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No, no, don't sweat
this. Mic too close.

One, two, one, two. This is
how we do it from Brooklyn.

Oh yeah. That
sound kinda funky.

Ow.

Now break it down.
And then I start.

When you
hear the name Jay-Z,

you can't help but
think of greatness.

From humble beginnings,

growing up in the
Brooklyn Projects,

to becoming the world's
first hiphop billionaire,

Jay-Z never let his
past or surroundings

deter him from reaching
his ultimate goal.

Motivated to give himself
the life he always wanted,

he turned his pain into passion

and used the suffering
he experienced growing up

to influence the words
and lyrics in his music.

And when these lyrics struck
a chord with the public,

the rollercoaster ride of his
life and never slowed down.

For over 30 years,

Jay-Z has become synonymous
with the world of hip hop,

and the genre wouldn't
be the same without him.

He changed the game
and inspired millions

to follow in his
footsteps to greatness.

The road to success wasn't easy,

but even with a few
bumps along the way,

the boy from Brooklyn
came out on top.

New York City,
the city that never sleeps.

The Big Apple, the
concrete jungle,

where dreams are made up.

Whatever you know it as,

it's one of the world's
most important cities.

And as the birthplace
of hip hop in America,

it's sacred ground for many.

From the block
parties of the South Bronx

to the stages of
Madison Square Garden,

hip hop has always
been a reflection of
the energy and grit

associated with
living in New York.

Emerging in the 1970s,

hip hop was a byproduct of the
economic and societal issues

that many experienced
growing up in America.

Well, I'm one.

I'm two.

Are you ready to go?

'Cause the human beatbox
gonna take the show.

Yes, y'all, you don't stop.

Yes, yes, I'm the person
they call G

guaranteed to rock the
mic for you young ladies.

I said we go like this,
and we go like that.

Homeboys and girls, we can
never beat it back, go huh.

At street parties
and community gatherings,

rapping was the creative
outlet for the disenfranchised,

particularly young, Black,
Latin, and Caribbean Americans

who wanted to tell their own
stories in their own way.

By the end of the 1970s,

the release of Sugarhill
Gang's Rapper's Delight,

which reached the top 40
in the US Billboard charts,

propelled hip hop out
of the local communities

and entered the spotlight.

♪ Hip hop hippy

♪ Hippy to the hip hip hop

♪ And you don't stop

♪ Rock it out baby bubba,
to the boogity bang bang ♪

♪ The boogie, to the
boogie the beat ♪

Everybody
say, yeah. Here we go.

Here we go.

As the genre moved
from block parties to clubs,

a whole new audience began to
experience and enjoy the music

that was once purely associated
with the disenfranchised.

Hold on. I like
to introduce my dancers-

And by
the end of the 1980s,

the once niche world of hip hop

was part of the
mainstream culture.

Is the undisputed greatest
DJ alive. DJ Jazzy Jeff.

I wanna let my dancers

do a little something
individually first.

Oh, just do little something.

Many see the
period from 1986 to 1993

as the golden age of
hip hop in America.

The emergence of artists
like Tupac Shakur,

the Notorious B.I.G. and Nas

were just a handful
of popular artists

emerging during this time.

Characterized by its diversity,
quality, and innovation,

it was a time when
every new record

and every emerging artist
seemed to reinvent the genre

through the ever-growing
technique of sampling.

We gonna get funky
with it in the place

to be a little
something like this.

Hey Jeff, are you ready?

You ready? Now you
gotta test it up, man.

'Cause we gotta get ready
to rip it. You ready?

You got it?

Test it up?

One.

Two.

One, two, DJ Jazzy Jeff and
yours truly, the Fresh Prince.

I'm making an attention
to all the events.

It allowed hip
hop music to defy generations,

as songs from the past
became beats of the present.

And different
styles music,

never will another group
go be able to do this.

By doing this, the
present with the past,

I hip hop with the.

Let me get everybody waving
their hands back and forth,

a little something like this.

Let me hear you say yeah.

Yeah.

For anyone
growing up in the Projects

during the 1980s and 1990s,

the influence of hip hop
cannot be understated.

