JAY-Z BOOK: Empire State of Mind | The Definitive Jay-Z Biography

What’s Next For Jay-Z, Beyonce And Blue Ivy Carter?top comments

by zogreenburg on January 23, 2012 - 0 comments

Jay-Z has been known to feature up-and-coming artists on his records, helping launch the careers of Kanye West, Rihanna and J. Cole, to name a few. Earlier this month he released a track featuring his youngest guest ever: his two-day-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Titled “Glory” and produced by Pharrell Williams, the song debuted this morning on Jay-Z’s Life + Times site. The track includes Jay-Z and Beyonce’s child crying and cooing after her father raps about the joys of fatherhood, the …

Jay-Z Empire State of Mind: Year-End Reviewstop comments

by zogreenburg on December 20, 2011 - 0 comments

The Jay-Z biography Empire State of Mind debuted in March 2011, but the reviews are still rolling in. The latest: a nod as “one of the year’s best rock books” from Bloomberg News and a jolly good writeup from the Financial Times.

Defending Georgetown’s Jay-Z Classtop comments

by zogreenburg on December 9, 2011 - 0 comments

Last month, I journeyed to our nation’s capital to see with my own eyes a popular Georgetown University class. It wasn’t another grand strategy offering, nor did it explore the latest advances in quantum physics. But “Sociology of Hip-Hop — Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z” was impressive nonetheless. The course’s instructor, Professor Michael Eric Dyson, had invited me to give a guest lecture (my book,Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner To Corner Office,is required reading). His 140 …

Watching Jay-Z And Kanye West’s Throne At Madison Square Gardentop comments

by zogreenburg on November 9, 2011 - 1 comment

At first it seemed more like a movie premiere than a concert. Outside, black Escalades sat along the sidewalk like a string of bulky metallic rosary beads, punctuated by the occasional pearly Maybach or Rolls Royce. Inside, a red carpet led the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Diddy to their seats. But when the lights went down at Madison Square Garden last night a little before 10pm, the glitz dimmed as well, and two old friends traded rhymes for over …

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Learning From Jay-Z’s Successes — And Failures

by zogreenburg on October 6, 2011 - 0 comments

Six years ago, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter found himself on the verge of finalizing one of the biggest deals of his life. The prize: A Jay-Z branded Jeep Commander that would roll off the lot boasting an audio system preloaded with all of Jay-Z’s songs, an interior swathed in butter-cream leather and an exterior slathered in a coat of patented Jay-Z Blue paint. For his efforts, the rapper would receive a 5-10% royalty on each $50,000 vehicle sold. The Jay-Z Jeep …

Jay-Z Tops FORBES’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings List

by zogreenburg on August 9, 2011 - 0 comments

This week Jay-Z and Kanye West unveiled their long-awaited collaboration,Watch the Throne. The album’s timing and title couldn’t have been more appropriate—the Empire State of Mind rapper is hip-hop’s top earner with $37 million in the past 12 months, claiming his fourth Cash Kings crown in five years; his partner-in-rhyme ranked third. Fueled by the tail end of his Blueprint 3 Tour and a vast portfolio of business interests, Jay-Z barely edged second-ranked Diddy—who raked in $35 million, roughly half of …

Do Retailers Have A Double Standard For Jay-Z and Kanye?

by zogreenburg on August 3, 2011 - 0 comments

Most kings get their heads cut off — or at least, so goes the chorus of Jay-Z and Chris Martin’s duet “Most Kings.” For the Empire State of Mind rapper, though, the sentiment appears to be figuratively true of late. Last week, a group of independent record store owners released an open letter to Jay-Z and Kanye West in protest of the duo’s plans for collaborative album Watch the Throne, due out in August. At issue: a four-day window granted to Apple’s iTunes …

Jay-Z Book: The Latest Reviews of Empire State of Mind

by zogreenburg on July 7, 2011 - 0 comments

It’s been months since the release of Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office, and the reviews keep rolling in. Here’s what people are saying: “In his debut book, Greenburg hits the mark. Empire State of Mind is an easy read that packs an informative, motivational punch for anyone who is trying to improve their situation, land a job, or advance their career.” - AOL/Huffington Post “After reading Greenburg’s book, I have to admit I understand …

Jay-Z Earns More Than Beyoncé For First Time Since 2008

by zogreenburg on May 18, 2011 - 0 comments

For the first time since tying the knot in 2008, Jay-Z earned more than Beyoncé. The Brooklyn-born rapper raked in $37 million over the past 12 months, edging his superstar wife by $2 million, according to FORBES’ latest estimates for the annual Celeb 100 package. Jay-Z continues to reap the rewards of his 10-year, $150 million multiple rights deal with concert promoter Live Nation; he brings in additional cash from endorsements and ownership stakes in a range of companies including ad …

Jay-Z Book Excerpt In Sports Illustrated

by zogreenburg on May 5, 2011 - 1 comment

Over lunch on a damp autumn day in Harlem, hip-hop pioneer Fred “Fab 5 Freddy” Brathwaite seems mired in an internal debate. He’s deciding whether to tell me something about Jay-Z. We’ve spent the past twenty minutes cheerfully swapping generalities, but when I ask for specifics, the pauses grow longer, his brow becomes furrowed. “Can you tell me some kind of anecdote that shows how Jay-Z thinks?” I press. “Any moment that stands out in your mind?” “Let me think,” he …

Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office, by Zack O'Malley Greenburg (Penguin/Portfolio)