Shawn Corey Carter(Jay-Z) was born December 4, 1969 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. He is an is an American Rapper and Businessman.On Wednesday night - Mar. 2 during his "Blueprint 3" tour stop at New York's Madison Square Garden, Jay-Z said the famous venue should be called "The House that Hovie built," and the rapper wasn't kidding.