It gave the people who
had no voice a real voice,

and over the course of
the 1980s and 1990s,

these voices were beginning
to be heard more and more.

For Sean Corey Carter, the
boy who would become Jay-Z,

being exposed to the
early eras of hip hop

became an education that
would change his life forever.

Born in Brooklyn In 1969,

Carter was raised in
the Marcy Projects,

alongside his three
siblings, by a single mother

after his father Adnis
Reeves, abandoned his family.

Carter has referred to
the 27 six story buildings

that make up the Projects as,

"Huge islands built mostly
in the middle of nowhere,

designed to warehouse lives

that keep the struggles
of the urban poor

invisible to the
larger country."

Carter remembers having
to dodge glass shards

that lined the grassy patches

that passed for a park while
playing touch football,

and unresponsive heroin
addicts collapsed on benches.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s,

the Marcy Projects and the
surrounding neighborhood

would also become
synonymous with hip hop

as the home of several
talented musicians,

including Lil Kim,
Mos Def, Aaliyah,

and the Notorious B.I.G.

Unfortunately, hip hop was not
the only product of the 1980s

altering the surroundings
of the Marcy houses

and the neighboring area.

When the crack epidemic hit
the Projects he lived in,

Carter remembers what had been
was gone, and in its place,

was a new way of life,

that was suddenly everywhere

and seemed like it had
been there forever.

Determined to make
something of his life

and escape the drugs,
violence and poverty

that surrounded him growing
up, Carter turned to music,

something he had
been passionate about

throughout his teenage years.

Influenced by his peers and
the local hip hop scene,

Carter would write raps
in poems in his notebook,

a form of therapy
to tell his story

and help him understand himself.

He remembers how for days
he filled page after page

of a notebook.

Then he would bang out
a beat on the table,

his bedroom window,
whatever had a flat surface.

He would practice from
the time he woke up

until the time he went to sleep.

As the '80s progressed,

Carter became even more
involved in the hip hop scene

that was rapidly
transforming youth culture.

Subwoofers and speakers
seven feet tall

filled the landscape of the
courtyards at the Marcy houses,

the epic battles shaking
the Projects to their core.

Ready? Go on.

All right. Hova December
26, back at y'all.

Peace and love..

What's happening in
here? Gotta.

Another
resident of Marcy Houses

was Jonathan Burkes, Jazz-O.

In Carter's early days,
he acted as his mentor

and pushed him to explore
his musical talents.

Jay-Z's name actually
comes from his mentor,

the similar structure
acting as a salute to him.

In addition, it's a reference
to both his childhood nickname

of Jazzy, and the J-Z subway
station near his Brooklyn home.

In 1989, he joined his
mentor to record a song

called The Originators,

which won the pair an
appearance on an episode

of Yo MTV Raps.

♪ J-A-Y-Z, y'all know
me, I wish you co-write ♪

♪ 'Cause you'd pay me all the
rhymes you stole from me ♪

♪ Leave you freeze in a minute

♪ You gotta get in it breathing
only when it lets, no sweat ♪

♪ I stutter-step with ease,

♪ And stop faking,
you're making it, son ♪

♪ I'm breaking and breaking
and breaking your tongue ♪

♪ Don't get caught
perpetrating the cool ones ♪

Jazz scored a
record deal before Carter,

and invited his protegee
to London with him

to record some new music.

Jazz's album tanked after
a poor decision was made

for his first single.

He went from being courted
at the highest level

to not having the people
at EMI return his calls.

The executives who
had withdrawing their
support from Jazz

were then trying to contact
Carter for a solo project.

Given the way his
mentor had been treated,

Carter temporarily
gave up his dreams

of a rap recording contract.

But his first real big
break was soon to come.

From the 1990s to 1995, Jay-Z
returned to street hustling,

while still attempting
to forge a music career.

He would appear on
other artists' songs
with the odd verses

and collaborations
here and there,

but never enough clout
for his own project.

After being turned down by
several labels in the industry,

Jay-Z, Damon Dame Dash,
and Kareem Biggs Burke

started their own record label.

They pooled their resources
to form Roc-A-Fella Records.

