Artist Jay-Z

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Jay-Z

Jay-Z stands at a peculiar crossroads in his career: He's left the boardroom and his position as president of Def Jam after a rocky tenure running rap's premier label. Jay-Z is still a big star; it's the industry that's gotten smaller. Nowadays, rappers who used to shoot for diamond status are lucky to reach platinum. Stakes were high for last year's The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z's first album since leaving Def Jam. And Hova pretty much delivered: The album sold 476,000 copies its first week, but more importantly, it shows the rapper as reflective and in relatively fine form late in the game, particularly on the instant classic "Empire State Of Mind." A more recent Rihanna collaboration yielded "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)," which Jay-Z sees as a more fitting benefit track than the untouchable, recently revamped "We Are The World" that premiered during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Updated 09/01/2010