Bounceounce
Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbkD6RWdKk
He's a man who goes by many names, his mother Gloria Carter named him Shawn Carter, and he chose to don the name Jay-Z himself.
Some call him H-to the Izzo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNXLqfsLBFk), while other's call him Jay-Hova or Hova or Hov (because his flow is religious according to this track:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu7mVmziZG8), or maybe you refer to him as S.Carter, which is also partly the title of an excellent mixtape by the "Young, Black, and Gifted" man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxV30SXo_U), though that young may be formerly as Mr.Carter turns 47 today.
And whether you refer to him by any of these titles, or by Iceberg Slim, Lucky Lefty, Jiggaman, Jaÿ-Z with the umlaut, or European Hov (Euro Hov is an iffy area), it's obvious that at this point the man's name/reputation precedes him.
Jay Z's name has become synonymous with success, the grind, wittiness, artistry, business (he's not a business man, he's a business, man), and money (too some's chagrin), along with many other positive, and not so positive (negative) things.
But before he was the titan we know today, before he was the man that went from "pauper to the president, because every deal I (he) made set precedent", Jay Z was just a boy born in the Marcy Project's of New York city, with a rocky road laid out before him that seemed shrouded in bleakness, and when that shroud was removed and he saw the roads forked path for himself, instead of taking the beaten path he carved out a new lane and paved the path for himself, as he say's on Renegade, he "drove by the fork in the road and went straight."
Now with all that said removing that shroud and travelling down the new path was a long process of 26 years, and along that path he saw his first murder at the age of 9, lost his father Adnes Reeves when he left his family after the death of his brother at the age of 11, and even shot his own brother during a conflict at the age of 12, amongst other struggles.
At school he was a quite/respectful and intelligent kid according to Jay himself, as well as an important teacher in Jay's life who told him that he was "kinda smart" in the 6th Grade:
"I grew up in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn. Our classrooms were flooded. It was very difficult for teachers to give you one-on-one attention. And there was this one sixth-grade teacher named Miss Lowden. She must have seen something in me, and she gave me this attention and this love for words. It’s funny how it works, just a little bit of attention. She also took us on a field trip to her house, which opened me up to the world. My neighborhood had been my world. It’s the only thing I had seen. I saw a whole different world that day, and my imagination grew from there. I wanted that. I aspired to have that. The small things. She had an ice thing on her refrigerator. You know, you push it and the ice and the water comes down. I was really amazed by that. I was like, I want one of those. It’s true."
-Jay
"He never smiled, but when he did, he’d light up the room for me,” recalls Lowden vividly. “He was reading at the 12th grade level, and he was very needy, because his father had just left. He was a sweet, quiet kid. He was always standing near me. He was just so sweet and loved words…He told me he used to read the dictionary.”
-Jay's Teacher
But education wasn't the only factor in his school life, not only did Busta Rhymes go to his high school, but he battled him and won (according to both parties), and even traded bars with the legendary AZ (Biggie went to his school as well but they wouldn't become friends until much later).
Now with his father gone Jay had to step up and take a bigger role in the house, for his mother, and for his younger siblings, and that along with a hunger for the more materialistic pleasures in life pushed Jay out of high school and onto the streets where he was introduced by his (now former) friend De'Haven to "caine" and began doing small sales, but rap was always on his mind, and while out on the streets without a notepad he would memorize raps in his mind rather than writing them down, something that would later become a signature of his, as well as an activity that would be amplified when he became a drug mule (ala 99 Problems verse two).
While Jay was getting embroiled in the criminal life, he was also wading into the waters of what would later become his most lucrative career, music.
Partnering with neighbor, mentor, and (former) friend Jaz-O to form a duo, Jay was brought head first into the music industry, with the earliest known track he's recorded on being from 86.
Jay would witness the shady business tactics from a vantage point, see trends come and go, witness the rise of many a rapper, some who would become legends, some who would be forgotten, all while recording "classics" such as The Originators (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1thvEtGM5M), and appearing in cinematic masterpieces such as the Hawaiian Sophie video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emlDKySa8GE).
During this time his rap career (thankfully as his career would have died like many 80s artists) didn't pop off, and thus Jay returned to his drug dealing activities, gaining experiences that would give birth to many of the songs of his we love today, working with people such as his friends Ty Ty and Emory that are still with him today, and people such as Calvin Klein.
Eventually Jay decided to return to rap as a side hustle and began to make a name for himself through appearances on slightly notable tracks, and performing as clubs as well as battling in the underground circuit, and after appearing on a track "Can I Get Open" produced by DJ Clark Kent, his eye was caught by Kent who would go on to hound him to get out of the drug game and take rap seriously, which would lead to him becoming a better man.