♪ You got your own
2001 to ride in ♪

♪ And keep your ass
tight up in Versace ♪

♪ That's why you gotta
watch your friends you ♪

♪ Got to watch me
they conniving, shit ♪

♪ The first chance
to crack the bank ♪

♪ They try me, all they
get is 50 cent franks ♪

♪ And papayas, from the
village to the telly ♪

♪ Time to kill it on
your belly no question ♪

♪ Have more chicks between
my sheets than Essence ♪

♪ They say sex is a
weapon, so when I shoot ♪

♪ Meet your death in
less than 8 seconds ♪

♪ Still pounding
in my after life ♪

♪ Laughing, my shit is
tight, who you asking ♪

♪ Ain't no nigga
like the one I got ♪

♪ No one can fuck me better

♪ Sleeps around but
he gives me a lot ♪

Initially,

the label acted as
an independent outlet

for Jay-Z's debut album,
Reasonable Doubt, in 1996.

Reasonable Doubt
was the first sign

that Jay-Z had
something to offer

within the hip hop community.

He had the beats,

the lyrics and the
connections to make it happen.

But with so many artists vying
for the role of King of Rap

in the 1990s, and the turf
wars between the East Side

and West Side of American hip
hop reaching a fever pitch,

it was one of the
most difficult periods

to try and reach the top.

Biggie Smalls doing his
thing in the rap world.

That's right, baby.

What's up man? From dance
tracks to Video Music Box.

I'm back with you,
man. What's up?

I'm just chilling. Trying
to stay outta trouble.

Yeah, well you game man.
You got a lot going on.

Are there any movie
deals or anything?

Jamming when she was
pregnant with me. Yeah.

So, you
were right in the middle

of the storm.

I'm still in the storm.
I'm still in the storm.

As a matter of fact, my
mother was in a book.

It's a book about my mother

called Look For Me
In The Whirlwind.

And I like to think
that's my motto.

"Look for me in the whirlwind."

Even now, this is all
a whirlwind for me.

The mysterious
deaths of Tupac Shakur

and Biggie Smalls
in 1996 and 1997,

sent shockwaves through
the world of hip hop.

It was the crescendo
of increasing tensions

between the East and West coast,

which had been going toe
to toe for the past decade.

Within six months of
each other, both artists,

who were arguably the most
influential of the decade,

had been killed by
unknown assailants

in drive-by shootings.

For Jay-Z, the death
of Biggie especially

had a more human impact.

I see you. I'm saying,
you doing a good job, man.

I try to.

Yo, this is Biggie
Smalls. That's right.

It's the mad celebrity birthday
bash JD Ralph McDaniels.

From
attending the same school

and growing up in the
same neighborhood,

the two almost
lived the same life,

and having spoken to
Biggie the day he died,

this was personal for Jay-Z.

'Cause I spoke to
him, like I just spoke to him.

I was like, "Nah."

I immediately dismissed
it. Like, "You bugging."

It was like, "Son, it happened.
I'm telling you, honestly."

Biggie paved
the way for rap music,

and his legacy
can still be heard

in the modern music landscape.

Jay didn't just lose a friend,

but lost his
musical inspiration.

The empty space at
the top of hip hop

by the deaths of the
two biggest names

within the genre was
bound to be filled.

And with his own record label

and an impressive debut release,

Jay-Z was in the perfect
position to fill those shoes.

The release of In
My Lifetime in 1997

was a revelation for Jay-Z.

The emotional state he
was in due to the death

of his friend made this
album more personal than ever

with references to his
difficult upbringing

rife throughout the record.

Where I'm From paints a
grim picture of his life

in the Marcy Projects,

giving listeners an insight
into what it was like

to grow up in Brooklyn.

♪ Cough up a lung, where
I'm from, Marcy son ♪

♪ Ain't nothing nice

♪ Been many places but
I'm Brooklyn's own ♪

♪ Cough up a lung, where
I'm from, Marcy son ♪

♪ Ain't nothing nice

♪ Been many places but
I'm Brooklyn's own ♪

But with
references to Biggie

throughout the album,

and title tracks
like The City's Mine,

it was obvious Jay-Z was
not just reliving the past:

he was embracing the
legacy of his lost friend

whilst looking to
fill the power vacuum

that had been left behind.

