Jay-Z & Kanye West
Lots of rappers brag about their accomplishments in their rhymes, but Jay-Z has the figures to back it up: He has sold about 50 million albums worldwide and received 13 Grammy Awards. He holds the record for most solo number one albums on the Billboard Top 200. He’s a successful entrepreneur who regularly ranks high on lists of power players. And success hasn’t made the Brooklyn-born MC lose his edge musically: His 2009 track ‘Empire State of Mind’, with Alicia Keys, was an instant classic that became the unofficial anthem of New York City.
Kanye West won the Ultimate Urban EMA in 2008 and the Best Hip-Hop EMA in 2006. His most recent solo release is 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and he made a cameo at that year’s EMAs onstage with 30 Seconds to Mars. His collaboration with fellow hip-hop superstar Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, dropped in August 2011 to much fan anticipation and critical acclaim; digital sales for its first week were the highest ever for a rap album.
Kanye West won the Ultimate Urban EMA in 2008 and the Best Hip-Hop EMA in 2006. His most recent solo release is 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and he made a cameo at that year’s EMAs onstage with 30 Seconds to Mars. His collaboration with fellow hip-hop superstar Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, dropped in August 2011 to much fan anticipation and critical acclaim; digital sales for its first week were the highest ever for a rap album.