And from there it was a steady path for Jay, notable battles against people from LL Cool J to DMX to Big L (who would go on to be a great friend of Jay's and major help in propping up his career), more connections being made, Big Daddy Kane letting Jay freestyle between his show between breaks, becoming friends with DJ premier who would eventually charge Jay 8,000 for three tracks instead of his usual 20,000-20,500 fee, and most importantly linking up with the two Co-Founders or Rocafella, Dame Dash, and Kareem Biggs Burke (Biggs also being a former big time dealer himself), who would go on to help build one of the greatest companies of all time.
With Dame's assistance Jay was finally able to get a record deal, everything he had ever wanted after being turned down and having his star power not believed in time and time again for years, but in an unprecedented move Jay spurned the deal, and with his two partners set out to carve their own path, making their own single and pressing it, selling it from the trunks of their cars, putting together a street team (most of whom are still at Roc Nation today) to promote and assist with the running of their new label, starting up the ground work for Rocawear, and so much more, all culminating in the release of Jay Z's first and greatest album Reasonable Doubt, which while not a massive success at the time (still was a success), would lay the groundwork for the start of one of rap's biggest legends career as well as much more for Hip Hop as a whole, and it was the child of three people who weren't satisfied with the slice of the pie life gave them and came back for seconds with an appetite for destruction, succeeded, and he's taken his family, his best friends/old crew, and us all along for the ride.
And he told you how it was going to go down from track 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBGeDOx-CD8
"You ain't having it
Good me either
Let's get together and make this whole world believe us huh
At my arraignment screaming
All us blacks got is sports and entertainment, until we even
Thieving, as long as I'm breathing
Can't knock the way a nigga eating, fuck you even"
And track 11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd4YFc83nbI
"Do the knowledge, due to few dollars, I'm due to demolish
Crews Brooklyn through Hollis to a hood near you, what the fuck?"
In honor of this holy day, what are you favorite Jay Z tracks, any specific memories associated with his music, favorite lines/lyrical analysis, questions as to his history? Anything and all should go in this thread.
(FYI I don't believe he's actually the GOAT rapper because I don't believe there can be one, but he is my GOAT)
He's a man who goes by many names, his mother Gloria Carter named him Shawn Carter, and he chose to don the name Jay-Z himself.
Some call him H-to the Izzo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNXLqfsLBFk), while other's call him Jay-Hova or Hova or Hov (because his flow is religious according to this track:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu7mVmziZG8), or maybe you refer to him as S.Carter, which is also partly the title of an excellent mixtape by the "Young, Black, and Gifted" man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxV30SXo_U), though that young may be formerly as Mr.Carter turns 47 today.
And whether you refer to him by any of these titles, or by Iceberg Slim, Lucky Lefty, Jiggaman, Jaÿ-Z with the umlaut, or European Hov (Euro Hov is an iffy area), it's obvious that at this point the man's name/reputation precedes him.
Jay Z's name has become synonymous with success, the grind, wittiness, artistry, business (he's not a business man, he's a business, man), and money (too some's chagrin), along with many other positive, and not so positive (negative) things.
But before he was the titan we know today, before he was the man that went from "pauper to the president, because every deal I (he) made set precedent", Jay Z was just a boy born in the Marcy Project's of New York city, with a rocky road laid out before him that seemed shrouded in bleakness, and when that shroud was removed and he saw the roads forked path for himself, instead of taking the beaten path he carved out a new lane and paved the path for himself, as he say's on Renegade, he "drove by the fork in the road and went straight."
Now with all that said removing that shroud and travelling down the new path was a long process of 26 years, and along that path he saw his first murder at the age of 9, lost his father Adnes Reeves when he left his family after the death of his brother at the age of 11, and even shot his own brother during a conflict at the age of 12, amongst other struggles.
At school he was a quite/respectful and intelligent kid according to Jay himself, as well as an important teacher in Jay's life who told him that he was "kinda smart" in the 6th Grade:
"I grew up in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn. Our classrooms were flooded. It was very difficult for teachers to give you one-on-one attention. And there was this one sixth-grade teacher named Miss Lowden. She must have seen something in me, and she gave me this attention and this love for words. It’s funny how it works, just a little bit of attention. She also took us on a field trip to her house, which opened me up to the world. My neighborhood had been my world. It’s the only thing I had seen. I saw a whole different world that day, and my imagination grew from there. I wanted that. I aspired to have that. The small things. She had an ice thing on her refrigerator. You know, you push it and the ice and the water comes down. I was really amazed by that. I was like, I want one of those. It’s true."