It wouldn't
be until the release

of Jay-Z's third record,
Hard Knock Life in 1998,

that it looked more likely that
the place at the top of rap

was fully reserved for Jay-Z.

And after its release,

Jay-Z's life was going
to change forever.

The title track, which
famously sampled his chorus

from the Broadway musical Annie

became Jay-Z's most
popular single to date,

and the album would
eventually become

Jay-Z's most commercially
successful album.

♪ As hell when I come through

♪ The life and times of
Sean Carter, volume two ♪

♪ It's the hard
knock life for us ♪

♪ It's the hard
knock life for us ♪

♪ Instead of treated,
we get tricked ♪

♪ Instead of kisses,
we get kicked ♪

♪ It's the hard knock life

♪ I flow for those dro-ed out

Seemingly a strange
inspiration for a rapper,

but there was a connection.

"I wasn't worried about the
clash between the hard lyrics

and the image of redhead Annie.

Instead, I found the mirror
between the two stories;

that Annie's story was
mine, and mine was hers.

And the song was the place
where our experiences

weren't contradictions,

just different dimensions
of the same reality."

Lyrics like, "Instead of
kisses we get kicked,"

resonated with his experiences
growing up in the Projects.

And although they
were not orphans,

a whole generation raised
themselves on the streets.

He scored a Grammy
win for the record,

marking the beginning
of a fruitful period

in which Jay-Z would become

one of the biggest
names in hip hop.

That's like a cherry on top.

You make music and
people accept your music

all around the world.

You sell records or whatever,

but then you're
nominated for awards.

So, it's like the cherry
on top. It's great.

By the
end of the millennium,

Jay-Z was firmly at the top
of the world of hip hop.

And thanks to his
collaboration with Mariah Carey

on her song Heartbreaker,

he was for the first time at
the top of the charts too.

♪ She wanna shop with
Jay, play box with Jay ♪

♪ She wanna pillow fight in
the middle of the night ♪

♪ She wanna drive my Benz
with five of her friends ♪

♪ She wanna creep past
the blocks spying again ♪

♪ She wanna roll with
Jay, chase skeeos away ♪

♪ She wanna fight with
lame chicks, blow my day ♪

♪ She wanna

In the same year,

Jay-Z released The Life
And Times Of S Carter,

his fourth solo album.

But the release was
marred by a feud he had

with another music producer

he believed had
leaked the record.

Jay was livid that his
work was circulating

a month before its release,

and in his autobiography
he says how he,

"Ran into the guy
everyone's been telling me

is behind the bootleg.

So, I approached him.

When I told him what I
suspected, to my surprise,

he got real loud
with me right there

in the middle of the club.

Before I even realized
what I was doing,

I headed back over to him.

But this time, I was
blacking out with anger.

The next thing I knew,
all hell had broken loose

in the club.

That night, the guy went
straight to the police

and I was charged with assault."

His arrest and acceptance
of the punishment

was a wake up call.

With everything he had ever
wanted within his grasp

being nearly taken away,

he headed back to the studio
to record The Blueprint.

The record is often cited as
not only Jay-Z's best album,

but one of the best
albums of all time.

And was the start
of his collaboration

with one of hip hop's most
exciting emerging talents.

♪ 400 grand

Whilst Jay-Z
had been working his way

to the top of hip hop in
America in the late 1990s,

a beat maker named Kanye West

had been slowly but
surely working his way up

through the hip hop
scene in Chicago.

A college dropout, West
turned down the opportunity

for formal education
at the age of 20

to pursue a career in music.

His decision soon paid off at
the turn of the new millennium

when in 2000, West took the
train from Chicago to New York,

and began producing for
artists at Roc-A-Fella.

And soon enough,

he was working with Jay-Z
on his upcoming album,

The Blueprint,

hoping to pave a way back

after the end of
his criminal trial.

When the two worlds collided,

it was obvious to them
and the people around them

that the duo were a match
made in hip hop heaven.

