Jay-Z – Artists With an Executive Title on Their Resume

People love to talk about Jay-Z's rise to the top. Within 17 years, the Brooklyn emcee has moved from saying "you can't knock the hustle" to giving artists the blueprint. Starting off as the third partner in the Roc-A-Fella dynasty, he never stopped pushing forward once the seemingly infallible imprint crumbled. Shortly after the demise of the Roc, Jay signed on to become the president of Def Jam and jumped into establishing the careers of Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Kanye West. Although certain long-time artists at the label were cynical of Jay's motivation -- namely LL Cool J -- President Carter made a name for himself as an executive by supporting the careers of some of music's biggest superstars today.