In anticipation of JAY-Z's 13th studio album — titled 4:44 and coming this Friday via Tidal — we are rolling out a post per day about the legendary rapper. Today's post is 10 lesser-known facts about JAY-Z, including facts and stories throughout the history of Hova.
1. JAY-Z first recorded on a song called "Originator," six years before his debut album dropped
2. Reasonable Doubt originally had a working title of Heir To The Throne
3. Prior to moving to Roc Nation, JAY-Z bought his publishing rights & master recordings for $5 million after losing a coin flip with then-President of Universal Records Doug Morris
4. JAY-Z was the first non-athlete to have his own signature shoe — and still holds the record for the fastest-selling Reebok
5. His favorite movie is The Godfather 2
6. "99 Problems" was originally a song by Ice T released on his Home Invasion album
7. JAY-Z beat Busta Rhymes in a high school freestyle battle at George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School — which was also attended by The Notorious B.I.G. and DMX
8. JAY-Z was President of Def Jam Records from 2004 to 2008 — in that time, he made several big signings, including Young Jeezy, Rihanna, and his former nemesis, Nas
9. The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse was originally supposed to have just 12 songs, but JAY-Z was later convinced by his engineer Young Guru to make it a double album
10. "Renegades" was originally a song by Eminem and Royce da 5'9"song for Royce's Rock City project
10 Lesser-Known Facts About JAY-Z
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