If you were a hip-hop fan who grew up in the 90s, chances are more likely than not that the dominance of Roc-a-Fella is embedded in your memory. June of this past year marked the 20th anniversary of Jay-Z’s debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt. Hailed as one of the greatest records in hip hop history, it quickly established both Jay-Z as an artist to be reckoned with, and simultaneously established the record label of Roc-a-Fella. Their success offered a blueprint to follow for artists and executives alike in the music business. As COO and flagship artist of the imprint, Jay Z was the face of the venture. Damon Dash was the brash CEO who handled the music business. The lesser known of the group, Kareem “Biggs” Burke rounded out the entrepreneurial trio, serving as chief consultant, key architect, and co-founder of the pioneering label who executed behind the scenes.

For those less aware of the intricacies of hip-hop history, Kareem "Biggs" Burke is considered a mythic figure in industry. He was the silent partner behind Roc-A-Fella, the label that was the springboard for giants like Jay Z and Kanye West. While Jay was rapping, and Dame Dash was in meetings, Biggs did his work behind the scenes in the studio. After investing in the soon-to-be Dynasty for purely business reasons, he soon found himself playing the role of record executive before he knew it.

I had the chance to speak with the man himself about anniversary celebrations, his relationship with Jay-Z, whether he’d ever imaged they would find this level success, and what an independent record label’s place is in the music business in 2016.

Before the release of Reasonable Doubt in 1996 the trio knew that the album was different than anything out. Other than knowing they were putting together a great album, their plans to launch into other businesses had gone into motion. The album helped start a clothing line, alcohol brands, sports ventures, and movies. While many great albums were coming out at the time, they were only musically relevant. That is where Roc-A-Fella differentiated themselves, and is what they aspired to do from the beginning.

With the 20-year anniversary of the album having passed, Biggs decided it was time to transform it into something even bigger, which is why he started Roc96. The company will act as a film and clothing company that will also do collaborations with high end brands for exclusive one-off pieces.

An interesting release set for this weekend with Roc96 was the Reasonable Doubt line collection. It will feature 14 capsule collection line which pays tribute to every track from the album. Each capsule will launch nation-wide, and the stores premiering them will only be given one of them. Each capsule is created by Fourth of November’s design team, executive produced by Biggs and Emory “Vegas” Jones, and are visual interpretations of the songs.

While Biggs always knew that they would have major success with Roc-A-Fella and that they would be able to move the brand, he says no one ever knew how far Jay Z would go. Objectively speaking, there has never been a hip hop artist who has achieved nearly as illustrious of a career. Jay Z has had more #1 albums than any artist, sitting only behind The Beatles. He even passed Elvis Presley.

Ironically, in the beginning Biggs was not actually a fan of Jay’s music. When they first started working together Jay was rapping much differently than he does now. At that time, he was rapping fast with a very different cadence and flow. But when they were putting together Reasonable Doubt everything about Jay’s music had changed in a way that made Biggs more of a fan. Even still, they had serious trouble finding a record label who would sign them.

In the beginning, no one wanted to sign Jay Z because no one believed in him. They had meetings with every major record label. Not even one of them decided to bite. That is when they realized the only way they would be successful would be by making things happen themselves. And that is exactly what they did. Instead of waiting on anyone else they invested in themselves, sold CDs out of their trunks, drove to different cities to shows at venues, and slowly became recognized for it. Biggs stressed that when it comes to anything in life, if you want it badly enough then you can make it happen. It is all about believing in and betting on yourself. Because if you do not believe in yourself then why should anyone else?

A few years in people not believing in them was the last thing on their mind. Roc-A-Fella was a hundred million dollars plus empire, and they were growing more than they could have dreamed of. One of the major things Biggs feels they did wrong at this point was they stretched themselves too thin. They ventured into too many businesses, and did not focus on making sure to bring in the right teams to handle them. Also, the more they grew the business, the less time the spent together. He feels that was another major misstep. Not having enough time with each other hurt their ability to figure out how the separate entities would turn into their own businesses. Because of that they took a few losses.

These days Biggs says one of the best things about what is he doing is that he is honed in. Instead of only thinking about what’s in the immediate future he can look 5 years down the road. And the decisions he is making will start to take shape over time, which is something he loves. Also, being able to work with the same people 20 years later has allowed him to have a level of trust doing business that he would not be able to in other places. He mentioned Emory, Jay Z, Ty Ty, and Chaka as people who it is great to be able to still work with. All of them are on the same page, they understand the vision, and know they can rely on each other. And per Biggs, that is one of the most priceless things in business.

Aside from running Roc96, Biggs has kept himself busy with his denim brand Fourth of November. He teamed up with two siblings whose parents met in Ecuador on a street called Fourth of November. The brand is a love story they are paying homage to. And ironically enough, Biggs just got married this month on November 4th so the date means a lot to him. Also, he runs the NCS Inside, which is a group comprised of over 20,000 men with over 65 chapters throughout the country. It has been in existence for 21 years up to date. The purpose is creating friendships with men by going back to prisons to speak with them. The goal is not to help people find jobs as most are doing in this space or do things that can be quantified. It is more so to help them transition back into society, and that is done through relationships.

After 20 years of doing the impossible, Biggs is not done making history yet. With these new projects in the works, and other things he chose not to mention he is more determined than ever. Right now, he is adjusting to being in the spotlight more, keeping track of everything he is involved in, making sure to spend time with his wife, and enjoying life. It is not every day you can say launched Jay Z’s career, but be sure that will not be the last you have heard of him.