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Start giftingEmpire State of Mind
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Learn moreNow updated and revised—from a Forbes senior editor, a compelling portrait of American rapper Jay Z and his rise from the Brooklyn projects to the top of the business world.
Only a handful of people embody the legacy of hip-hop and entrepreneurship like Jay Z. A modern-day King Midas, everything he touches—sports bars, streaming services, record labels, and cognac—turns to gold. How exactly did he do it?
Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg reveals the story of Jay Z's legendary rise from the Marcy Projects of Brooklyn to stages and corner offices worldwide. He draws on over 100 interviews with those who knew Jay Z from the beginning: his classmates at George Westinghouse High School; the childhood friend who got him into the drug trade; and the DJ who convinced him to stop dealing and focus on the music. Also bearing witness are the artists who worked alongside him, including J. Cole and Alicia Keys.
Jay Z's life is a blueprint for any hustler, businessperson, and entrepreneur who seeks to build something spectacular.
Zack O'Malley Greenburg is a senior editor at Forbes, where he has covered finance and music since 2005. He has profiled the likes of Akon, 50 Cent, and Afrika Bambaataa, and his stories have taken him from the casinos of Macau to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone. He has also written for the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and Dan's Papers. He lives in New York City.
Mirron Willis has narrated over 200 audiobooks across various literary genres and has won several Earphone Awards for Excellence and is an Audie Award finalist and winner. Notable works include Ginny Gall by Charlie Smith, The Smokey Dalton Series by Kris Nelscott; My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte; The Long Fall (Booklist, Best of 2009) and others by Walter Mosley; Uncle Tom's Cabin, Elijah of Buxton, The Translator; and Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B Dubois. In three seasons at the Ensemble Theatre (Houston, Texas), Mirron appeared as JP in What I Learned in Paris, Malcolm X in The Meeting, Henry in Race, and as Countee Cullen in Knock Me a Kiss (2013 Giorgee Award for Best Leading Actor). Other roles include Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry VI Parts 2 & 3, and A Raisin in the Sun with the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also performed as guest narrator with the Houston Symphony. Film and TV guest appearances include Criminal Minds, Private Practice, The Exes, Monk, 24, Seinfeld, Cheers, The Parkers, Living Single, E.R., Star Trek, and Independence Day, among others. Mirron resides and records audiobooks on his family's historic ranch in East Texas.