Jay-Z’s place in hip-hop canon
Forbes estimates that Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z and the man behind such classic hip-hop songs as “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Hard Knock Life,” rakes in about $82 million a year. Admittedly, a lot of that annual income stems from his former day job as CEO of Def Jam Records and as the owner of the New Jersey Nets. But! The world mostly knows Jay-Z as a rap star. (And maybe as Beyonce’s husband.) David Wall Rice, avid hip-hop listener and professor of psychology at Morehouse College, joins us to put the “best rapper alive” into a broader context. (Read Rice’s latest blog post, “Jay-Z Grows Us Up,” about the new album.)
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