Today's post is about an often forgotten yet influential part of rap music today. Jonathan Burke or The Jaz was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 15, 1965. The reason why this name might sound familiar to you is because he is the mentor to none other then Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. Jaz came on the scene with the short lived group High Potent. His first solo release came in the form of 1989's Word to the Jaz which was marginally successful due to the single "Hawaiian Sophie" (which featured a young Jay-Z in a cameo). His second album featured a full on collaboration with Jay-Z aptly titled "The Originators" to showcase a style known as "The Triplet style". Jay-Z and Jaz had a falling out when Jay did not show up to the "Let's Go" video shoot which he had a verse on. Jaz found this disrespectful as he was once Jay's mentor.
