“It’s gonna pay off in the long run.”Before Jay-Z fashioned himself into hip-hops most notorious capitalist, he was a street hustler from the projects who rapped about what he knew, and was very, very good at it. Co&241 ecido polo seu h&225 bil emprego das met&225 foras, as s&250 as capacidades para o estilo libre, os seus xogos de palabras, a combinaci&243 n do hip hop da r&250 a co comercial e a combinaci&243 n do rap con elementos do pop , Jay-Z &233 un dos rapeiros m&225 is respectados.“Try to own as much of yourself as possible,” said rapper and Brooklyn native Jay-Z in an interview back in 1996. Vendeu m&225 is de 26 mill&243 ns de discos desde o seu primeiro &225 lbum Reasonable Doubt en 1996.

In Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix),” Jay-Z raps:“I’m not a businessman I’m a business, man!”Explaining the lyric to Genius, Jay stated, “All my businesses are part of the culture, so I have to stay true to whatever I’m feeling at the time, whatever direction I’m heading in, and hopefully, everyone follows.”Being able to grasp the potential power of personal brand equity—something most people never fully realize—is what has made Jay so successful. You’re able to direct the attention of your personal following to everything you touch—and that’s exactly how Jay-Z maneuvered to amass his fortune.One of my favorite Jay-Z lyrics of all time sums up his understanding of personal branding perfectly. Why? Because it’s transferable. In an era where massive record-labels like Sony, BMG, and Warner Bros ran the music industry, Jay-Z probably sounded overly ambitious—and maybe even a bit naive.Now, according to Forbes, he’s worth a billion dollars.So, how does a kid go from Brooklyn’s Marcy Housing projects to 22-time Grammy-winning artist, record label owner, and multi-industry business mogul?Aside from hard-work, self-belief, a lot of talent, and a little bit of luck, Jay-Z has something most entrepreneurs take for granted: A strong personal brand.Building personal brand equity is one of the smartest ways to invest your time. Next UpHe was 27 years old at the time, and had just released his highly anticipated debut album, Reasonable Doubt.

Own 100% of Armand de Brignac, worth $310 million. His understanding of transferable personal brand equity has helped him: Why? Because he’s done an incredible job branding ‘Elon Musk’.Same thing goes for Jay-Z.

Amass a $220 million investing portfolio. Grow his fortune as a musician to almost $75 million. Expand his music label, Roc Nation ($75M), into sports—representing athletes like Kevin Durant and Todd Gurley. Become the principal owner of Tidal, the first artist-owned streaming platform, worth over $100 million.

Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt Genius