NEW YORK (Billboard) - At just about any given moment of any given day -- including this sunlit June Friday afternoon -- Jay-Z is a busy man.
Sitting on a swivel chair at his Roc the Mic studios in downtown Manhattan with a glass of Santa Margherita white wine in hand, he tackles interview after interview with Japanese reporters, pausing only to use the restroom or ask his assistant to get him a refill or an order of food from his sports club, 40/40.
But while he handles his international duties, his Roc Nation team -- seven people, including his assistant, longtime publicist and engineers -- make sure his empire runs smoothly. His employees are scattered around the room, some perched on stools or couches, others standing or sitting on the floor, some with laptops before them. His assistant is booking flights, hotels and car service for the BET Awards, which is taking place that weekend; his publicist whispers on the phone about another magazine story.
Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter and raised in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects, is the first to admit he could not have achieved half of his successes on his own. But it's his overarching big-business vision and talent that have positioned him as one of the most well-known and influential artists of his time.
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