Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known by his
stage name Jay Z (formerly
Jay-Z), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. In 2014,
Forbes estimated Jay Z's net worth at nearly $520 million. He is one of the
world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21
Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations. Consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers ever, he was ranked number one by
MTV in their list of
The Greatest MCs of All-Time in 2006. Three of his albums,
Reasonable Doubt (1996),
The Blueprint (2001), and
The Black Album (2003), are considered landmarks in the genre with all of them featured in
Rolling Stones list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time.