Jay-Z started his music career in 1995 when he released his first rap single “In My Lifetime”. His beginnings were not that easy, though. Without a label to distribute his music, he began selling his CDs out of his car. He eventually founded his own record label, Roc-A-Fella Records, with artists Dame Dash and Biggs Burke. He went on to release his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt which later found a spot at number 248 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Since beginning his rap career in 90s, Jay-Z has continuously released music with some of the biggest artists like Mariah Carey in the song “Heartbreaker” which catapulted his career into the spotlight.
At present, Jay-Z enjoys the life of being a record producer and a frequent collaborator with Kanye West, Drake, and of course, his wife, Beyonce. More recently, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also had his first feature collaboration with rapper Pusha-T in the song “Neck & Wrist” just in 2022.