Jay-Z before he was famous

The nobody years

1. 

   1970s Marcy Houses, Brooklyn

   He grew up in Marcy Houses, a Bedford-Stuyvesant housing project.

   Grew up in Marcy Houses, a public housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Source

2. 

   1980 Four kids, one parent

   At eleven his father left; his mother raised four children alone.

   Was eleven when his father left the family, leaving his mother to raise four children. Source

3. 

   late 1980s Out by year two

   He dropped out of high school during his second year.

   Dropped out of high school during his second year. Source

4. 

   1995 No label behind him

   In 1995 he put out In My Lifetime with no label.

   Released his first single, In My Lifetime, with no label behind him. Source

5. 

   1995 Three men, one label

   So he built one: Roc-A-Fella, with Damon Dash and Kareem Burke.

   Founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Damon Dash and Kareem Burke as an independent label. Source

6. 1969

   Was born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York. Source

7. 1980s

   Was known around the neighbourhood as Jazzy before he took the name Jay-Z. Source

8. late 1980s

   Appeared on the early records of his mentor Jaz-O rather than his own. Source

9. 1994

   Reached a wider audience as a guest on Big Daddy Kane's Show and Prove. Source

Reconstructions of documented moments, generated with AI. Not archive photographs, and not depictions of real people. © The Nobody Years