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As we celebrate Jay Z’s 48th birthday today (aka Jay Z Day), we are sharing  10 music facts about the iconic rapper.

Jay-Z Introduces Vic Mensa At Mack Sennett Studios

Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty

  1. His earliest musical memory was listening to his parents copy of Marvin Gaye’s album and uses samples throughout his career, including The Blue Print
  2. Reasonable Doubt was originally called ‘Heir To The Throne’
  3. Jay Z and Beyoncé’s “03 Bonnie & Clyde” samples Tupac’s 1996 “Me and My Girlfriend”
  4. He lost a rapper battle when he was 15 at George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School judged by LL Cool J
  5. For his 1996 album ‘Reasonable Doubt’, he practiced saying the word “opium” for an hour to perfect his delivery on ‘Regrets’
  6. Michael Jackson has uncredited vocals on “Girls, Girls, Girls” from ‘The BluePrint’
  7. Jay Z had only 20 fans show up to one of his first shows away from the East Coast 1996 in a 100 capacity Las Vegas theater.
  8. His mother says he used to wake his siblings up at night by banging drum patterns on the kitchen table. She later bought him a boombox which ignited his interest in music.
  9. On January 9, 2012, he released “Glory” dedicated to Blue Ivy Carter which included sounds of her cries. She was the youngest person to appear on a Billboard chart.
  10. On November 25, 2003, Jay Z retired from rap during a concert at Madison Square Garden. He would eventually go on to release more music a few years later.

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10 Music Facts About Jay Z On His 48th Birthday!  was originally published on hothiphopdetroit.com