When Sowmya Krishnamurthy first arrived to New York City, she quickly learned the art of the hustle. The first show she attended was Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt 10 at Radio City Music Hall, commemorating the 10th anniversary of his debut album. It was there that the rapper threw his sweat-soaked towel to Krishnamurthy in the audience. But her time with the thoughtful gift would be short-lived, as another fan intercepted the throw and grabbed the towel from her clutches.
“That’s how my introduction to New York was,” Krishnamurthy tells VIBE. “You’ve got to be faster and quicker, and really have that hustle.”
10 years earlier, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter changed the game with his album and launched a new era in East Coast hip-hop via Roc-A-Fella Records, an imprint founded in 1994 by Carter, Damon “Dame” Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burge. During its run, the label was home to Hov, along with Cam’Ron, Kanye West, Juelz Santana, and many other key figures of the rap game, and released several quintessential hip-hop records. Jay’s reign would only grow stronger when he became president of Def Jam in 2006. By 2008, Jay founded Roc Nation, a successor to Roc-A-Fella focusing on music, sports, and lifestyle. Though the label’s last release came in the form of Jay’s 2013 album Magna Carta…Holy Grail, its impact is everlasting. In the three decades since its inception, Roc-A-Fella Records has become one of hip-hop’s biggest success stories.
In her second book, The Blueprint: Inside the Business of Roc-A-Fella Records — which hits shelves on December 1 — Krishnamurthy examines Roc-A-Fella from its inception to its long-term impact on the rap game. From music to fashion to lifestyle, Hov and crew left their mark on the genre, and several artists have since tried to replicate its legendary success.
The Blueprint arrives at a landmark year for Jay-Z. This year, he celebrated 30 years since Reasonable Doubt, and the 25th anniversary of his sixth album, also titled The Blueprint. In July, Jay commemorated both of those albums with two back-to-back concerts at Yankee Stadium. Earlier this month, he performed two nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Just days after the 25th anniversary of Jay’s Blueprint, and shortly before HBO’s eight-part docuseries JAŸ-Z in 8, we spoke with Krishnamurthy about Jay’s inspiring business acumen, her new book, and how she’s building a literary empire of her own.
This interview has been condensed for clarity.
VIBE: What did your research process entail for The Blueprint? How did it differ from that of your first book, Fashion Killa?
Sowmya Krishnamurthy: With The Blueprint, I was much more focused in scope than Fashion Killa. Fashion Killa really was expansive, covering 50 years of hip-hop. Originally, I focused on the years of ‘94 to ‘04, the original run of Roc-A-Fella Records. As I researched, I realized precursor companies, narratives, and stories predated the label’s genesis. Someone who was incredibly instrumental in the research was DJ Clark Kent. Unfortunately, he passed during the writing of this book. Clark Kent, as well as Irv Gotti, were seminal figures in this Roc-A-Fella story. But Clark was great because he is such a foundational pillar. I don’t want to give too much away, but he introduced Jay-Z to Dame Dash. Once I spoke to him, he really was able to open the door and make introductions. That truly got the momentum going when it came to research.
From the book deal to it hitting shelves, it’s almost three years. I spent over a year doing research, and that’s everything from listening to podcasts, watching old interviews, reading archival magazines like VIBE, going through song lyrics, and interviewing people who were there, those who were around as critics, academics, and business school professors. I wanted to showcase this as both a history and a business case study.
Had you begun laying the groundwork for The Blueprint before you published Fashion Killa?
Interestingly enough, I was in a cab heading to an event downtown in New York. It was around Hip-Hop 50. On my way, I came up with this idea and wrote about it in my Notes App. When I came home from the event, I immediately put the proposal together. I submitted the proposal before Fashion Killa came out, but it wasn’t publicly announced until early 2024. As a lifelong Roc-A-Fella fan, a journalist, and somebody who’s just covered hip-hop for so long, it’s a story I’ve always wanted to tell. But that inspiration very much hits spontaneously. When you’re writing one book, you’re constantly thinking about other ideas. Sometimes it’s a one-off phrase or a title or a word, and then other times, you can actually go in, and there’s something to it.
In music, especially hip-hop, there’s a certain pressure to not hit that sophomore slump as an artist. This book is the equivalent of your sophomore album. Did you feel a similar pressure?
Absolutely. To this day, I’m still shopping [Fashion Killa] around. And for your follow-up, it has to be as good as the first one. I was very fortunate that Fashion Killa got incredible critical acclaim. It’s being sold all over the world; it’s being taught in colleges, which is insane to me. It made it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition. So, of course, the pressure is high, and I think of an adage we have in the music business: “You’re only as good as your last hit.”
