roc-a-fella

Description

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2011. He has sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide, while receiving fourteen Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations. He is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers of all-time. He was ranked #1 by MTV in their list of The Greatest MCs of All-Time in 2006. Two of his albums, Reasonable Doubt (1996) and The Blueprint (2001) are considered landmarks in the genre with both of them being ranked in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Blender included the former on their 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die. Jay-Z co-owns the 40/40 Club, is part-owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and is also the creator of the line Rocawear. He is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, and the founder of Roc Nation. As an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 with eleven. Jay-Z also has had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, one as lead artist. He married American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles on April 4, 2008. He had a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter on January 2012. On December 11, 2009, Jay-Z was ranked as the 10th most successful artist of 2000s by Billboard and ranking as the 5th top solo male artist and as the 4th top rapper behind Eminem, Nelly, and 50 Cent. "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's fourth album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The song features production by Rockwilder as well as guest vocals by singer Amil and rapper Beanie Sigel. The Dynasty: Roc La Familia is the fifth studio album released by American rapper Jay-Z. Its lead single, "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", produced by The Neptunes, was one of Jay-Z's most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Billboard 200, the album debuted at #1 on the charts with 557,000 copies sold in its first week and more than 2.3 million copies sold to date. The album ended up becoming the 20th Highest selling R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 2000-2010 decade according to Billboard. Originally a Roc-A-Fella Records collaboration album, a showcase for Roc-A-Fella artists such as Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel and Freeway, it eventually became another Jay-Z solo album (or at least marketed as one to increase sales), although the Roc-A-Fella artists are abundant on this album. Big name guest appearances have been limited to three -- Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, and Scarface -- to make room for the Roc-A-Fella family. Rather than using big-name producers such as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who had featured prominently on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Jay-Z decided to feature more up-and-coming producers at the time of this album, such as Just Blaze, Kanye West, Bink! and The Neptunes. Partially as a result of this exposure, these producers would achieve notable success in the future. This was also the first album of Jay-Z 's not to feature work by long time producer DJ Premier. Given Just Blaze and Kanye West's penchant for utilizing soul samples in their beats, the album features a smoother sound than Jay-Z's previous efforts, though Bay Area-based producer Rick Rock includes a more minimalist sound in his four beats from (WIKI).