Hove. Jigga. Lucky Lefty. Shawn.

Call him what you want, just don’t call him a businessman.

There are rappers and there are rap icons. Then, there’s Jay-Z. You can argue about which musicians you prefer and, if you’re a fan of Hip Hop, you have certain MC’s you like and ones you hate. You may not want anything to do with the genre and think James Taylor is more you speed. That’s cool too. You have pretty vanilla music tastes, but you’re entitled to them and we wouldn’t ever mandate what people should listen to (much to our chagrin.)

But certain artists rise above the level of just being artists. A rare few become forces of nature; icons that transcend the music; The Beatles are the most obvious example, but you could say the same of Mozart, Napoleon, and countless religious figures. This brings us to Jay-Z, arguably the most successful (note we didn’t say “biggest-selling,) rapper in history. The man sells records, yes. But he’s taken that success and parlayed it into a literal billion-dollar brand that has turned him into a mogul in the truest sense of the word, with the music as the day job that he just happens to be the best at.

We’re not the biggest rap fans, but we’re MASSIVE Jay-Z fans, because we respect anyone who goes from rags to riches and makes themselves into an ideal of themself that they envisioned decades before it ever happened. And, surprise surprise, we’re gonna show you our favorite looks from the man who is, in his own words, a business in and of himself. So we happily present some of our favorite looks from who we actually do think is the mu’fuckin’ greatest. Enjoy.

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