SimplyAbuDhabi XII

S hawn Corey Carter is a modern day renaissance man. Under the stage name Jay Z he is admired by millions of fans all over the globe for his incomparable rap delivery, piercing lyricism and his uncompromising, ahead-of- the-game brand of hip hop music. Jay Z is undoubtedly one of the most successful rappers of all time, but there are many more dimensions to this multi- talented polymath. An accomplished businessman and entrepreneur, Jay Z has diversified into a range of fields, including record companies, sports management, clothing lines, brand direction and executive producing and directing for TV shows and computer games. This is alongside a range of other investments, including part ownership of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team and his 40/40 Club sports bar chain. And all this achieved in a classic rags-to-riches fashion. Carter was born on 4 December, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised with his two siblings by his mother alone, after their father abandoned them, he displayed musical ability from a young age and became known as ‘Jazzy’ in his neighbourhood, where he lived at Marcy Houses – a Brooklyn housing project. His nickname changed to Jay-Z in homage to his musical mentor Jay-O, with an additional reference to the J/Z subway services near his home. This year he decided to drop the hyphen and now prefers Jay Z. Jay Z live in Abu Dhabi