  Jay-Z was born in New York on
December 4, 1970. Before becoming one of the
most respected and best-selling rappers of
the latter half of the 90s, Jay-Z was growing
up in Brooklyn, New York as a struggling MC,
cashier at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and drug
dealer.
Jay-Z began a different career
as a solo rapper with the single "In My
Lifetime" which eventually led to a
distribution deal.
 # 172
Singles Artist of the Year
Jay-Z topped the Billboard Dance
Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 5 weeks
with "Ain't No.../Dead Presidents."
 Jay-Z released Reasonable
Doubt with the tracks "Can't
Knock The Hustle,""Feelin'
It," "Dead Presidents," and
"Brooklyn's Finest."
The single "Dead
Presidents" was certified gold.
Reasonable
Doubt was certified gold.
 # 141
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jay-Z released Volume
1... In My Lifetime with tracks "The
City Is Mine" and "Sunshine."
 # 44
Singles Artist of the Year
Volume
1... In My Lifetime was certified gold.
Jay-Z appeared in the film Streets
Is Watching and appeared on the soundtrack
with the tracks "It's Alright,"
"Love For Free," "Only A
Customer," "In My Lifetime"
(remix), and "Celebration."
Volume
2... Hard Knock Life was released. Jay-Z
could be heard on rap and even pop radio with
his hits "Hard Knock Life" and
"Can
I Get A..." and his videos became a
staple on MTV.
Volume
2... Hard Knock Life topped the Billboard
200 Albums chart for 5 weeks and the R&B
Albums chart for 6 weeks.
 Volume
2... Hard Knock Life was certified 2x
platinum.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with "Hard
Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)."
Jay-Z could be heard on Timbaland's LP Tim's
Bio: Life Fram Da Basement on the track
"Lobster & Scrimp."
Volume
2... Hard Knock Life was certified 3x
platinum.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with "Can
I Get A..."
Rolling Stone named
Jay-Z the Best Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.
Jay-Z topped the Billboard Year-End
Charts
as the Top R&B Album Artist and Top
R&B Album Artist - Male.
 # 26
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jay-Z won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album (Volume
2... Hard Knock Life) and was nominated for
Best Rap Solo
Performance ("Hard Knock Life")
and Best Rap Performance by
a Duo or Group ("Money Ain't A
Thang" with Jermaine Dupri).
Jay-Z boycotted the awards ceremony
"...because too many major rap artists
continue to be overlooked... Rappers deserve
more attention from the Grammy committee and
from the whole world. If it's got a gun
everybody knows about it, but if we go on a
world tour, no one know." A spokesperson
for Jay-Z said after the awards: "If
they want to give us awards, we'll take them.
But we aren't gonna drop everything and run
to the show to get a small pat on the head
when they don't even air the award he
won."
Volume
2... Hard Knock Life was certified 4x
platinum and Volume
1... In My Lifetime was certified
platinum.
The single "Hard Knock
Life" was certified gold.
 Jay-Z and DMX donated 1-night's
worth of concert profits to the families of
the Columbine victims when their Hard Knock
Life tour hit Denver. Jay-Z told MTV:
"We decided to donate the proceeds from
this show as soon as we saw the date on the
schedule."
Jay-Z returned to the Top 40
with "Can
I Get A..."
Jay-Z hit the Top
10
with "Can
I Get A..."
Jay-Z could be heard on the
soundtrack for Blue
Streak soundtrack with
"Girls' Best Friend."
Jay-Z was named Lyricist of the
Year, Solo at the Source Hip-Hip Music
Awards.
 Jay-Z won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video ("Can
I Get A...") and was nominated for Best Video from a Film and Viewer's Choice ("Can
I Get A...").
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 by helping
out Mariah
Carey on her hit "Heartbreaker."
Jay-Z topped the Billboard Rap
Singles chart with "Jigga My..."
for 2 weeks.
 Jay-Z won a WB Radio Music Award
for Song of the Year (Rhythm/Urban) ("Can
I Get A...").
Jay-Z hit the Top
10
with his contribution to Mariah
Carey's "Heartbreaker" (which topped
the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks and the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 2
weeks and the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop
Singles & Tracks chart for 2 weeks, the
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Singles &
Tracks chart for 2 weeks, and the Billboard
Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 8 weeks.
 Jay-Z was arrested after turning
himself in in New York for charges related to
a stabbing the night before - he was later
charged with 4 counts of assault, but
maintained his plea of innocence.
Jay-Z released Volume
3... The Life & Times Of Shawn Carter at the end of
the month with anticipation of selling over 1
million copies in the first week of release.
Jay-Z won a Billboard Music
Award for Rap Artist of the Year.
Jay-Z hit #1 on Mariah
Carey's hit "Heartbreaker."
Jay-Z topped the Billboard
Year-End Chart-Toppers as the Top Hot Rap
Artist.
 # 39
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jay-Z was nominated for an American Music
Award for Favorite
Rap/Hip Hop Artist.