As a young woman from Kalamazoo, Michigan, what about Jay Z’s music stuck with you growing up?
A few moments have always been significant to me. I can remember distinctly going to the Target in Maple Hill Mall — for those who know, they know — and buying Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life back in ’98. I bought it with my allowance, and that was my entry point into Jay-Z. I had to go back and revisit Reasonable Doubt and really spend time with Vol. 1, but Vol. 2 was my entry into Jay-Z and into Roc-A-Fella Records. The label was part of the soundtrack to me growing up. That was also the pivotal moment that turned Jay-Z into this commercial powerhouse, arguably the new king of New York, and really propelled him into the superstar that we know now.
I wasn’t just the kid who was a fan of hip-hop. I wanted to work in the industry, and this goes back to about like the age of 13, when I knew that I was going to move to New York and I was going to work in the industry. I’m reading the liner notes. I used to read the New York gossip columns that would come out every day. This was on the internet, when pages took a very long time to load. I needed to know the boldface names. Where are they hanging out? What are the hot nightclubs? I felt compelled to know all of this because I was sure I was going to be in this industry.
You arrived in New York in 2006, and around that time, Hov was overseeing Def Jam. What do you remember about the music landscape?
That was a strange era. At that time, I would say that the torch had been passed, and it was really about Kanye West. It was Kanye, Lil Wayne, and T-Pain—I distinctly remember those records playing all the time. And Jay’s movements were something that we were all tracking, because it really was uncharted territory to have a rapper as the president of Def Jam. I think it marked what life would be like after having your own hip-hop imprint.
He ended up dropping Kingdom Come, not really my favorite record, but then he came back with American Gangster, which is one of my favorite Jay-Z records, and then he ultimately pivoted into starting Roc Nation. But I think that was an era — and I don’t want to speak for Jay — but I think, from outside looking in, he was still kind of figuring out who he was as an executive and as an artist, and how he could meld those two things.
One aspect that was absolutely beneficial to Def Jam is that having him in that role attracted a lot of amazing talent. Whether it was Rick Ross, Jeezy, or Rihanna, so many artists said they wanted to sign with Def Jam because they knew Jay-Z was there. That was important to them.
And even before Jay-Z became president of Def Jam, Roc-A-Fella, at its peak, felt omnipresent. Not just in hip-hop but also in the Top 40 landscape. And not just with Jay. “Oh Boy” by Cam’Ron peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” by Young Gunz was also an anthem for the times. What do you think was key to Roc-A-Fella maintaining a long-term impact like that?
A big part of it was diversification. In the beginning, Jay-Z was the sole artist, and that was where all the focus was. But once the partnership with Def Jam was cemented in ’97, they were already starting to diversify. Whether it was signing Christión, DJ Clue, Memphis Bleak, Beanie, or Sigel, Dame was always very mindful that having a label with just one artist isn’t sustainable. So they made all of these signings, like Amil and Young Gunz. It really was a roster that was beyond just the marquee artist. I think once Cam’Ron came into the fold, it really showed that this label now had two legitimate stars.
Oftentimes, on a label, one artist takes up the top spot. I think what mattered was Cam already had his own buzz going from his previous deal. Putting together that Dipset collective was incredibly smart, and they really were a movement in New York and beyond.
One thing you mention in the book is how Roc-A-Fella is never mentioned among Silicon Valley darlings or taught in classrooms. Do you consider hip-hop labels one of the driving forces in corporate America?
There’s always been this idea of not viewing hip-hop through that same business lens, and that’s really one of the theses of this book. Of course, this is a culturally impactful company. Fans still speak about it. There are still debates about it in hip-hop circles, but if we expand our purview and our lens, it is also a legitimate business that was started. It was very much scrappy and DIY, no different than startup companies. But I think because it’s seen as hip-hop, it just doesn’t get viewed in that manner, and my hope is that this book elevates Roc-A-Fella in that conversation, and we’re just able to have a larger dialog when it comes to other hip-hop companies and brands. It’s very easy to dismiss something as ‘It was a trend, it was of the time, it was tethered to a celebrity,’ but these were also legitimate companies, and Roc-A-Fella, especially, was diversified beyond music. You’re seeing Roc-A-Wear as the fashion line, as well as movies like State Property. You’re seeing lifestyle with Armadale Vodka. You’re seeing films. People still love Paid in Full, and that was something that really was a visionary move to have all of these aspects of culture essentially under one umbrella.
Another thing you hammer home is that Hov always said hustling was more lucrative than rap. Even in today’s music landscape, we’re seeing that there’s not a whole lot of money solely in music. It’s why we have rappers endorsing these gambling apps, or why artists take on so many brand deals. What do you think is the biggest hindrance hip-hop artists are facing today?
