''Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner To Corner Office'' is a biography of hip-hop mogul

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

authored by

Zack O'Malley Greenburg Zack O'Malley Greenburg (born March 8, 1985, New York City) is an American writer, journalist and former child-actor. He is a senior editor at ''Forbes'' magazine, where he covers music, media and entertainment. He is also the author of three books ...

, released in March 2011 by Portfolio, the

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

business imprint.

Synopsis

From the official blurb: ''Empire State of Mind reveals the story behind Jay-Z's rise as told by the people who lived it with him, from classmates at Brooklyn's George Westinghouse High School and the childhood friend who got him into the drug trade, to the DJ who persuaded him to stop dealing and focus on the music. Now with new interviews with industry insiders like Russell Simmons, Alicia Keys, and J. Cole—more than one hundred in total—this book explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.'' Noteworthy sources interviewed for this biography include Fab Five Freddy,

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

and

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

Reception

The book was cited by Bloomberg as "one of the year's best rock books" and praised by other outlets including CNN, which dubbed it "a superb guide for your career, even if you are looking to be an investment banker or grocery store manager instead of a hip hop legend.”CNN , "5 Things You Can Learn From Jay-Z's Career"
/ref>

References

{{Jay-Z 2011 non-fiction books Biographies about musicians Jay-Z Portfolio (publisher) books