From the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn to the richest musicians on the planet, Jay-Z has turned one of hip-hop’s great come-up stories into a three-decade empire. Thirty years after his debut album Reasonable Doubt, the rapper and Roc Nation founder is preparing for a moment he long left to others: headlining the Super Bowl LXI halftime show himself in February 2027.
| Birth name | Shawn Corey Carter |
|---|---|
| Known as | Jay-Z (also styled JAŸ-Z) |
| Date of birth | December 4, 1969 |
| Age | 56 (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York City, USA |
| Occupation | Rapper, songwriter, record executive, entrepreneur |
| Companies | Roc-A-Fella Records (co-founder), Roc Nation (founder, 2008) |
| Grammy Awards | 25 wins |
| Spouse | Beyoncé (married April 4, 2008) |
| Hall of Fame | Songwriters Hall of Fame (2017), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2021) |
| Net worth | $2.5 billion according to Forbes (2023); see below for more recent estimates |
Early Life
Shawn Corey Carter was born on December 4, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the Marcy Houses, a public housing project in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. He was the youngest of four children raised by his mother, Gloria Carter. His father, Adnis Reeves, left the family when Shawn was 11, an absence that would surface again and again in his lyrics. The two reconciled before Reeves died in 2003.
Marcy in the 1980s was a tough place to grow up, and Carter has never hidden the fact that he spent part of his youth hustling on its streets. Those years became the raw material of his early records: detailed, unsentimental stories told by someone who had watched the drug trade from the inside. But he was also a teenager obsessed with words, filling notebooks with rhymes and eventually learning to compose whole verses in his head, a habit he is famous for keeping long after he could afford any studio he wanted.
Career
1995–1999: Roc-A-Fella and the Hustler Era
When major labels showed little interest, Carter decided to build his own. Alongside Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, he co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records in the mid-1990s and released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. It was not an instant commercial smash, but it earned him enormous respect among rap fans and critics and is now widely regarded as a classic.
The breakthrough to the mainstream came with Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life in 1998. Its title track, built on a sample from the musical Annie, turned a Broadway song about orphans into a hip-hop anthem and made Jay-Z a household name. In 1999 he extended his reach beyond music by co-founding the clothing brand Rocawear.
2001–2007: The Blueprint and the Executive Suite
The Blueprint, released in 2001, is often cited as his creative peak, a soul-sample-driven record that also helped launch a young producer named Kanye West into the spotlight. Two years later, The Black Album was billed as a retirement record. It was anything but an ending.
In late 2004, Jay-Z became president of Def Jam Recordings, one of hip-hop’s most storied labels, making him one of the most powerful Black executives in the music business. He held the role until the end of 2007. The move signaled what would define the next chapter of his life: the rapper as boss, not just artist.
2008–2016: Roc Nation, Watch the Throne and Tidal
In 2008 he launched Roc Nation, an entertainment company spanning artist management, music publishing, a record label and later sports representation. That same year he married Beyoncé. His music kept evolving, too: Watch the Throne (2011), his joint album with Kanye West, became one of the defining rap records of its era, and Magna Carta Holy Grail followed on July 4, 2013.
His business moves grew bolder. In 2014 he took full ownership of the Champagne brand Armand de Brignac, reportedly for $200 million. In March 2015 he acquired Aspiro, the parent company of the streaming service Tidal, and relaunched it as an artist-owned platform.
2017–2025: 4:44, the NFL and Legacy
In 2017 Jay-Z released 4:44, his most introspective album, in which he addressed his marriage, his family and generational wealth with unusual candor. That year he also became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2018, he and Beyoncé released the joint album Everything Is Love under the name The Carters.
In 2019, Roc Nation began working with the NFL on its entertainment programming, including the Super Bowl halftime show, and Jay-Z became, according to Forbes, hip-hop’s first billionaire. In 2021 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over the years he has won 25 Grammy Awards, and his producer credit on the Super Bowl LVI halftime show earned him an Emmy. Artists who have worked with Roc Nation’s management, including Megan Thee Stallion, have helped extend his influence well beyond his own catalog.
What’s New in 2026
2026 has been a victory lap. To mark 30 years since Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z returned to stadium stages with a concert series celebrating his career. He opened with three nights at Yankee Stadium in New York on July 10, 11 and 12, the first dedicated to Reasonable Doubt and the second to the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint. He then crossed the Atlantic for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on September 4, his only UK show of the year, and the Stade de France in Paris on September 10, before closing the run at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in October with West Coast guests including Dr. Dre.
Those shows turned out to be a dress rehearsal. On October 26, 2026, during the halftime of a “Monday Night Football” game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, Apple Music aired a black-and-white teaser showing Jay-Z in an empty stadium surrounded by goats, ending with the line “Goat’s Out Of The Bag.” The message was clear: he will headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium. Read our news coverage: Jay-Z to headline the Super Bowl LXI halftime show.
It is a striking twist. Since 2019, Roc Nation has curated the halftime performers, from Rihanna to Bad Bunny, while Jay-Z stayed behind the scenes. “From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” he said in a statement. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said his one request had been that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, “whenever the moment felt right to him.”
Personal Life
Jay-Z and Beyoncé married on April 4, 2008, in a private ceremony in Tribeca, New York, after years of keeping their relationship largely out of public view. They have since become one of the most famous couples in entertainment, collaborating on hits, touring together as The Carters and building separate business empires side by side. The couple are parents to three children, and they have generally kept family life out of the spotlight, though Jay-Z has written openly about fatherhood and his own relationship with his father on 4:44.
His mother, Gloria Carter, also appeared on that album, in the song “Smile,” a moment widely seen as one of the most personal of his career. Beyond music, Jay-Z and his mother run the Shawn Carter Foundation, which has supported education through college scholarships for students from underserved communities, a cause that echoes his own path from Marcy to the boardroom.
Net Worth
Jay-Z is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world. In 2019 Forbes declared him the first hip-hop billionaire, and in 2023 the magazine estimated his fortune at $2.5 billion. More recent media estimates in 2026 place it around $2.8 billion, though such figures are estimates and Jay-Z has not publicly disclosed his net worth. His wealth comes far less from album sales than from equity: Roc Nation, his past stake in Tidal, Armand de Brignac, art, real estate and a range of investments. His fee for the Super Bowl halftime show has not been publicly disclosed; halftime headliners traditionally are not paid a standard performance fee by the NFL.
FAQ
What is Jay-Z’s real name?
His real name is Shawn Corey Carter.
How old is Jay-Z?
Born on December 4, 1969, Jay-Z is 56 years old as of October 2026 and turns 57 in December.
When is Jay-Z performing at the Super Bowl?
He headlines the Super Bowl LXI halftime show on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
How many Grammys has Jay-Z won?
Jay-Z has won 25 Grammy Awards.
When did Jay-Z and Beyoncé get married?
They married on April 4, 2008, in New York City.
What is Jay-Z’s net worth?
Forbes estimated it at $2.5 billion in 2023; 2026 media estimates put it around $2.8 billion. He has not disclosed an official figure.
Sources
- Wikipedia – Jay-Z
- theGrio – Jay-Z confirms he’s headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show
- Complex – Jay-Z Super Bowl LXI halftime show
- JamBase – Jay-Z 30 concert series dates
- TMZ – Jay-Z’s net worth soars to $2.5 billion, according to Forbes
- Capital XTRA – Jay-Z’s 2026 net worth