Volume
3... The Life & Times Of Shawn Carter debuted at #1 on the
LP charts selling less than half a million
copies in its first week of release in the
U.S. and topped the Billboard R&B Album
chart for 2 weeks.
By the end of the month, a grand
jury in New York indicted Jay-Z on 2 counts
of attempted assault related to the alleged
stabbing last December.
 Jay-Z pleaded not guilty to the
stabbing charges.
Volume
3... The Life & Times Of Shawn Carter was certified 2x
platinum.
Volume
2... Hard Knock Life was certified 5x
platinum.
 Jay-Z won an Online Hip-Hop
Award for Artist of the Year.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with "Big
Pimpin'."
 Jay-Z could be heard on the
soundtrack for Nutty
Professor II: The Klumps soundtrack with
"Hey Papi."
Jay-Z could be
heard on Busta Rhymes' LP, Anarchy, on the track
"Why We Die."
The video "Big
Pimpin'"
was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video.
 Jay-Z released his next LP, The
Dynasty Rock La Familia 2000, on the last day of
the month.
Jay-Z won a Radio Music Award
for Artist of the Year: Hip Hop/Rhythmic. The
Dynasty Rock La Familia 2000 debuted at #1 on the
Pop and R&B/Hip-Hop LP charts.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with with
"I
Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me)."
 Jay-Z hit #1 on the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart
with "I
Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me)" for 3 weeks.
The
Dynasty Rock La Familia 2000 was certified 2x
platinum.
 # 29
Singles Artist of the Year
Jay-Z hit #1 on the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for a week with
"I
Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me)."
 Jay-Z was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by
a Duo or Group ("Big
Pimpin'")
and Best Rap Album (Volume
3... The Life & Times Of Shawn Carter).
Volume
3... The Life & Times Of Shawn Carter was certified 3x
platinum. Jay-Z was nominated for a Soul
Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or
Rap Album (The
Dynasty Rock La Familia 2000).
 Jay-Z was nominated for a
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite
Artist - Rap.
Jay-Z was arrested in New York
when a gun was found on his bodyguard.
 Jay-Z hit the Top 40 helping out
R.
Kelly with "Fiesta."
Jay-Z hit #1 on the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart
for 5 weeks and the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
chart for a week with "Fiesta" (with R.
Kelly).
Jay-Z won a BET Award for Best
Male Hip-Hop Artist.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)."
Jay-Z's video for
"I
Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me)" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video. Jay-Z also performed
at the ceremony.
Jay-Z won a Source
Award for Artist of the Year - Solo.
Jay-Z released The
Blueprint.
The
Blueprint topped the Billboard 200 LP
chart for 3 weeks and the R&B/Hip-Hop
Albums chart for 3 weeks - selling over
426,000 copies in its 1st week of release in
the US.
Jay-Z topped the MTV Top 20
Video Countdown with "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)."
 The
Blueprint was certified platinum.
Jay-Z performed at The
Concert For New York City benefit concert in New
York City (later released as an LP) with
proceeds going to 9/11 charities.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with "Girls, Girls, Girls."
Jay-Z could be heard on Timbaland &
Magoo's LP Indecent
Proposal on the track "Party
People."
 Jay-Z released Unplugged.
Jay-Z received 3 years probation
for a 1999 stabbing.
Jay-Z topped Billboard
Year-End Charts with the Top Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks ("Fiesta" with R.
Kelly) and as the Top Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artist
and the Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles &
Tracks Artist - Male.
Readers and critics of Rolling
Stone voted Jay-Z as Best Hip-Hop
Artist of the Year.
 # 59
Singles Artist of the Year
Jay-Z was
nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance ("Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"), Best Rap Performance by
a Duo or Group ("Change The Game"
featuring Beanie Sigel &
Memphis Bleek), and Best Rap Album (The
Blueprint).
Reasonable
Doubt was certified platinum.
Jay-Z won a Soul Train Award for
R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year (The
Blueprint).
Jay-Z teamed up with R.
Kelly for the LP The
Best Of Both Worlds.
 The
Best Of Both Worlds topped the Billboard
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart.
The hits collection Chapter
One: Greatest Hits was released overseas.
The
Blueprint was certified 2x platinum and The
Best Of Both Worlds was certified
platinum.
Jay-Z appeared on the 8
Mile soundtrack with the track
"8 Miles And Runnin'."
Jay-Z performed on Saturday
Night Live.
Jay-Z released a 2-CD set, The
Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse.
Jay-Z hit the Top 40 with help
from Beyoncé
Knowles on "'03 Bonnie & Clyde."
Jay-Z topped the Billboard Top
200 LP chart for a week and the Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 2 weeks with
The
Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse selling over 545,000
copies its first week of release in the US.
The
Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse was certified
3x platinum.
 Jay-Z had moderate R&B and
rap hits with the tracks "People
Talking," "Jigga," "Take
You Home With Me a.k.a. Body" (with R.
Kelly), "Get This Money"
(with R.
Kelly), "Song Cry,"
"Somebody's Girl" (with R.
Kelly), "Shake Ya Body"
(with R.
Kelly and Lil' Kim
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