File:Jay-Z_sig.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Jay-Z
Sign in to saveAlso known as Jigga, Hova, Shawn Corey Carter, The Carter Administration, El Presidente, HOV, Jay Z, Jaÿ-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. He is the wealthiest musical artist in history, worth US$2.8 billion as of 2026.
OverviewAI-generated
Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and music executive. He began his professional career in 1986 and is associated with the East Coast hip-hop, hardcore hip-hop, and gangsta rap genres. His musical output includes works such as *The Black Album*, *Hard Knock Life*, and *In My Lifetime*. He has received Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, Best Melodic Rap Performance, and Best Rap Performance.
Carter is married to Beyoncé and has three children, including Blue Ivy Carter. He has been affiliated with Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, Atlantic Records, and Priority Records. His work is recognized in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame collection. He speaks English as his native language and has also worked in the acting department.
Synthesized by Vinony from 45 facts across 10 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Open Library, Firecrawl, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1969
- Works
- 10
Top works
- Everything is love
- The black album
- In my lifetime
- Hard knock life
- The dynasty
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
New York City, New York, USA
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as JAŸ-Z (Jay-Z), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of entertainment company Roc Nation, and was the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007. One of the world's best-selling music artists with over 140 million records sold, Jay-Z has won 24…
Known for
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music — Self (archive footage)2025
- TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy — Self (archive footage)2024
- Piece by Piece — Jay-Z (voice)2024
- The Hustle of @617MikeBiv — Self2023
- Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé — Self2023
- Jay-Z: Ultimate Hustle — self2023
- JAY-Z and Gayle King: Brooklyn's Own2023
- Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL — Self (archive footage)2022
- 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — Self (archive footage)2022
- jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy — Self (archive footage)2022
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1969
Discography
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 5,539,004
- Total plays
- 232,155,739
Tags
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z (stylized as JAŸ-Z), is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He is recognized for his contributions to East Coast hip-hop, often incorporating complex lyricism, wordplay, and braggadocio, with music frequently reflecting a rags-to-riches narrative. As of 2026, he is considered the wealthiest musical artist in history, with an estimated net worth of US$2.8 billion. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/JAY-Z"
via Last.fm · JAY-Z
Key facts
- Person.name
- Jay-Z
- Person.image
- File:Jay-Z @ Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter Foundation Carnival (crop 2).jpg
- Person.caption
- Jay-Z in 2011
- Person.birth_name
- Shawn Corey Carter
- Person.birth_place
- New York City, U.S.
- Person.years_active
- 1986–present
- Person.boards
- Block, Inc.
- Person.children
- 3, including Blue Ivy
- Person.awards
- Full list
- Person.signature
- Jay-Z sig.svg
- Musical artist.embed
- yes
- Musical artist.background
- solo_singer
- Musical artist.genre
- Hip-hop
- Musical artist.current_member_of
- The Carters
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Carter
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Brooklyn
- Spouse
- Beyoncé
- Child
- Blue Ivy Carter
- Occupation
- film actor
- Employer
- Louis Vuitton
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Genre
- hardcore hip-hop
- Record label
- Priority Records
- Discography
- Jay-Z discography
- Official website
- lifeandtimes.com
- Image
- Jay-Z concert (cropped).jpg
- Number of children
- 3
- Residence
- Bel Air
Show 13 more facts
- Commons category
- Jay-Z
- date of birth
- 1969-12-04
- topic's main category
- Category:Jay-Z
- Commons gallery
- Jay-Z
- birth name
- Shawn Corey Carter
- start of work period
- 1986-00-00
- topic has template
- Template:Jay-Z
- copyright representative
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- pseudonym
- HOV
- social media followers
- 3080809
- partner in business or sport
- Pharrell Williams
- writing language
- English language
- stylized name
- Jay:Z
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
42 sectionsContents
- Early life and education
- Career
- 1986–1995: Early career and recordings
- 1995–2000: ''Reasonable Doubt'', ''In My Lifetime, Vol. 1'', ''Vol. 2...'', ''Vol. 3...'', and ''The Dynasty''
- 2001–2002: Feud with Nas, Prodigy, ''The Blueprint'' and ''The Blueprint<sup>2</sup>''
- 2003–2005: ''The Black Album'' and initial retirement
- 2005–2007: ''Kingdom Come'' and ''American Gangster''
- 2008–2011: ''The Blueprint 3'' and ''Watch the Throne''
- 2012–2016: ''Magna Carta Holy Grail'' and other ventures
- 2017–present: ''4:44'', ''Everything Is Love'' and Book of HOV exhibit
- Musical style
- Influences
- Rapping technique
- Business career
- Rocawear
- Reebok
- Alcoholic beverages
- Technology
- Music industry
- Sporting business
- Media
- Other ventures
- Personal life
- Relationship with Beyoncé
- Legal issues and controversies
- 1999 Lance "Un" Rivera stabbing
- Civil lawsuits
- Philanthropy
- Political involvement
- Discography
- Filmography
- Tours
- Headlining
- Co-headlining
- Supporting
- Books
- Awards and nominations
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
* [JAŸ-Z30](http://jayz30.com/)
* [Experience](http://jayz30.com/experience)
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Jay-Z” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (33)
Available in 77 languages
- Español
- Français
- Deutsch
- 中文
- 日本語
- Русский
- Português
- Italiano
- العربية
- Albanian
- Armenian
- Asturian
- azb
- Azerbaijani
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Basque
- bat_smg
- Bosnian
Show 58 more
- Bulgarian
- Catalan
- Central Kurdish
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Egyptian Arabic
- Esperanto
- Estonian
- Finnish
- Galician
- Georgian
- Greek
- Hausa
- Hebrew
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Irish
- Javanese
- Kazakh
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Macedonian
- Maithili
- Malay
- Malayalam
- Maltese
- Mingrelian
- Nederlands
- Nepali
- Norwegian
- Pampanga
- Polski
- Punjabi
- Romanian
- Serbian
- Serbian (Latin)
- simple
- Slovak
- Somali
- Sundanese
- Svenska
- Swahili
- Talysh
- Tamil
- Tiếng Việt
- Tumbuka
- Türkçe
- Ukrainian
- Uzbek
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Wu Chinese
- Yoruba
- zh_yue
- فارسی
- ไทย
- 한국어
via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0