In the last few decades, Jay-Z has grown an empire by becoming one of the world’s most successful rappers. He now owns several multi-million-dollar businesses. Jay-Z is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, and CEO of management, music publishing, and entertainment company Roc Nation.

Jay-Z has managed to achieve all of his success in less than 25 years and has done this in a way that represents him personally — with a straight face and an excellent cigar at the ready.

Jay-Z is an incredibly successful American rapper. He was born December 4, 1969, in New York, Brooklyn. He was named Shawn Corey Carter at birth and is one of four children.

Raised in Brooklyn, Jay-Z was primarily raised by his mother and lived in public housing supplied by Marcy Projects. Growing up, Jay-Z was exposed to a lot of poverty, drug dealing, violence, and guns. These experiences have been referenced in many of his songs and have pushed him to be successful.

He began rapping under the stage name Jazzy, which later evolved to Jay-Z as inspired by the proximity of the J/Z subway lines to the Macy Projects.

After being rejected by all the major record labels around at that time, Jay and two close friends (Damon Dash and Kareem Burke) founded their own company Roc-A-Fella Records in 1996 to help release his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996). Despite these setbacks, the album was a remarkable success. He sold a total of one million copies in the United States, which kicked off his incredibly successful rap career.

Since Jay-Z launched Roc-A-Fella records, he has racked up 14 No.1 albums, 22 Grammy awards, and over $500 million. Jay-Z is also married to successful singer, songwriter, and actress Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, with whom he has three children — Blue-Ivy and twins Rumi and Sir.

After his high climb to success, Jay-Z focused on building his own brands rather than promoting someone else. The clothing line Rocawear was launched with Damon Dash in 1999 and staked a claim in hip-hop history as Jay and other artists began wearing it constantly. In March 2007, Jay-Z decided to sell the rights to the Rocawear brand for $294 million. However, he has retained a stake in the company and oversees the marketing licensing and product development to continue his successful career.

You may be wondering what cigars Jay-Z smokes. As you may know, he is not a celebrity afraid to show off his love of cigars, and celebrity status goes hand in hand with premium sticks.

Jay-Z was on the cover of Cigar Aficionado back in 2009, where he discussed his love of cigars and how he enjoyed them best when paired with a fine whisky.

He explained his first favorite brand was Dunhill, which he discovered when he began smoking cigars. To get a similar taste of the flavor, we offer a JR Alternative, which replicates the rich, nutty, and oaky notes you draw from a Dunhills Romano.

In 2012, multiple news outlets reported that he invited a professional torcedor to go on the road with him to roll cigars. However, this appears to be speculation. If it is true, however, it further proves his love for cigars and the industry.

Mr. Carter built his empire with a cigar to hand, so it was a natural move to work with Cohiba to produce a limited-edition Dominican cigar named ‘The Comador Cigar.’ This cigar is a large but light-smoking stick, with a Connecticut-grown wrapper. It’s perfectly aged, hand-rolled, and packed in the Dominican Republic.

The Comador was released in 2014 and described by fans as woody and spicy and offered tasty notes of pepper, cocoa, and espresso. This line has, unfortunately, been discontinued. However, we have a wide selection of excellent Cohibas at JR ready to burn. If you want to enjoy a stogie like Jay-Z, you may be better at trying a Montecristo, as this is another cigar he loves to keep in his humidor.

Despite this being discontinued, the multi-millionaire did give some insight into his cigar legacy and explained Montecristos are his favorites. Jay-Z also mentioned a popular cigar — the Romeo y Julieta, Partagás.

We can agree Jay-Z has excellent taste when it comes to choosing the perfect stogie. Head over to the JR site to try out some of Jay’s ultimate favorites or our extensive range of JR alternatives.