Jay-Z (Blue Banner Biographies)

Rap artist Shawn Carter grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended George Westinghouse Technical High School which would later be dubbed "Hip-Hop High School" for the future stars who attended.

At the age of 18, Shawn took a chance at a hip-hop career and took on the name Jay-Z. But he didn’t trust record labels that seemed to exploit artists for their talent and keep the profits for themselves. So Shawn decided to do it himself. He cut his own album and sold copies from the trunk of his car. Controlling his own career, Jay-Z started his own record label. Even though he has announced his retirement, Jay-Z will be remembered as a legendary hip-hop artist.