The duo returned to
the studio soon after

to start work on
The Blueprint Two,

which was released
at the end of 2002.

The release was also the first
professional collaboration

between Jay-Z and
Beyonce Knowles,

one third of Destiny's Child,

who had begun embarking
on her own solo projects.

And with that song,
titled Bonnie and Clyde,

came rumors that Beyonce
and Jay-Z were an item,

but it would be several years
before it was ever official.

♪ Like it's supposed to be

♪ The '03 Bonnie and Clyde

♪ Hove and B, holla

♪ All I need in
this life of sin ♪

♪ Me and my girlfriend,
me and my girlfriend ♪

♪ Down to ride
till the very end ♪

♪ It's me and my boyfriend

The reason
why the relationship

between Jay-Z and Beyonce was
kept a secret is business.

You get it in record
companies with artists.

The minute an artist
falls in love,

they're frightened that the
sales will be affected by it.

So they're always like,

"Don't tell anyone you're
having a relationship.

Keep it down."

Because they want you to
be accessible to everyone.

They want everyone
drooling over you.

They want to have the
posters on the wall.

And if you know that the person
who's a poster on your wall

is married or conceiving,
with child or something,

it's not quite the same, is it?

Not long after
their first collaboration,

Jay-Z returned the
favor to Beyonce

by appearing in her debut
smash Hit Crazy In Love.

The single went on
to gain global status

and rose to the top of the
US and UK music charts,

earning them both
a Grammy award,

and in 2018 was ranked
the greatest song

of the 21st century.

The song's lyrics fueled
the already roaring fire

of their secret relationship.

And the music video, which
is still iconic today,

gave fans a closer glimpse
at the couple's affection

for each other.

Well, you
know what it was?

I first heard it on the radio.

I remember hearing it
on the radio and going.

This is just...

Like a James Brown song.

When you hear a James
Brown song and you just.

It's so good, your
face is contorted

and the beat is so good
you can't keep still.

It's like, "Oh, man."

Trying to do the dishes,
and it was all going off.

And then when I saw
the video, that was it.

The video is the most
amazing thing I've ever seen.

It was the way that she
walked on the road there.

It was a dirty road
with a broken down car.

But the way she did that walk.

And I always thought
that Naomi Campbell

was the queen of the catwalk,

'cause she's amazing when
she does that catwalk.

Naomi's famous for it,
but Beyonce tore it up.

♪ Yes

♪ So crazy right now

♪ Most incredibly

♪ It's your girl, Bey

♪ It's your boy, young

♪ You ready?

♪ Oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh oh oh no no ♪

♪ Oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh oh oh no no ♪

I mean, she walked along
that little dusty road

with the little
jeans on and the cap,

and then she went, ah.

And you were like, "Oh,
yeah, seal the deal."

She was amazing.

And then you just saw
this big guy, Jay-Z,

come in and do his thing.

Everyone was talking about it,

because no one was quite sure

if they were together
at that time.

It was, "Are they, are they?

Is it real? Are they
really together?

Is it business or what?"

It was kind of the early stages,

but the chemistry that you
saw between Beyonce and Jay-Z

in that video was electrifying.

And they didn't even
actually do anything

in terms of kissing
or anything like that,

but it was just the intensity.

It was powerful.

She was close to him,
and she has that thing

where she breathes
and she kind of goes.

And it's like, "Oh my
God," it was all going off.

It was great.

So, no, it was a fantastic
landmark for her.

I think coming out of
this sort of girl thing.

What an amazing debut
as a solo artist.

You can't get higher than that.

She just completely
destroyed it.

Not much is
known about the first meeting

between Jay-Z and Beyonce,

although many have
their own theories.

They continued to
keep a low profile

until their big
public debut in 2004,

when they both stepped
out on the VMA red carpet.

It was a welcome relief for
the celebrity rumor mill,

who could finally rest knowing
they were right all along.

As a couple,

they continue to successfully
separate their working life

in the public eye and their
private life together.

Even their marriage in 2008

came with no official
confirmation.

A low-key affair with
friends and family

may not have been
what fans wanted,

but it was exactly what
Jay-Z and Beyonce needed.

