Jay-Z discusses luck and His Career

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

The story that is Jay-Z is full of amazing changes. Once a local-level drug dealer, Jay-Z became the biggest rapper in the game, and is currently one of the most important businessmen in the world. Even during his days on the street, this was all a part of his plan. Many people look at Jay-Z and say he has been lucky.

In a recent interview with Forbes.com, Jay-Z spoke about his career. During his climb from local thug into a big-name businessman, Jay-Z lost a lot of friends. One key friend who helped him rise was Jaz-O. Despite all Jaz did for Jay, they had a falling out in 2001 and have not spoken since.

For those who remember how he fell out with Jaz-O, it came as a shock when Jay-Z credited him for his success. Before he was invited to record with Jaz, Jay-Z was "involved with street things" and felt fortunate to have a legitimate opportunity. Gone for two months, when Jay-Z returned, he learned the operation had been shut down by law enforcement and his friend was sent to prison for 13 years.

Fast forward some fifteen years later and Jay-Z set the rap world on fire and held a corporate job as the president of Def Jam. Many people view his time at Def Jam as a waste because the talent did not have the proper time to flourish. For the first time since leaving the job in 2008, Jay-Z spoke on why things did not work out. Jay-Z said the ideas he had were ahead of their time and Universal Music Group did not have much use for them. He wanted Def Jam to buy clubs and television stations to promote the artists.

When he realized Def Jam and Universal were not going to allow him to properly push his ideas, Jay-Z decided not to renew his contract. Instead, Jay-Z decided it would be best for him to leave the career he has known goodbye. When he left Def Jam, he gave up all control of his creation, Roc-A-Fella Records and he created a new venture, Roc Nation, and went from being a rapper with a high position to being an international businessman.