Jay Z Turns 53, Check Out The Early Life & Achievements of ‘HOV’

Jay Z
Jay Z

Shawn “Jay Z” Carter turns 53 today. The American rapper is one of the most successful musicians in the world. He has won countless awards, has multi-million dollar businesses, and is one of the most influential entertainers of our time.

‘HOV’ as he normally refers to himself has over the past years collaborated with almost all the music superstars that one can think of including Beyonce, Drake, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys, among others. He’s not just a rapper but he is also a philanthropist. Jay Z, together with his mother, founded The Shawn Carter Foundation in 2022, which has assisted eligible students facing socio-economic hardships through college.

Jay Z
Jay z

Jay-Z began his musical career in the late 1980s in New York City; he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and released his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. Jay-Z has more than once immortalized his own birthday through song, this particular Dec. 4 still sort of snuck up on us.

Why does Jay Z CAll himself ‘HOV’

Jay Z has been referring to himself as Hov or Hova since 2001. Hov or Hova is short for Jay-Hova, and it’s a shortened version/play of the word Jehovah, the Hebrew word for God. Jay-Z has called himself the “god” of rap.

Debut Album

Jay Z released his debut album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. It was produced by acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Super DJ Clark Kent. The platinum-selling project reached number 23 on the Billboard 200. It was later included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at number 248.

Jay Z’s Awards

Jay Z has won a total of 24 Grammy Awards, the most by a rapper, and holds the record for the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200, with 14. Jay has been ranked by Billboard and fellow music publication Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2017, he became the first rapper to be honoured into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2018, he received the commemorative Salute to Industry Icons award at the 60th Grammy Awards.