You are asleep.

Only my eyes.

And my arm.

In 2003,

after the success of
The Blueprint Two,

Jay-Z announced that his
upcoming album, The Black Album,

would be his very last, as
he was planning to retire.

And he did it in style too.

With tracks like
Encore and Lucifer,

Jay-Z was ending his career
on the ultimate high.

His collaboration
with renowned producer

and label head of
Def Jam Records,

Rick Ruben on the
hit 99 Problems,

proved to be one of Jay-Z's
most popular songs ever.

Give me after,
"Legit." After, "Legit."

Aren't you sharp as a tack?

You some type of
lawyer or something?

Somebody important or something?

I ain't passed the bar
but I know a little bit

enough that you won't...

Aren't you sharp as a tack?

You some type of
lawyer or something?

Lawyer or something?

Lawyer or something?

Having given
everything to music,

Jay-Z took a backseat.

His goal was to focus
on other ventures,

including nurturing more
artists under his record label

and start giving back
to the community.

For most of his career,

Jay-Z has proved to be more
than just a music producer.

Beginning during his
first retirement,

Jay-Z started to put his hand

to a number of important
causes and business ventures.

Most influentially in 2003,
he and his mother Gloria

founded the Sean
Carter Foundation

to help individuals facing
socioeconomic hardships

further their education,

making higher education
possible for millions.

I'm lucky. I'm a lucky person.

I had a talent to do
something that I really loved,

and it took me to places
I thought I'd never see.

My situation could have
turned out differently,

much differently.

My story is a bit of
an anomaly, you know?

So just making sure that people
are prepared for the future,

prepared for this world,

and especially people
that have drive

and want to go further.

Excuse me, and if the thing
that's holding them back

is something financial,

then I don't think that's right,
I don't think that's fair.

So just providing an
opportunity for people

that want to further
their education

and be successful,
important to me.

His retirement
for music became a renaissance

and laid the foundations
in Jay-Z's legacy,

as someone who was going
to impact several lives

across the world.

After three years of
working behind the scenes

and diversifying into a
number of different careers,

the magnetic pull of the
music industry was too much.

And by 2006, Jay was
ready to be back producing

and releasing his music again.

Within a few years, Jay-Z
had released two albums,

been on multiple tours,

continued charitable work
with institutions like the UN,

and set up an educational trust

for the children of Sean Bell,

a Black man who had been shot
and killed on his wedding day

by the police.

It was obvious that
this new era for Jay-Z

valued music just as
highly as helping others

who are less fortunate than him.

Jay-Z's return to
music was huge,

and his 2008 appearance
at Glastonbury

is one of the most iconic
performances of all time.

He was the first
major hip hop artist

to headline the Pyramid stage,

and this fact has
notoriously riled the likes

of Noel Gallagher of Oasis,

who implied it was something
that would never have happened

in his heyday.

Jay-Z responded in
the only way he could,

and used the performance and
music to make his point heard.

♪ Back beat the word
is on the street ♪

♪ That the fire in
your heart is out ♪

♪ I'm sure you've
heard it all before ♪

♪ But you never
really had a doubt ♪

♪ I don't believe that anybody

♪ Feels the way I
do about you now ♪

Headlining
Glastonbury was a turning point

for the world of hip hop,

and emphasized how far it
had come since the 1990s

and entering the mainstream.

With artists like
Kendrick Lamar,

Stormzy and Kanye West
following in his footsteps,

it's clear that Jay-Z
changed the game forever.

One year after
headlining Glastonbury,

Jay-Z released The
Blueprint Three.

With the release came
Jay-Z's biggest hit to date,

Empire State of Mind,
featuring Alicia Keys.

The song acts as a
homage to New York,

referencing specific places
and people from Carter's youth.

♪ I can make it anywhere

♪ Yeah they love me everywhere

♪ I used to cop in Harlem

♪ Hola my Dominicanos

♪ Right there up on Broadway

♪ Brought me back
to that McDonald's ♪

♪ Took it to my stash box

♪ 560 State Street

It's a song

that reveals everything
Jay is about,

and what his music has
always represented.