I think that might be a whole separate book, in and of itself. But I agree. I think in the economics of music, for most artists, the math just doesn’t math. And to be very clear, as an artist, there are various avatars. We oftentimes focus on the 1% of artists who are on the Forbes list, and they see themselves as founders and business people, multi-hyphenates. Then there are artists whose music enables them to pay the bills, and I view that as equally successful. When you take your average artist and look at advances, the lack of artist development, and the short runway of your career, it’s really hard. Before, there was some idea that the label was signing you to a multi-album deal. Of course, some artists viewed that as a hindrance down the line, like being caught up in corporate handcuffs. But at least in theory, it was the idea that “We’re developing you as an artist; we see a long-term future with you.”
Now people are signing song deals and EP deals. Just that mentality of a long-term relationship has dissipated. The other part is, artists have to do everything on their own. For artists who feel like they have to be their own manager, publicist, marketer, advocate, and content creator — it’s part of the job. Before, there were other people and companies and resources who would help you with those things. A lot of the responsibility now falls on the artists and their immediate team. Unfortunately, for a lot of them, the financial ROI just isn’t there when it comes to music. Which is why they’re actively going beyond music and seeing how they can leverage that for more financially lucrative opportunities.
This summer, Jay-Z did special anniversary shows in New York and London. Why do you think Jay was able to pull off such grand festivities three decades after his debut?
Jay-Z has created a new avatar for what a rapper can be in many ways, whether it’s in business, as a celebrity, as a founder, and absolutely as an evolving and aging artist. Historically, rap music was young people talking to young people. There was this idea that at some point you age out. Funny enough, when Jay first started, labels thought he was too old. We’re talking about [in his] mid-to-late 20s. I know from personal experience artists who have aged themselves down or lied about their age because of hip-hop’s inherent ageism.
I think Jay-Z has shown that you have your core fans who’ve grown up with you. I was at the Reasonable Doubt show at Yankee Stadium, and most of the audience were the same age as Jay, so they really did come of age with him. Now, they also have the financial means to pay for a ticket, because concert tickets are quite expensive. But I do think we’re in an interesting era where artists who came out, let’s say, prior to the streaming era, are really enjoying these second lives because of the catalog industry, this interest in nostalgia, and the fact that they’ve created a solidified fan base in that physical era. They can come around, and everybody’s grown. Everyone wants to relive their youth, and they’re getting that support, which I find very interesting. I think it’s good. I don’t like this idea that you have to age out or you’re considered washed.
But I think the challenge for artists is constantly staying relevant. What does that mean to you? Does that mean that you’re continuing to speak to your audience as they age, or do you want to appeal to the 17-year-old kid who just discovered music? Some people can find that balance, but other times it’s hard. From a sonic perspective, no one wants to be the old dad at the club, but at some point, you are. So how do you sort of balance all of these things? I think Jay has done a good job of realizing who his audience is, and he speaks largely to them. I don’t think he cares about what’s sort of going on in the flavor-of-the-week or the zeitgeist of the moment. He’s very comfortable being this elder statesman and OG. That’s a very powerful place to be as an artist.
We just passed the 25th anniversary of 9/11 — which was also the same day Jay dropped The Blueprint. The album still sold more than 400,000 copies that week. What do you think resonated with fans about Jay-Z then?
Go back 25 years; Jay-Z was arguably at his apex. That album is just chock full of hit records. And of course, the highly publicized beef with Nas was on the minds of hip-hop heads. That album was this perfect reflection of a superstar rapper at their peak, giving you those big monster records. You’re getting the records for the heads; you’re getting the introspective records. Everything just hit at that moment. That was a really great time to be Jay-Z.
Also, for New Yorkers, it was such a sad time. There was so much tragedy and darkness over the city, and to have somebody from the city [release an album], from a symbolic perspective, it showed that even from all of this tragedy, New York is going to rise again. Because New York always rises. So having a New York artist on top felt good.
What would you say is the quintessential Jay-Z album?
To me, the quintessential Jay-Z album is Reasonable Doubt because I think that is his love letter to the hustler. It’s incredibly biographical to his experience and the experiences of the people around him. When you listen to that album, it really shows the highs and the lows of that life. And I know people oftentimes focus on the positive aspects, but there are pretty dark records on it. If you go back and listen, you can just feel the mental and emotional tension of living that life. They always joke that he wanted to retire after Reasonable Doubt; I believe he said everything that needed to be said on that album.
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Sowmya Krishnamurthy‘s The Blueprint: Inside the Business of Roc-A-Fella Records is available for pre-order.
