JAY-Z

JAY-Z is a founding member of Team Roc and the Chairman of Roc Nation , which he co-founded in 2008. Throughout JAY-Z’s career as an internationally celebrated rapper, visionary businessman, and philanthropist, he continues to leverage his platform and resources to enact positive impact in communities around the world.  

Steadfast in his pursuit to give back to those in need, JAY-Z has both constructed and supported initiatives to address critical issues, societal injustices, and systemic inequities. In 2002, JAY-Z’s mother, Hon. Dr. Gloria Carter, voiced a desire to create “something that would enhance the future of our young people;” in response to that goal, they jointly established The Shawn Carter Foundation. For more than twenty years, The Foundation has bridged the gap to higher education, making the ability to pursue higher education more accessible and attainable by providing scholarships, college bus tours, and personal and professional development experiences to underserved students nationwide. JAY-Z and The Shawn Carter Foundation’s commitment to forging opportunities for young adults to actualize their dreams and better themselves with academics and leadership roles mirrors the work done through Team Roc under our education pillar.

Within and outside of Team Roc, JAY-Z is devoted to championing criminal justice reform. Using his voice to advocate for change and advancements in the judicial system, JAY-Z is a member of the United Justice Coalition advisory board and a founding partner of REFORM Alliance. Through his involvement with both nonprofit organizations and as an executive producer, JAY-Z raises awareness about the institutional failings of prisons and unjust probation proceedings in the United States. Bringing attention to these causes onscreen for global audiences, JAY-Z executive produced the 2017 docuseries “TIME: The Kalief Browder Story,” which focused on juveniles in solitary confinement and won a Peabody Award. In 2018, he was an executive producer of the critically acclaimed multi-episode documentary "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story" and participated in "Exposing Parchman," an investigative documentary that aired on A&E in 2023. At the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and profound influence on music and culture, JAY-Z was the recipient of the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.