Shawn Corey Carter, professionally known as Jay-Z, is a billionaire musician, entrepreneur, and founder of Roc Nation. Born on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, he was raised in the Marcy Houses public housing project amid poverty and family challenges, including his father's departure when he was 11. Jay-Z began rapping in the late 1980s, gaining early notice through features on tracks by Harlem rapper Jaz-O, before co-founding Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and releasing his landmark debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996, widely regarded as a hip-hop classic. Over the next decades, he released 13 solo albums, achieving massive commercial success with hits like The Blueprint (2001) and The Black Album (2003), earning 24 Grammy Awards—the most for any hip-hop artist—and solidifying his status as one of the genre's all-time greats. Beyond music, Jay-Z diversified into business with ventures including Rocawear clothing (sold for $204 million in 2007), the 40/40 Club chain, stakes in luxury brands like Armand de Brignac champagne (acquired fully in 2014) and D'Ussé cognac (50% stake with Bacardi), and the 2015 acquisition of Aspiro to launch Tidal, a high-fidelity streaming service. His net worth exceeds $2 billion, derived from music royalties, endorsements, investments, and real estate in New York City, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons. Married to singer Beyoncé Knowles since 2008, they have three children: Blue Ivy (born 2012) and twins Rumi and Sir (born 2017). Jay-Z's career includes controversies, such as a 1999 nightclub stabbing of producer Lance 'Un' Rivera over alleged bootlegging, to which he pleaded guilty in 2001 to misdemeanor assault and received three years' probation; criticism for lyrics glorifying his past as a drug dealer in Brooklyn; and recent scrutiny over Roc Nation's partnerships, including the 2020 NFL deal for criminal justice reform. He is active in philanthropy through the Shawn Carter Foundation, advocating for prison reform and education.