Empire State of Mind

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Updated and revised—the story of American rapper Jay-Z’s glass-shattering rise from the Brooklyn projects to the top of the business world.

Beyond the award-wining albums and chart-topping hits, Jay-Z’s business savvy has cemented his legacy as one of the most successful artists of our time. Now with new insights into how he recently achieved his Forbes-certified billionaire status, Empire State of Mind reveals the inside story behind the rapper’s meteoric rise.

With a sprawling network of investments ranging from fashion, technology, and top-shelf liquor to nightclubs, streaming services, and record labels, it’s possible for Jay-Z to profit at every turn of your day. So how did a kid from the projects turn himself into a one-man conglomerate? Through the eyes of the people who lived it with him—including the childhood friend who got him into the drug trade, the DJ who persuaded him to stop dealing and focus on his music, and industry collaborators like Alicia Keys and J. Cole—we see how Jay-Z not only honed his craft but transformed each setback into an opportunity for more.

For every hustler, mogul, and businessperson who seeks to build something spectacular, this book is the blueprint.”Fascinating, well-done biography of one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurs of our era.”
—Steve Forbes

“Greenburg has become one of the rare reporters to bring dignified coverage of the hip-hop business into the mainstream. Empire State of Mind is a pure product of Greenburg’s care and insight, an exploration of hip-hop’s most enigmatic mogul.”
—Dan Charnas, author of The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop

“Greenburg follows the money and key pieces of the Jay Z puzzle in this insightful,savvy read. This book is like a GPS leading us through the modern urban realityof how Jay Z’s empire was built.”
—Fab 5 Freddy, artist, hip-hop pioneer, and former host of Yo! MTV Raps

“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.comZack O’Malley Greenburg is a senior editor at Forbes, where he has covered finance and music since 2005. He has profiled the likes of Akon, 50 Cent, and Afrika Bambaataa, and his stories have taken him from the casinos of Macau to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone. He has also written for The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and Dan’s Papers. He lives in New York City.US

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