The CHIMES

Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Lifestyle

Jay-Z's latest album, "Blueprint 3". Over the course of his career, the Brooklyn rapper has released 11 albums that have reached number one on the Billboard Top 100.

He's gone from a drug dealer in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects to millionaire mogul and showed many young people in the hip-hop community that it's possible to make it with enough hard work. Neilsen Soundscan, an information system that keeps track of the sales of music and music video products, reported he has had 11 albums, all of which have gone gold or platinum. Still, Jay-Z isn't done with hip-hop music and will always aim to have that influence over the genre.

With a new album in the works, Jay-Z released one of the most controversial songs in hip-hop over the summer called: "Death of Autotune (D.O.A.)." In the song, he expresses a widespread view of how autotune, a voice effect made famous again by singer T-Pain, has become repetitive since a lot of artists have begun to use it excessively.

New York radio station Hot 97's Angie Martinez asked Jay-Z about the motivation behind the record. He said that with more and more people in the industry using autotune, the chances for the music to become "stagnant" and a "turn-off" have greatly increased. In one word, he said that overuse of the recording technique would be "corny."

Jay-Z also admitted that because of his long involvement with hip-hop music, he feels he is like an overseer. His aim is to keep the integrity of the talent that it takes to really make it in the industry instead of having rappers that are here today and gone tomorrow.

In an interview on Bill Maher's HBO show "Real Time," Jay-Z said that as an older man, he has lasting credibility in the street and among other artists; still, not completely being the same guy he used to be is a sign of growth. "I think it was my experiences, you know? Now, I'm on Bill Maher with nice people," he said laughing lightly. "I'm not as edgy."

On September 11 he released his latest album titled "Blueprint 3." Jay-Z had a short first week with only four days to sell enough to become number one on the Billboard Top 100 list. Over the first weekend he participated in various events, such as a concert at Madison Square Garden in memory of victims from the 9/11 attacks on New York named "Answer the Call." He also headlined MTV's Video Music Awards, as a way for people to hear new songs off the album.

On September 15, "Blueprint 3" was number one on the Billboard Top 100 selling 476,000 copies. It was also announced that with this being his 11th number one album, he broke the tie shared between him and legendary rock and roll artist Elvis.

With his various contributions to hip-hop music over the last 13 years since his debut, Jay-Z, who turns 40 years old in December, is in a music genre that is mainly overrun by younger rappers. And he still has a strong voice.

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