A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio

1. JAY-Z
Rapper, Record Producer and
Entrepreneur.

2. JAY-Z
• Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter,
is one of the biggest, most popular
and most successful music artists
that has ever lived. Born in 1969 ,
based in New York and with his net
making nearing the $500 million
mark, Mr Carter is married to equally
brilliant Beyonce Knowles and they
have a child, Blue Ivy Carter, who
was born January ‘12.
• His debut album “Reasonable Doubt”
in 1996 set him on the road to fame
in a way which he could never have
imagined.

3. JAY-Z
• Jay-Z has collaborated with some
of the world’s biggest stars
including Rihanna, Kanye West,
Justin Timberlake and his wife. He
has released 29 unbelievable
albums, sold over 75 million
records and received 17 Grammy
Awards for his musical work.
• His most recent album is ‘Magna
Carta...Holy Grail”
• His album “Watch The Throne” is a
full collaborated album with good
friend Kanye West.

4. JAY-Z
• During a rough adolescence, detailed in many of his
autobiographical songs, Shawn Carter dealt drugs
and flirted with gun violence. He attended Eli
Whitney High School in Brooklyn, where he was a
classmate of the soon-to-be-martyred rap legend
Notorious B.I.G.
• Carter turned to rap at a very young age as an
escape from the drugs, violence and poverty that
surrounded him in the Marcy Projects.

5. JAY-Z
• During his break from rapping, Jay-Z
turned his attention to the business
side of music, becoming president of
Def Jam Recordings. As president of Def
Jam, Jay-Z signed such popular acts as
Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Young Jeezy and
helped effect Kanye West's transition
from producer to bestselling recording
artist.
• But his reign at the hip-hop label wasn't
all smooth sailing, as he resigned as Def
Jam's president in 2007, complaining
about the company's “resistance to
change from ineffectual business
models.”

6. JAY-Z
In 2008, Jay-Z signed a $150 million contract with
the concert promotion company Live Nation. This
super deal created a joint venture called Roc
Nation, an entertainment company that handles
nearly all aspects of its artists' careers. In addition
to Jay-Z himself, Roc Nation manages Willow Smith
and J. Cole among others.
In 2006, Jay-Z ended his retirement from making
music, releasing the new album Kingdom Come. He
soon released two more albums: American
Gangster in 2007 and Blueprint 3 in 2010.