Brooklyn, NY · hip-hop · pop rap · east coast hip hop · boom bap

JAY-Z

No festival dates we track

Marcy Projects rapper turned mogul, still the sharpest technician of his generation over soul loops chopped up high and fast.

JAY-Z grew up in the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn and put out 'Reasonable Doubt' in 1996 on Roc-A-Fella, the label he co-founded after struggling to get a deal. He is known for composing verses in his head rather than writing them down, and for a conversational delivery that sits easily over both boom bap and the sped-up soul samples Kanye West and Just Blaze built for him in the early 2000s.

'The Blueprint' and 'The Black Album' consolidated that sound. He later ran Def Jam as president, launched the Roc Nation management company and the streaming service Tidal, and has recorded with Beyoncé as The Carters.

hip-hoppop rapeast coast hip hopboom bapchipmunk soul