So let me first off state that this week will be Jay-Z week. I admire him for continuing to grow and stretch when so many hip-hop artists try to remain relevant by trying to remain young forever. There is beauty in growing older, gaining wisdom and still having something to say. Jay-Z is making Hip-Hop grow up by the nature of the fans who are in his age range who have always loved Hip-Hop but don't want to do the "Stanky Leg" (even though I can get down with the best of them just ask CG and BW). What people of my age range tend to forget is okay we are in the corporate world but we have a responsibility to share what got us there. I understand his "Do as I say not as I did" mentality because I use my life experiences to teach my children what NOT to do. I always explain to them this is MY TRUTH but make yours BETTER. A lot of his wordplay really motivates me and he is quite a witty dude. I will be posting a lot of his interviews he has conducted this week as well as a few more of my favorite albums of his. I also want to add I personally love Blueprint 3 there are only 3 songs I don't like and that is because of their production not because of his lyrics. I am also building a foundation to last more than 3 generations. So below is more of his bio:
Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City,[1] Jay-Z was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves, He shot his brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry[7] when he was 12 years old.[8] Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ, until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse Information Technology High School in Downtown Brooklyn, which fellow rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes also attended, and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, but did not graduate.[9] In his music he refers to having been involved in selling crack cocaine.[8]
According to his mother, Gloria Carter, a young Jay-Z used to wake his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. Eventually, she bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time. In his neighborhood, Carter was known as "Jazzy", a nickname that eventually developed into his stage name, "Jay-Z". The moniker is also an homage to his musical mentor, Jaz-O, as well as to the J/Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn.[1]The rest of his bio is here.