Main content

Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Boardroom

Finance guru Alvin Hall charts the rise rap music entrepreneurJay-Z - a man who has become a brand in his own right.

Ten years ago rap superstar Jay-Z was struggling to get a record deal after being spurned by every major label - so he started his own. A decade on, with 20 million CD sales under his belt, he is now a major music industry player, and currently reigns as president of the legendary Def Jam records.

He built on his success with lucrative sidelines in the fashion industry, a chain of bars, his own brand of vodka, and is also part-owner of a professional basketball team. Now some of America's biggest brands are hiring him in hope his business savvy can help them, too.

Finance guru Alvin Hall meets Shawn Carter a.k.a Jay-Z for an in-depth discussion charting the birth of his business empire and rise from the notorious Marcy Projects in Brooklyn to C.E.O鈥檚 office, revealing the story of a man who has become a brand in his own right.

This programme was originally broadcast on 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4 on December 2, 2006.

Presenter: Alvin Hall
Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Editor: Tony Phillips

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Thu 27 Dec 2007 23:30
麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4

  • Watch the interview as Zane Lowe met Jay Z at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

  • Tupac Shakur, Hip-Hop Immortal

    Poet and playwright Al Letson recalls the life of Tupac Shakur

Broadcasts

  • Tue 8 May 2007 11:30
    麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4 FM
  • Thu 27 Dec 2007 23:30
    麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4

Featured in...

Radio 4 on Music

Re-releasing music documentaries from the Radio 4 Archive.