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Empire State of Mind
- How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's summary
"I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man."
—Jay-Z
Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he is first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle. You can wake up to the local radio station playing Jay-Z's latest hit, spritz yourself with his 9IX cologne, slip on a pair of his Rocawear jeans, lace up your Reebok S. Carter sneakers, catch a Nets basketball game in the afternoon, and grab dinner at The Spotted Pig before heading to an evening performance of the Jay-Z-backed Broadway musical Fela! and a nightcap at his 40/40 Club. He'll profit at every turn of your day.
But despite Jay-Z's success, there are still many Americans whose impressions of him are foggy, outdated, or downright incorrect. Surprisingly to many, he honed his business philosophy not at a fancy B school but on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, and beyond as a drug dealer in the 1980s.
Empire State of Mind tells the story behind Jay-Z's rise to the top as told by the people who lived it with him. This audiobook explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world. He also includes new information on Jay-Z's various business dealings, such as:
- The feature movie about Jay-Z and his first basketball team that was filmed by Fab 5 Freddy in 2003 but never released
- The Jay-Z branded Jeep that was scrapped just before going into production
- The real story behind his association with Armand de Brignac champagne
- The financial ramifications of his marriage to Beyonce
Jay-Z's tale is compelling, not just because of his celebrity, but because it embodies the rags-to-riches American dream and is a model for any entrepreneur looking to build a commercial empire.
Critic reviews
Featured Article: Big Ideas in Business and Tech
Even the most successful entrepreneurs had to start somewhere. When it comes to groundbreaking technology, the people who became leading business executives often began as lone visionaries with nothing but an idea. Now that they’re global industry leaders, many of them have shared their amazing stories in memoirs. These tales of heartbreak and triumph will bring you along on the roller-coaster of success, all the while showing you the secrets of how business greats transformed their dreams into reality. Read on to find your next great inspiration!
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- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Michael Jackson, Inc. reveals the incredible rise, fall, and rise again of Michael Jackson's fortune - driven by the unmatched perfectionism of the King of Pop. Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg uncovers never-before-told stories from interviews with more than 100 people, including music industry veterans Berry Gordy, John Branca, and Walter Yetnikoff; artists 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, and Jon Bon Jovi; and members of the Jackson family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The King Lives...Life,Legacy and Love
- By Amazon Customer on 06-22-17
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Cowboys and Indies
- The Epic History of the Record Industry
- By: Gareth Murphy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Cowboys and Indies is the definitive record-business bible, chronicling the pioneers who set the stylus on the most important labelsand musical discoveries of the last century. The narrative follows all the musical trends and developments from the phonograph to the Internet age as it delves behind the big business of corporate hit machines and the diligent industry of small, curated labels.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Epic, yet incomplete.
- By Rob G. on 10-14-14
By: Gareth Murphy
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Respect Yourself
- Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
- By: Robert Gordon
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
The story of Stax Records unfolds like a Greek tragedy. A white brother and sister build a record company that becomes a monument to racial harmony in 1960’s segregated south Memphis. Their success is startling, and Stax soon defines an international sound. Then, after losses both business and personal, the siblings part, and the brother allies with a visionary African-American partner. Under integrated leadership, Stax explodes as a national player until, Icarus-like, they fall from great heights to a tragic demise.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great narration
- By A. K. Moore on 10-29-14
By: Robert Gordon
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Allen Klein
- The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll
- By: Fred Goodman
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Allen Klein was like no one the music industry had seen before. The hard-nosed business manager became infamous for allegedly catalyzing the Beatles' breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones, but the truth is both more complex and more fascinating.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Beatles' & Rolling Stones' Big Bad Manager
- By tru britty on 07-05-15
By: Fred Goodman
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Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 197
On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
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Uncommon People
- The Rise and Fall of The Rock Stars
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations. What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had. What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course.
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5 out of 5 stars
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INSIGHTFULL!
- By CLAUDIA R KENNEDY on 02-18-18
By: David Hepworth
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Sing to Me
- My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next
- By: LA Reid
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 619
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 543
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 544
Legendary music producer LA Reid - the man behind artists such as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher - changed the music business forever. Now he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life. Sing to Me is a fascinating journey from Reid's small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show The X Factor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow!! What a journey!!!
- By Marty Cohn on 02-06-16
By: LA Reid
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The Club
- How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 503
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 445
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 441
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Read don't listen
- By JR3 on 01-23-19
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
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Walk This Way
- Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song That Changed American Music Forever
- By: Geoff Edgers
- Narrated by: Geoff Edgers
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Washington Post staff writer Geoff Edgers takes a deep dive into the story behind "Walk This Way", Aerosmith and Run-DMC's legendary, groundbreaking mashup that forever changed music.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A MUST LISTEN/READ
- By Aron Teo Lee on 05-17-19
By: Geoff Edgers
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Homey Don't Play That!
- The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
- By: David Peisner
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
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Seven Dirty Words
- The Life and Crimes of George Carlin
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 148
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 121
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Story4 out of 5 stars 123
In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Carlin's CV with no Depth or Insight
- By Dubi on 01-23-14
By: James Sullivan
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Goodnight, L.A.
