Shawn Corey Carter Was on born December 4th 1969, known by his stage name Jay-Z, Jay-Z is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Jay-Z is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. 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 Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.