Duplicate Column Add Column Remove Column Jay-Z has had an early introduction to drugs and violence. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York in a housing complex called Marcy Projects. Marcy Projects is a housing complex that is run by New York City’s housing authorities. It is known for its surplus of violence, crime, and drug abuse. These aspects all played a major role on Jay-Z when he was growing up. When Jay-Z turned 11 his brother’s father was stabbed to death. Not only was his brother’s father stabbed to death his father left their family and began to use drugs. His father leaving him had a negative effect on him. He would not allow anybody to get close to him because of the fear that they would leave just like his father did. At the age of 12 Jay-Z shot his brother because his brother stole his ring. He was fearful that he would go to jail for a long time. The gun that he shot his brother with was not his gun however guns were easily accessible in Marcy Projects. When Jay-Z became a teen ager he began to sell drugs. He was not selling little things like marijuana. However, he was selling substances such as cocaine and crack. One of his main reasons for selling drugs was to support his mother. When Jay-Z’s father left he left his mom to raise and support four children on her own. Jay-Z often describes the feeling of drugs to be addicting. He was addicted to getting fast money – and that is exactly what drug dealing consists of. He looked up to the other drug dealers in Brooklyn and even viewed them as role models. They normalized drug dealing in that community.