Jay-Z

For a list of albums and singles, see: Jay-Z discography. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President. Damon Dash had left Roc-a-Fella Records in late 2004 to pursue other ventures; the label will be retained as a Def Jam imprint. In 2003 she began campaigning for John Kerry, first in the Democratic primaries and then, after he won those, in the general election. On January 3, 2005, Jay-Z was appointed the new President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. King is very politically active in the United States Democratic Party. The lead single "Numb/Encore" debuted at #14 in the UK. She returned to music in 1989, recording City Streets, followed by Color of Your Dreams (1993), with a guest appearance by Slash of Guns n' Roses.

It debuted at #1 in the US Billboard Album Charts, #12 in Australia and #38 in the UK. Retiring to Idaho, King became an environmental activist after releasing a collection called Speeding Time in 1983. It features remixes of songs from the rock band's two studio albums, Meteora and Hybrid Theory; and also several from the rapper's albums including his latest, The Black Album. She married another songwriting partner, Rick Evers, after releasing Simple Things (1977); he died of a heroin overdose one year later. On November 30, 2004, Jay-Z released Collision Course, a collaboration with Linkin Park. Goffin and King reunited to write Thoroughbred (1975) with David Crosby, Graham Nash and James Taylor, a long-time friend of King's. On June 18, 2004, Jay-Z appeared live with the jam band Phish at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, performing some of his hit singles with the band. Music (1971), Rhymes and Reasons (1972) and Wrap Around Joy (1974) followed, each selling respectably.

Kelly accused Jay-Z's entourage of attacking him. One of the critical albums of the singer-songwriter genre of the early 1970s, Tapestry remains her most popular album among fans and critics, and has sold over 10 million copies. This release was timed to coincide with the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which played half of its dates before being cancelled in November 2004 after R. King then released Writer (1970), another disastrous failure, followed by Tapestry (1971), her best known and most well-received album. Kelly released a follow up to their Best of Both Worlds album in October 2004 entitled Unfinished Business, which includes 11 previously unreleased tracks by the duo. Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and Danny Kortchmar formed a group called the City, which released one album, Now That Everything's Been Said but the album was a commercial failure. Jay-Z and R. After failing several times at beginning a solo career, King eventually helped found a record label, Tomorrow Records, divorced Goffin and married Charles Larkey (of the Myddle Class).

As a result, many copies were destroyed and an original is now a rare find. She had a modest hit singing one of her own songs in 1962 with "It Might As Well Rain Until September." The pair had a daughter, Louise Goffin, who is also a singer. DJ Danger Mouse was sent a cease and desist order from EMI, The Beatles' record company, due to illegal sampling. Future hits written by the pair include: "Take Good Care of My Baby" (Bobby Vee), "The Loco-motion" (Little Eva), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons), "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (The Monkees), "Up on the Roof" (The Drifters and later James Taylor), "Chains" (The Cookies and later The Beatles), "(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin) and "He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)" (The Crystals). It combined the a capella version with instrumental samples of The Beatles' White Album. The Goffin-King partnership first hit it big with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which topped the charts when released by the Shirelles in 1961. The most controversial of the ensuing remixes was by DJ Danger Mouse, entitled "The Grey Album". Goffin and King soon formed a songwriting partnership, eventually marrying, working in the famous Brill Building, where chart-topping hits were churned out during the 1950s and early 1960s.

In 2004, an a capella special edition of The Black Album (which sported a red CD cover) was released with the intention of allowing others to create remixes. Born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, Carol Klein (as she was then known) started out playing the piano and then moved on to singing, forming a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines in high school. While attending Queens College, King befriended Paul Simon, Neil Sedaka and Gerry Goffin. The album featured the Top 10 singles "Change Clothes" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", one of a number of Jay-Z singles produced by Timbaland. Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer and songwriter, most active as a singer during the early to mid 1970s, but a successful songwriter for considerably longer both before and after this period. In 2003, Jay-Z toured with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul while finishing work on what was announced as his final album, The Black Album. 1970 - Writer. The Blueprint 2 was later reissued in a single-disc version, The Blueprint 2.1, which retained half of the tracks from the double-album. 1971 - Tapestry.

Jay-Z's next solo album was 2002's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse, a sprawling double-album which included the Top 10 single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", a duet with his girlfriend, Beyoncé Knowles of Destiny's Child. 1971 - Music. Kelly, Best of Both Worlds, in 2002. 1972 - Rhymes and Reasons. Two side projects followed The Blueprint: a late 2001 MTV Unplugged album (featuring The Roots as Jay-Z's backing band), and a collaborative album with R. 1973 - Fantasy. The feud between Jay-Z and Nas escalated until 2003, when the two MCs ended their rivalry peacefully. 1974 - Wrap Around Joy.

The latter responded to Jay-Z with both an underground single entitled "Stillmatic" and a track, "Ether", on his 2001 LP Stillmatic, and the pair's resulting rivalry became one of the most talked-about subjects in the hip hop community. 1975 - Really Rosie. The Blueprint also includes "Izzo (HOVA)", a top ten hit, and "Takeover", a song which puts on blast rivals Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas. 1976 - Thoroughbred. Eminem was the only guest artist on the album, appearing on the track "Renegade". 1977 - Simple Things. Although it never surpassed Reasonable Doubt's status in the hip hop community, The Blueprint contained a balanced blend of street credibility and mainstream appeal, and received recognition from both audiences. 1978 - Welcome Home.

2001's The Blueprint is considered to be one of the best hip hop albums produced thus far. 1979 - Touch the Sky. Kelly, Kanye West, The Neptunes and Snoop Dogg. 1980 - Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King. His next album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, was originally intended as a collaboration album with many guests from Roc-a-Fella's roster, including Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek and Amil, as well as Scarface, Just Blaze, R. 1982 - One to One. Carter, which was another big hit in spite of continued criticism for his pop-oriented sound, and a large roster of collaborators that many felt crowded out Jay-Z himself. 1983 - Speeding Time.

3: Life and Times of S. 1989 - City Streets. In 1999, Jay-Z released Vol. 1993 - Color of Your Dreams. 2: Hard Knock Life, continued this evolution towards a pop-oriented market. This included several huge singles, including "Can I Get A..." (featuring Ja Rule and Roc-a-Fella artist Amil), "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", "Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originators '99)" (featuring Jaz-O and Amil), "It's Alright" and "Money Ain't a Thang" (with Jermaine Dupri). 1994 - In Concert. The next year, Jay-Z released Vol. 1994 - Time Gone By.

In spite of the success, Jay-Z's image was tarnished by what his core audience perceived as pandering to mainstream audiences with a more pop-friendly sound. 1996 - Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971. 1, peaked at #3 on the Billboard album charts, and helped establish his career and mainstream success. 1997 - Time Heals All Wounds. In 1997, Jay-Z's follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1998 - Goin' Back. Blige), "Dead Presidents" and "Feelin' It". 2000 - Super Hits.