two versions; in addition to the standard version there was a vocal-only album, produced so that other artists could incorporate his lyrics into their work. One project by Danger Mouse mixed Jay-Z's Black Album with The Beatles' White Album, although lawyers put a stop to The Grey Album being commercially released. Jay-Z held his retirement party at Madison Square Garden, featuring a who's who of the rap and hip-hop world with all the proceeds donated to charity.

It didn't take much to encourage Jay-Z to return to recording. Out of retirement again, he released the Kingdom Come album in 2006, working with Dr Dre and Pharrell Williams among others. His time off had not blunted his talents, and the album went on to sell more than two million copies.

In late 2007 Jay-Z released his tenth album American Gangster, loosely based on the film of the same name that was also released in 2007.