- Untold Tales from Inside Classic Rock’s Legendary Recording Studios
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
From behind the walls of a handful of well-hidden, unlikely recording studios in the Los Angeles area, legends-in-waiting created masterpiece albums. It was a time of astonishing creativity and unprecedented fame and fortune. It was also a time of unfettered excess that threatened to unravel everything along the way. With access that only a longtime music business insider can provide, Kent Hartman packs Goodnight, L.A. with never-before-told stories about the most prolific time and iconic place in rock 'n' roll history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great stories and insight into a miraculous time
- By RWM on 05-27-22
By: Kent Hartman
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Appetite for Self-Destruction
- The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
For the first time, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world - and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome Book
- By Todd on 08-15-09
By: Steve Knopper
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Let’s Go Crazy
- Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
- By: Alan Light
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 464
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film - each one a commercial success and cultural milestone. How did this semiautobiographical musical masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds come to alter the recording landscape and become an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans?
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Must-Read For Any PRINCE Fan
- By Bryan K. Chavez on 05-06-16
By: Alan Light
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Everybody Wants Some
- The Van Halen Saga
- By: Ian Christe
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to become the nucleus of the most popular heavy metal band of all time? What's the secret behind Eddie Van Halen's incredible fast and furious guitar solos? What makes David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar so wacky? And, are all those stories about groupies, booze bashes, and contract riders true? The naked truth is laid bare in Everybody Wants Some - the real-life story of a rock 'n' roll fantasy come true.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good details of albums and post-1984 career
- By IndyMATT on 12-30-18
By: Ian Christe
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The Story of Motown
- By: Peter Benjaminson, Greil Macus - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
In January 1959, Berry Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and founded the Detroit-based record company that in less than a decade was to become the largest Black-owned business in the United States. It also became one of the most productive and influential producers of popular music anywhere in the world. The Story of Motown is the story of Berry Gordy's triumph over powerful, established financial interests, entrenched popular taste, bigotry, and racism.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Check Your Facts
- By Marie on 11-24-18
By: Peter Benjaminson, and others
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Unchained
- The Eddie Van Halen Story
- By: Paul Brannigan
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
From the moment their hugely influential 1978 debut landed, Van Halen set a high bar for the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, creating an entirely new style of post-'60s hard rock and becoming the quintessential rock band of the 1980s. But the high-flying success was fraught with difficulty, as Eddie struggled with alcohol and drug addiction while simultaneously battling David Lee Roth over the musical direction of the band, eventually taking the band in an entirely new direction with Sammy Hagar and scaling new heights, before that iteration of Van Halen disintegrated.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Please don't read other audible books
- By Mike on 02-01-22
By: Paul Brannigan
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MJ
- The Genius of Michael Jackson
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper delves deeply into Michael Jackson's music and talent. From the artist's early days with the Jackson 5, to his stratospheric success as a solo artist, to "Beat It" and "Thriller", "Bad", and "The Man in the Mirror", to his volatile final years, his attempted comeback, and his untimely death, Knopper explores the beguiling and often contradictory forces that fueled Michael Jackson's genius.
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2 out of 5 stars
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It is ok but no details of his creativity in here
- By Jay on 02-25-16
By: Steve Knopper
What listeners say about Empire State of Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 04-18-21
A little biased
I think Jay Z's refusal to get behind this author's project caused this book to be slightly, but clearly, slanted against Jay Z. Not quite a smear job, but far more critical than I expected.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jo
- 01-29-13
He's not just a businessman. He's a business, man.
Fascinating story about Jay-Z's business approach. He truly has a 360 degree mentality, meaning that he incorporates his friends with his business with his interests with his home life and then capitalizes on it all. It tells you how Jay-Z intertwined all the important things in his life and still made crazy amounts of money.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Leslie Moat Footman
- 12-31-17
Great Read
I really enjoyed the book. It gave me a lot of background knowledge of Jay Z and helped me understand some of the people he speaks about in his songs. Also, how intelligent he is without any formal secondary education. It’s ya boy!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sergio
- 01-28-15
Liked it
There's always a different side to the same coin jay z is that kind of an example and many more
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jesse
- 02-15-15
Amazing book
ThisBook offers amazing insight into the life of one of the greatest artists and business person of our era... And maybe the best ever at being both simultaneously...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Sherman
- 02-05-18
Nourishing your Shift.
In order to transform there has to be a termination, when you terminate you must then provide nourishment to the seed of greatness within. This book will aid in the process and will enlightened you on who Shawn Carter is as a entrepreneur. Great to listen to on long Road trips or take a chapters a day. Enjoy. #LegacyMindset
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eugene
- 11-30-11
very informative
I enjoyed this story. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff that I didn't know. It was helpful to listen to the audio book after seeing the artist preform live. I have a better appreciation for his talent and business acumen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-23-20
Great content
This book has inspired and encouraged me to never give up on my dream and work, work, work, work...
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- MarCraw
- 08-30-20
Not a first hand acccount by j-z. himself
It was okay but if you have no knowledge about SC himself you will just have.to.take the authors word at everything he says opinion and otherwise. I would have liked to hear it from Shawn himself!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hunts
- 04-23-18
jay z mogul
worth the story of rise to success. would recommend to anyone who can enjoy a biography
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