JAŸ-Z Montreal Concert — Next Date & Ticket Alerts

JAŸ-Z in Montreal — FAQ

About JAŸ-Z

Shawn Corey Carter was born December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York and raised primarily by his mother Gloria Carter in the Marcy Houses public housing development in Bedford-Stuyvesant after his father Adnis Reeves left when Carter was around eleven — a fracture that surfaces repeatedly across the catalogue and would not be publicly addressed in full until the 2017 album 4:44. He attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, transferred to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School (where his classmates included The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes), and later attended Trenton Central High School in New Jersey, never graduating. His public musical career began in the early 1990s as a feature on Big Daddy Kane and Jaz-O records and through the demo circuit of mid-90s New York rap, and after he was unable to secure a major-label deal he co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Damon Dash and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke in 1995 to self-release his debut. Reasonable Doubt in June 1996 produced Dead Presidents II, Ain't No Nigga with Foxy Brown, Can't Knock the Hustle with Mary J. Blige, and Brooklyn's Finest with The Notorious B.I.G., and is now widely cited on critical greatest-rap-album lists as among the finest debut hip-hop records ever issued. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 followed in 1997, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life in 1998 (anchored by the Annie-sampling title track and Can I Get A...), and Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter in 1999 (Big Pimpin' with UGK). The Dynasty Roc La Familia in 2000 introduced producers Just Blaze, Kanye West, and the Bink! and Heatmakerz contingent who would shape The Blueprint era. The Blueprint released on September 11, 2001 — the same morning as the World Trade Center attacks — produced Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Takeover, Heart of the City (Ain't No Love), and Girls, Girls, Girls, and is widely regarded as one of the most important rap albums of its decade. The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse in 2002 and The Black Album in 2003 — originally announced as a retirement record — produced 99 Problems and Dirt Off Your Shoulder. He returned in 2006 with Kingdom Come, then American Gangster in 2007 as an album-length companion to Ridley Scott's film. The Blueprint 3 in 2009 produced Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys, On to the Next One, and Run This Town with Rihanna and Kanye West. Watch the Throne with Kanye West in 2011 — Niggas in Paris, Otis, No Church in the Wild — anchored an arena and stadium tour many at the time described as the most opulent rap touring production ever staged. Magna Carta Holy Grail in 2013, accompanied by a high-profile Samsung distribution deal, produced Tom Ford and Holy Grail with Justin Timberlake. 4:44 released in June 2017 — the most recent solo studio album as of the public catalogue we feel comfortable citing without hedging — sat as a confessional response record to Beyoncé's Lemonade, addressing infidelity and the rebuilding of their marriage in a way the catalogue had not previously approached, and produced The Story of O.J., Smile, and the title track. Outside the recording catalogue, he co-founded Roc Nation in 2008 as a label, management division, sports agency (representing athletes across the NFL, NBA, MLB, and beyond), and live entertainment company; partnered with the NFL on the Inspire Change social-justice initiative and Super Bowl halftime show curation; produced the Made in America festival in Philadelphia; held an ownership stake in the Brooklyn Nets in the franchise's relocation from New Jersey; and was a founder of D'Ussé cognac and the 40/40 Club hospitality brand. He married Beyoncé Knowles in April 2008; the couple have three children — Blue Ivy, born 2012, and twins Rumi and Sir, born 2017. JAY-Z's Recording Academy Grammy tally is widely reported at 24 wins, the highest of any rapper in the awards' history. His touring presence in the post-4:44 era has shifted away from full headlining solo tours toward Super Bowl halftime curation, joint OTRII stadium dates with Beyoncé in 2018, occasional festival headlines, and one-off Made in America and Global Citizen appearances; we hedge any claim of a specific upcoming solo headlining tour beyond what is confirmed on the live schedule strip above.

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