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Roc-a-Fella co-founder and billionaire emcee Jay-Z has been one of the most prominent rappers of the past two decades. His business decisions as an entrepreneur have not only made him the wealthiest lyricist of all time but have also made him a symbol of affluence.

However, few know that very early in his career, all of Jay-Z’s momentum could have been stopped. Furthermore, Hov could have spent the rest of his days behind bars as a regular inmate if not for a trip abroad.

Jay lived a precarious life before fame as an adolescent growing up in Brooklyn’s infamous Marcy Projects. The lyricist had to take considerable risks to achieve fame and even take penitentiary chances to escape his environment.

Akin to many MCs, one way the ‘Dead Presidents’ musician maintained a steady income was through selling drugs. In the middle of the 1980s crack epidemic, with fierce competition, this endeavour was a tough gig. In his book Decoded, Jay-Z detailed his life during this period, writing, “It was a very intense and stressful situation. It was a weird mix of emotions. One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike.”

Although he was based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Hov has previously revealed that, at its peak, his operations extended as far as Trenton, New Jersey, and Maryland. However, a chance trip to London put him firmly on the path to fame in music.

Jay-Z was close friends with the Brooklyn rapper Jaz-O, and during the late 1980s, the emcee signed with EMI. In 1988, the label flew him to London so he could record his debut album Word To The Jaz at Abbey Road studios, but he insisted on taking Jay-Z with him.

The Black Album creator appeared on the single ‘Hawaiian Sophie’ and spent the majority of 1988 in the UK. Still, while he was abroad, the NYPD shut down Jay’s drug-selling business, which resulted in his entire crew getting arrested. One of his best friends, Emory Jones, ended up being indicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison for cocaine trafficking.

That said, when Jay-Z returned to New York, he had no business in the streets, and after experiencing the world of music first-hand in London, Hov partnered up with his friends Damon Dash and Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke to found Roc-A-Fella Records. Shortly after, he would record Reasonable Doubt, and within five years, he was a household name in hip-hop and on track to becoming one of the most prominent artists of all time.

Still, if he hadn’t been in London, he may have been put behind bars, and Roc-a-Fella may have become an unrealised dream.