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50 free Jay-Z trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Jay-Z went from selling burned CDs out of his car to being named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and the first hip-hop billionaire by Forbes. Along the way he co-founded a record label, ran Def Jam, bought a streaming service, married the biggest pop star on the planet and headlined Glastonbury with a cover of Wonderwall. This 50-question quiz covers the whole arc: the Brooklyn childhood, Reasonable Doubt and the Roc-A-Fella years, the Blueprint albums, the feud with Nas, the retirement that didn't stick, and the business empire of Rocawear, the 40/40 Club, Tidal and Armand de Brignac. Easy questions ask for his real name and his wife; the hard ones want first-week sales figures, producers and the Nigerian chieftaincy title. Every answer is sourced and explained, so you learn something whether you get it right or not. Play it solo, send your score to the group chat, or print it for a hip-hop themed quiz night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is Jay-Z's birth name?
Shawn Corey Carter
Carter borrowed his stage name from his mentor Jaz-O; he was known as 'Jazzy' around the neighborhood first.
Q 02Jay-Z grew up in which Brooklyn public housing project?
Marcy Houses
Marcy sits in Bedford-Stuyvesant; the project is name-checked across his catalogue as the place the rags-to-riches story starts.
Q 03What is the name of Jay-Z's first child, born in January 2012?
Blue Ivy
Two days after the birth he released the song 'Glory', which credits the newborn as 'B.I.C' and includes her cries.
Q 04Which singer joined Jay-Z on his 2009 No. 1 hit 'Empire State of Mind'?
Alicia Keys
Mary J. Blige was also considered for the hook, but Jay-Z picked Keys after hearing the song's piano loop.
Q 05Which record label did Jay-Z co-found with Damon Dash and Kareem Burke?
Roc-A-Fella Records
Its name was a double entendre on Rockefeller and 'rocking a fella', coined by rapper Tone Hooker.
Q 06Which music streaming service did Jay-Z take over by buying Norway's Aspiro in 2015?
Tidal
The pitch was an artist-owned platform that would 'restore the value to music'; Square bought a majority stake in 2021.
Q 07Which 1998 Jay-Z single samples a song from the musical Annie?
Hard Knock Life
Produced by the 45 King, it was his biggest hit to that point — and he later produced the 2014 Annie film remake.
Q 08The hook of '99 Problems' was borrowed from a 1993 song by which rapper?
Ice-T
Ice-T later re-recorded his version over the Rick Rubin riff with Body Count to 'reclaim' the line.
Q 09Who produced '99 Problems', his first hip hop production in many years?
Rick Rubin
Rubin reached back to 1980s staples like Billy Squier's 'The Big Beat' and Mountain's 'Long Red' for the stripped-down beat.
Q 10Which Jay-Z album, released on September 11, 2001, was reportedly written in two days?
The Blueprint
It earned a five-mic review from The Source and was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2019.
Q 11Jay-Z served as president and CEO of which record label from 2004 to 2007?
Def Jam Recordings
Taking the job meant selling his remaining interest in Roc-A-Fella; he resigned on January 1, 2008.
Q 12Which Barbadian singer's career did Jay-Z help launch as a label president?
Rihanna
He later topped the Hot 100 as a guest on her 2007 single 'Umbrella'.
Q 13Which rock band teamed with Jay-Z for the 2004 mashup EP Collision Course?
Linkin Park
Its single 'Numb/Encore' won a Grammy and was performed live with Paul McCartney adding lines from 'Yesterday'.
Q 21How much did Jay-Z pay to acquire Aspiro in 2015?
$56M
The purchase ran through Project Panther Bidco, a vehicle of his S. Carter Enterprises.
Q 22Which champagne brand did Jay-Z buy outright for $200 million in 2014?
Armand de Brignac
The gold 'Ace of Spades' bottles had already been paying him millions a year in association fees since 2006.
Q 23Jay-Z was a part-owner of which NBA franchise from 2003 to 2013?
Brooklyn Nets
He paid a reported $1 million for his share and pushed the team's move from New Jersey to the Barclays Center.
Q 14Jay-Z's diss track 'Takeover' ignited a famous feud with which rapper?
Nas
The two shook hands on stage at the 2005 'I Declare War' concert and performed 'Dead Presidents' blended with 'The World Is Yours'.
Q 15Jay-Z's 2003 'retirement party' concert was held at which venue?
Madison Square Garden
All proceeds went to charity, and the night became the 2004 documentary Fade to Black.
Q 16Jay-Z's first US No. 1 came in 1999 as a guest on 'Heartbreaker' by which singer?
Mariah Carey
The song spent two weeks on top; his next two guest No. 1s were 'Crazy in Love' and 'Umbrella'.
Q 17Which 2000 Jay-Z album was originally meant to be a label compilation?
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
It introduced newcomer producers The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Kanye West and Bink, and marked his turn toward a more soulful sound.
Q 18Eminem both produced and rapped on which 2001 Jay-Z track?
Renegade
Nas later used the song against him on 'Ether', claiming Eminem outshone Jay-Z on his own album.
Q 19How many Grammy Awards has Jay-Z won?
25
That is the eighth-most of all time and second among hip-hop artists.
Q 20Jay-Z sold the rights to his Rocawear clothing line to which company in 2007?
Iconix Brand Group
The deal was worth $204 million, and he kept a stake plus oversight of marketing and product development.
Q 24Which Yankees second baseman left Scott Boras to sign with Roc Nation Sports at its launch?
Robinson Canó
The agency launched in 2013 as a partnership with Creative Artists Agency.
Q 25What is the title of Jay-Z's 2010 memoir?
Decoded
It was co-written with dream hampton and mixes memoir with annotated lyrics.
Q 26Jay-Z opened his 2008 Glastonbury set with a tongue-in-cheek cover of which song?
Wonderwall
The guitar he strummed that night later went on display at the Book of HOV exhibit in the Brooklyn Library.
Q 27Which Oasis member condemned Glastonbury for booking Jay-Z to headline in 2008?
Noel Gallagher
Jay-Z's reply: 'We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip hop has put in its work like any other form of music.'
Q 28What is the title of Jay-Z and Kanye West's 2011 collaborative album?
Watch the Throne
It started as a five-track EP and was released on iTunes five days before physical copies to block a leak.
Q 29Which soul singer is credited as a guest on Jay-Z and Kanye West's 2011 album via sampled vocals?
Otis Redding
The single named after him premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 show before hitting iTunes.
Q 30Under the name The Carters, Jay-Z and his wife released which 2018 album?
Everything Is Love
They unveiled it at their final London show of the On the Run II Tour, with a video shot in the Louvre.