Drug Dealer
Back in the 1980s, Jay-Z was a drug runner in Brooklyn and in Southern New Jersey. He and his crew ran into legal troubles in the early 1990s and Jay decided to focus more on a having a music career than selling crack cocaine.
Crown Fried Chicken
Back when he was 17 years old, Jay-Z worked at a local chicken spot in Brooklyn called “Crown Fried Chicken”. Jay returned back to the chicken restaurant in 1998 as part of a photo shoot for Blaze magazine. Crown Fried Chicken is still in business all these years later.
Hype man
Back in the early 90s, while on tour with Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z often functioned as his hype man and performed cameo appearances in between sets. When Kane would head backstage to change outfits, Jay-Z used to freestyle to the crowd along with Postive K.
Rapper
You might not know this one, but Jay-Z had been rapping for a full ten years before his debut “Reasonable Doubt” was released in 1996. Jay-Z first appeared on wax in 1985, and almost forty years later and dozens of albums later, he still drops a guest appearance when he feels like it.
Actor
Was Jay-Z really an “actor”? Between the short skits between music videos on “Streets Is Watching” and the small role he played in “State Property” we guess the technical answer is yes. Jay-Z had spoken before his first retirement that he wanted to pursue more acting roles, but in the end that didn’t happen and instead he focused more on being a businessman, wait, we actually mean a business, man.
Author
Back in the fall of 2010, Jay-Z released his first memoir titled “Decoded”. Jay-Z had started writing an autobiography in 2003, but pulled the plug on the project after realizing how many private details of his life would be made public.
Executive Producer
HOV has been the executive producer on many projects over the last 20 years, from the 2013 movie “Great Gatsby” to the “Trayvon Martin Story” to Fort Minor’s debut album “The Rising Tied”. He was also classified as “producer” in the 2014 “Annie” film.
Investor
Whether its Tidal, J Hotels, Armand De Brignac, JetSmarter or the handful of other companies that Jay-Z has invested major bucks into, Jay-Z puts his money to work in many places outside of the music industry.
Ghostwriter
Jay-Z has been credited with writing lots and lots of rap hits. One of his most famous clients was Dr. Dre. Jay-Z is credited with the 1999 hit “Still DRE” from the Chronic 2001 album.
Def Jam President
With the splitting of Rocafella Records in 2004, Jay-Z was offered the position of Def Jam President. Jay-Z held that title during his “retirement” and released a host of platinum selling and multi-platinum selling albums.