Jay-Z albums discography
Jay-Z began his music career in the 1980s, building a reputation as a fledgling rapper in his hometown of Brooklyn and collaborating with his mentor and fellow rapper Jaz-O. Jay-Z later founded Roc-A-Fella Records with close friends Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke and released his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt in June 1996. The album peaked at number twenty-three on the United States Billboard 200 record chart and has since been recognized as a seminal work of the hip hop genre. Its singles included "Dead Presidents", "Ain't No Nigga" and "Can't Knock the Hustle", all of which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), which saw Jay-Z collaborating with producers such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Teddy Riley, peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life was released in September 1998 and became his first number-one album in the United States. The album featured the international hits "Can I Get A..." and "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", which both reached top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100. Vol. 2 was certified five times platinum by the RIAA and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1999. Two more chart-topping albums – Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia – followed in December 1999 and October 2000 respectively. The albums included hit singles such as "Big Pimpin'" and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" and featured several guest appearances from artists signed to Roc-A-Fella Records.
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