User:Muroo/Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office

Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office is a non-fiction book written by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, published in March 2011. The book is an unauthorized biography of American rapper and businessman, Jay-Z, detailing his road to success in business and music. The title of the book is a reference to Empire State of Mind, a 2009 single by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. This is Greenburg's first book.

Synopsis
From the official blurb :
 * Empire State of Mind tells the story behind Jay-Z's rise to the top as told by the people who lived it with him- from classmates at Brooklyn's George Westinghouse High School; to the childhood friend who got him into the drug trade; to the DJ who convinced him to stop dealing and focus on music. This book explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world. 

Notable sources include hip-hop luminaries such as DJ Clark Kent, Questlove of The Roots, Damon Dash, Fred “Fab 5 Freddy” Brathwaite, MC Serch; NBA stars Jamal Crawford and Sebastian Telfair; and recording industry executives including Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records. Greenburg also reveals new information on Jay-Z’s various business dealings, such as:


 * The feature movie about Jay-Z and his first basketball team that was filmed by Fab 5 Freddy in 2003 but never released.
 * The Jay-Z branded Jeep that was scrapped just before going into production.
 * The real story behind his association with Armand de Brignac champagne.
 * The financial ramifications of his marriage to Beyonce.