Jay-Z then became a major star with the hit singles, 'Can I Get A. The gold-selling soundtrack introduced several of Roc-A-Fella's rising stars, including Memphis Bleek, Rell and Diamonds N' Ruff, and featured the hit single, 'It's Alright'. Although in demand as a guest artist, Jay-Z found the time to write, produce, and direct the semi-autobiographical short, 'Streets is Watching'. Featuring guest appearances from Sean 'Diddy' Combs (aka 'Puff Daddy'), Lil' Kim, Too $hort, Blackstreet and DJ Premier, this sombre and intensely personal album included the stand-out tracks, 'You Must Love Me' and 'Where I'm From'. 1', was released in the aftermath of The Notorious B.I.G.'s murder, and debuted at US number 3 in November 1997.

His debut set, 'Reasonable Doubt', which reached US number 23 in July, attracted fans with a mixture of hard-hitting street lyrics and rhymes, epitomized by the collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. Drawing on Jaz's dealings with mercenary labels, Jay-Z set up his own Roc-A-Fella imprint in 1996 with entrepreneur 'Damon Dash' and 'Kareem 'Biggs' Burke'. In 1990, he appeared on records by his close friend, Jas ('The Originators') and Original Flavor ('Can I Get Open'), and later scored an underground hit single with 1995's 'In My Lifetime'. He first started releasing records in the late 1980s. Carter was a school friend of The Notorious B.I.G.

Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on Decemin Brooklyn, New York City, New York.

Jay z the black album track list