Hip-Hop icon Jay Z heavily vested as venture capitalist

Funny how life can turn out. Once the darling of hip-hop videos and music, Jay Z – aka Shawn Carter – has become an icon of investment and entrepreneurship. The billionaire traded in part ownership of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and Barclay Center to take a majority stake in Marcy Venture Partners, which is investing millions in minority and women owned companies.

TechCrunch reports, that the “Hard Knock Life” rapper’s venture capital firm Marcy Venture Partners — co-founded with Jay Brown (former Roc Nation CEO) and Larry Marcus (Walden VC general partner) — has just closed its second fund with an impressive $325 million.

According to Afro Tech, the firm’s first fund was a whopping $85 million and signaled the start of new investments. Now, according to TechCrunch, MVP is “now managing $600 million in assets altogether,” says the group’s co-founder Larry Marcus.

MVP’s mission is reportedly to drive the consumer and mass-market to allow culture to transcend across products, services, media and technology. Afro Tech reports that MVP prides itself in filling its portfolio with companies that are run by minorities and women, pushing forward its key values, which include empowerment, inclusivity and accessibility. To date, the venture capital firm has allocated funds to 21 companies, including Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty. MVP led a $70 million funding round for the lingerie company.

Marcy Venture Partners has been busy all year long and shows no signs of slowing down either. In May, MVP reportedly dabbled into crypto projects, investing in Bitski — an NFT marketplace based in San Francisco. MVP also invested in spatial LABS, a tech incubator founded by Ghana-born Iddris Sandu.

Jay Z knows how to make money. Earlier this year, he sold music business Tidal to the owner of Square (Jack Dorsey) for $302 million after paying just $56 million for it 2015.
Here are some of the Black or woman-owned businesses Jay Z has invested in:
            • Savage X Fenty, owned by Rihanna, starting in 2019.
            • Partake Foods, owned by Black woman Denise Woodard.
            • Perch Credit, owned by Black businessman Michael Broughton.