He writes candidly about
it in his autobiography.

"When I first heard
the track for Empire,

I was sure it would be a hit.

It was gorgeous.

My instinct was to dirty it up,

to tell the stories of
the city's gritty side,

to use stories about
hustling and getting hustled

to add tension to the soaring
beauty of the chorus."

♪ New York

♪ Concrete jungle where
dreams are made up ♪

♪ There's nothing you can do

♪ Now you're in New York

And you
say New York City.

Yeah.

♪ These streets will
make you feel brand new ♪

♪ These lights
will inspire you ♪

♪ Let's hear it for New
York, New York, New York ♪

Yes, yes, yes.

♪ Catch me at the X with
OG at a Yankee game ♪

♪ Shit, I make the Yankee hat

♪ More famous than
a Yankee can ♪

♪ You should know I bleed blue
but I ain't a Crip though ♪

Following
his successful return

to the music scene,

it was only a matter of time

before Jay-Z collaborated
with Kanye West again,

who himself had been
enjoying his career

and was now releasing
his own albums.

In 2011, they released a
joint album, Watch The Throne.

The project features guest
appearances from the Dream,

Frank Ocean and Beyonce,

as well as posthumous
vocals from Curtis Mayfield,

and in this clip, Otis Redding.

♪ They ain't see me 'cause I
pulled up in my other Benz ♪

♪ Last week I was in
my other other Benz ♪

♪ Throw your diamonds up

♪ 'Cause we in this
bitch another 'gain ♪

♪ Photoshoot fresh,
looking like wealth ♪

♪ I'm boutta call the
paparazzi on myself ♪

♪ Live from the Mercer

♪ Run up on Yeezy
the wrong way ♪

♪ I might murk ya

♪ Flee in the G450,
I might surface ♪

♪ Political refugee,
asylum can be purchased ♪

♪ Everything's for sale

♪ Got five passports

From
headlining Glastonbury

to achieving his first
number one record,

Jay-Z made a return
to the music industry

unlike anyone before him.

He was just, as if not even
more important to the scene

than ever before,

and it looked like nothing
was going to stop him

from becoming even greater.

For many, the life
of Jay-Z and Beyonce

seemed to be perfect.

And even amongst their
peers in Hollywood,

they're the source of envy

for their ability to keep
matters of their private life

private,

especially in the world
where celebrity lives

are constantly put
under the microscope.

By 2006,

they were voted the most
powerful couple in the world

by Time Magazine.

In 2009, they were ranked as
Hollywood's top earning couple.

And throughout the 21st century,

they continued to top the charts

with both their individual
and collaborative endeavors.

By 2012, they had started
a family of their own too,

with the birth of their
first daughter, Blue Ivy.

But behind the scenes,
tensions were brewing

between the world's
most powerful couple,

tension that was thrust
into the public domain

following the release of
leaked CCTV from an elevator

at the Met Gala.

What happens at the annual gala,

which is widely regarded

as the world's most prestigious
and glamorous fashion event,

is shrouded in as much mystery

as the early relationship
between Jay-Z and Beyonce.

However, the world
finally got a glimpse

behind the scenes of the
most famous secret party

of the world's rich and famous.

But it wasn't the glimpse
into the glamorous lifestyle

that anyone expected.

Following rumors of
Jay-Z's infidelity,

Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles
attacked the hip hop mogul

in a lift.

The pristine image
of the relationship

between the world's most famous
couple had been shattered,

as videos and photos of
the incident spread online.

But the two went on
to address the issue

in the only way they knew
how: through their music.

Following
the incident,

Jay-Z and Beyonce went
back into the studio

at the same time,

recording and producing
their own albums,

both individually
and collaboratively.

For the couple,

the process was like a
therapy session for them,

and you could hear
it in the music.

Beyonce's 2016 album Lemonade
was lauded by critics

as not only her best,

but the singer's most
personal work to date.

The record addresses
her emotional journey

after her husband
Jay-Z's infidelity

in a generational
and racial context.

The fifth track,
Daddy's Lessons,

is a turning point
for the album,

with Beyonce linking
Jay-Z cheating on her

with the experience
of her father Matthew
Knowles' adultery.

