Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio—built on a rags to riches narrative. In 2023, Billboard and Vibe ranked him as the greatest rapper of all time. According to Forbes, he is the wealthiest music artist in history, worth an estimated US$2.8 billion as of 2026. A protégé of fellow New York City-based rapper Jaz-O, Jay-Z began recording music in the late 1980s. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994 to release his first two studio albums, Reasonable Doubt (1996) and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), both of which were critically acclaimed. His 11 subsequent albums, including The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003), American Gangster (2007), and 4:44 (2017), have each debuted atop the Billboard 200. Jay-Z has a total of 14 number-one albums on the chart, the third-most in history. He topped the Billboard Hot 100 on four occasions: once as a lead artist with his 2009 single "Empire State of Mind" (with Alicia Keys), and three times with his guest performances on the singles "Heartbreaker" (1999) by Mariah Carey, "Crazy in Love" (2003) by Beyoncé, and "Umbrella" (2007) by Rihanna. Jay-Z served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, during which time he helped launch the careers of acts including Kanye West, Rihanna, and Ne-Yo. He co-founded Rocawear, a clothing retailer, in 1999, and founded the 40/40 Club, a luxury bar chain, in 2003. As both grew into multi-million-dollar businesses, he launched Roc Nation, a multi-disciplinary entertainment agency, in 2008. In 2015, he acquired the technology company Aspiro and led the expansion of its media streaming service Tidal. Through his business ventures, Jay-Z became the first hip-hop billionaire in 2019. After Block, Inc. (then Square, Inc.) acquired a majority stake in Tidal in March 2021, Jay-Z joined its board of directors. One of the best-selling music artists with 125 million records sold, Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards, the eighth-most of all time and the second-most of any hip-hop artist. He is the recipient of the NAACP's President's Award and four Emmy Awards (including three Primetime Emmy Awards), in addition to being nominated for a Tony Award. Jay-Z was the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the eighth hip-hop act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.