Run this industry tonight.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Briefly Noted - Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office - Brief article - Book review

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Forbes staffer Zack O'Malley Greenburg seems to have been surprised that Jay-Z wouldn't cooperate with his book on the hip hop mogul's personal industry, Empire State of Mind (Portfolio). Studying how the talented rapper got so rich--he is personally worth something like half a billion dollars--should have told Greenburg that his subject had nothing to gain from cooperating, and thus wouldn't.

Jay-Z has admitted to watering down his artistry to sell records, and he makes sure he is well-compensated for linking his personal brand with any product. He has conquered music, clothing, drinks...