‘I’m not a businessman-I’m a company, man.’

–Jay-Z

Some individuals think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others find him as yet another celebrity/mega-star. The truth is, no matter what you imagine Jay-Z is definitely, he first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself right into a lifestyle.

You can wake up to the neighborhood radio station playing Jay-Z’s newest hit, spritz yourself along with his 9IX cologne, wear a pair of his Rocawear skinny jeans, lace up your Reebok S. Carter about Empire State Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office sneakers, capture a Nets basketball video game in the evening, and grab supper at The Noticed Pig before heading to an evening performance of the Jay-Z-backed Broadway musical Fela! and a nightcap at his 40/40 Golf club. He’ll revenue at every switch of your day.

But despite Jay-Z’s achievement, you may still find many Americans whose impressions of him are foggy, outdated, or downright incorrect. Amazingly to many, he honed his business philosophy not at a elegant B school, but for the streets of Brooklyn, NY and beyond being a drug seller in the 1980s.

Empire Mind-set tells the storyplot behind Jay-Z’s popularity as told by the people who lived it with him- from classmates at Brooklyn’s George Westinghouse High School; towards the youth friend who got him into the drug trade; to the DJ who convinced him to stop dealing and concentrate on music. This audio publication explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself in the bleak roads of Brooklyn to the levels of the business enterprise world.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg draws in his one-on-one interviews with hip-hop luminaries such as DJ Clark Kent, Questlove of The Roots, Damon Dash, Fred ‘Fab 5 Freddy’ Brathwaite, MC Serch; NBA celebrities Jamal Crawford and Sebastian Telfair; and documenting industry professionals including Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Information.

He also includes new info on Jay-Z’s various business dealings, such as for example:

* The feature film about Jay-Z and his first basketball group that was filmed by Fab 5 Freddy in 2003 but never released.

* The Jay-Z branded Jeep that was scrapped just before going into creation.

* The real story behind his association with Armand de Brignac champagne.

* The financial effects of his marriage to Beyonce.

Jay-Z’s tale is usually compelling not just due to his celebrity, but because it embodies the rags-to-riches American fantasy and it is a model for just about any entrepreneur looking to build a commercial empire.