-Jay
"He never smiled, but when he did, he’d light up the room for me,” recalls Lowden vividly. “He was reading at the 12th grade level, and he was very needy, because his father had just left. He was a sweet, quiet kid. He was always standing near me. He was just so sweet and loved words…He told me he used to read the dictionary.”
-Jay's Teacher
But education wasn't the only factor in his school life, not only did Busta Rhymes go to his high school, but he battled him and won (according to both parties), and even traded bars with the legendary AZ (Biggie went to his school as well but they wouldn't become friends until much later).
Now with his father gone Jay had to step up and take a bigger role in the house, for his mother, and for his younger siblings, and that along with a hunger for the more materialistic pleasures in life pushed Jay out of high school and onto the streets where he was introduced by his (now former) friend De'Haven to "caine" and began doing small sales, but rap was always on his mind, and while out on the streets without a notepad he would memorize raps in his mind rather than writing them down, something that would later become a signature of his, as well as an activity that would be amplified when he became a drug mule (ala 99 Problems verse two).
While Jay was getting embroiled in the criminal life, he was also wading into the waters of what would later become his most lucrative career, music.
Partnering with neighbor, mentor, and (former) friend Jaz-O to form a duo, Jay was brought head first into the music industry, with the earliest known track he's recorded on being from 86.
Jay would witness the shady business tactics from a vantage point, see trends come and go, witness the rise of many a rapper, some who would become legends, some who would be forgotten, all while recording "classics" such as The Originators (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1thvEtGM5M), and appearing in cinematic masterpieces such as the Hawaiian Sophie video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emlDKySa8GE).
During this time his rap career (thankfully as his career would have died like many 80s artists) didn't pop off, and thus Jay returned to his drug dealing activities, gaining experiences that would give birth to many of the songs of his we love today, working with people such as his friends Ty Ty and Emory that are still with him today, and people such as Calvin Klein.
Eventually Jay decided to return to rap as a side hustle and began to make a name for himself through appearances on slightly notable tracks, and performing as clubs as well as battling in the underground circuit, and after appearing on a track "Can I Get Open" produced by DJ Clark Kent, his eye was caught by Kent who would go on to hound him to get out of the drug game and take rap seriously, which would lead to him becoming a better man.
And from there it was a steady path for Jay, notable battles against people from LL Cool J to DMX to Big L (who would go on to be a great friend of Jay's and major help in propping up his career), more connections being made, Big Daddy Kane letting Jay freestyle between his show between breaks, becoming friends with DJ premier who would eventually charge Jay 8,000 for three tracks instead of his usual 20,000-20,500 fee, and most importantly linking up with the two Co-Founders or Rocafella, Dame Dash, and Kareem Biggs Burke (Biggs also being a former big time dealer himself), who would go on to help build one of the greatest companies of all time.
With Dame's assistance Jay was finally able to get a record deal, everything he had ever wanted after being turned down and having his star power not believed in time and time again for years, but in an unprecedented move Jay spurned the deal, and with his two partners set out to carve their own path, making their own single and pressing it, selling it from the trunks of their cars, putting together a street team (most of whom are still at Roc Nation today) to promote and assist with the running of their new label, starting up the ground work for Rocawear, and so much more, all culminating in the release of Jay Z's first and greatest album Reasonable Doubt, which while not a massive success at the time (still was a success), would lay the groundwork for the start of one of rap's biggest legends career as well as much more for Hip Hop as a whole, and it was the child of three people who weren't satisfied with the slice of the pie life gave them and came back for seconds with an appetite for destruction, succeeded, and he's taken his family, his best friends/old crew, and us all along for the ride.
And he told you how it was going to go down from track 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBGeDOx-CD8
"You ain't having it
Good me either
Let's get together and make this whole world believe us huh
At my arraignment screaming
All us blacks got is sports and entertainment, until we even
Thieving, as long as I'm breathing
Can't knock the way a nigga eating, fuck you even"
And track 11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd4YFc83nbI
"Do the knowledge, due to few dollars, I'm due to demolish
Crews Brooklyn through Hollis to a hood near you, what the fuck?"
In honor of this holy day, what are you favorite Jay Z tracks, any specific memories associated with his music, favorite lines/lyrical analysis, questions as to his history? Anything and all should go in this thread.
(FYI I don't believe he's actually the GOAT rapper because I don't believe there can be one, but he is my GOAT)