Tellingly, in an interview with
Elle Magazine, Beyonce said,

"I hope I can create art
that helps people heal.

Art that makes people feel
proud of their struggle.

Everyone experiences pain,

but sometimes you need to be
uncomfortable to transform."

♪ You are my sunlight

Beyonce explained the
concept of the Lemonade album

to Melinda Matsoukas,

the director of the
Formation music video.

She wanted to show the
historical impact of slavery

on Black love, and what it
has done to the Black family,

and Black men and women,

"How we're almost socialized
not to be together."

♪ With that Creole
make a Texas bama ♪

♪ I like my baby heir
with baby hair and Afros ♪

♪ I like my Negro nose with
Jackson Five nostrils ♪

This is history.

Thank you so much for
being here tonight.

♪ Okay ladies, now let's
get in formation, I slay ♪

♪ Okay ladies, now let's
get in formation, I slay ♪

♪ I slay, I slay, I slay

♪ I slay, I slay, I slay

♪ Slay, or you get eliminated.

♪ Okay ladies, now let's
get in formation, I slay ♪

♪ Okay ladies, now
let's get in formation ♪

♪ You are my sunlight

In 2017,
Jay-Z released 4:44,

which was his response to
the rumors in Lemonade.

The album was Jay's
most personal yet,

and much like his wife's album,

garnered universal acclaim
from music critics.

Hear how personal he becomes
on the titular track.

♪ Apologize

♪ I seen the innocence
leave your eyes ♪

♪ I still mourn this death

♪ I apologize for
the stillborns ♪

♪ 'Cause I wasn't present,
your body wouldn't accept ♪

♪ I apologize to all the women

♪ Whom I toyed with
your emotions ♪

♪ 'Cause I was emotionless

♪ And I apologize
'cause at your best ♪

♪ You are love and because

♪ I fall short of what
I say I'm all about ♪

♪ Your eyes leave
with the soul ♪

♪ That your body once housed

♪ And you stare
blankly in the space ♪

♪ Thinking of all
the time you wasted ♪

♪ On all this basic shit

Just as he had
used music during the 1990s

to talk about his
troubled upbringing,

Jay-Z used 4:44 to get candid
about his current life.

The album covers a wide array
of topics: his family life,

relationships, ongoing
hip hop culture,

stereotypes and racism.

He directly references lines
from Lemonade on the album.

On Beyonce's song
Sorry, she sings,

"You better call Becky
with the good hair."

Jay responds on the track
Family Feud by rapping,

"Leave me alone, Becky."

The Story of OJ references
racism, stereotypes,

and the experience of being
a Black person in America.

Smile discusses his
mother being a lesbian,

featuring a poem from her.

Pitchfork reviewer
Sheldon Pierce

concluded that, "The most
crafty and evasive MC

lays bare his complicated life.

This late career gem is
personal and diamond sharp,

confronting the failings
and legacy of Sean Carter

and America."

He also called the album
an historical artifact.

For the world's most
powerful couple,

producing dual
albums in response

to their troubled love life

would prove to be
incredibly important,

and by the end of 2017,

their life was back on track
as they welcomed twins,

a daughter named Rumi
and a son named Sir.

Any memory of the
Met Gala incident

was quickly washed away in 2022,

and their status as the
king and queen of music

was secured, as
Beyonce tied Jay-Z

for the most Grammy
nominations of all time.

With 88 nominations each,

the couple took their rightful
place on the music throne.

From humble beginnings,

Jay-Z was spurred on to
become something more,

and to fight the status quo

associated with growing
up in the Projects.

He was determined to
give himself and the
people around him

the best life that he could.

Through genuine talent,
self-determination,

and an ability to connect
with people through music

and lyrics, Jay-Z became
a global superstar,

taking hip hop to an audience

far wider than anyone
could have imagined.

And when his reach was global,

and he put his mind to
using his platform for good

to promote causes
he cared about,

the boy who grew up in
the Brooklyn Projects

cemented his legacy as
more than a musician,

but as a powerful
voice for change.