No. 3: Jay-Z

For the remainder of the semester, The Playlist will be counting down the 10 most important artists of this decade - artists that have had a serious impact on music as we know it.

Shawn, Jigga, Hova, Mr. S-dot-Carter - whatever you call him, there will only ever be one Jay-Z. His legacy, however, is much larger than just the recording studio. As he so eloquently put it on the remix of Kanye West's "Diamonds Are Forever," "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man! So let me handle my business, damn."

As much of an impact he's had on hip-hop and the grand scope of music itself (reflected by eight Grammys, nine No. 1 albums and 30 million records sold), I believe it's important to not overlook the success of Shawn Carter the entrepreneur and media mogul. His accomplishments are varied: business ventures in sports (he co-owns the New Jersey Nets) to fashion (he created the widely popular Rocawear line) and multiple endeavors in the music industry (he is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, one of the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records and recently, the founder of Roc Nation). Needless to say, the previously mentioned lyric stands true. Success like this does not occur overnight, yet at the age of 39, Jay-Z has the world in his pocket.

I think one of the best things about Jay-Z is that the man on the mic isn't much different from the public persona. His confidence, savvy and high-life attitude carries over into the recording booth, and the end result is music that glows with smart lyrics and hard-hitting punch lines. Even before his massive critical success, he carried his head high and that's a quality that's important in hip-hop.

While his legacy began with 1996's "Reasonable Doubt," Jay-Z has been one of the hardest working artists of this decade. The past 10 years have seen the release of the "Blueprint" trilogy, starting with 2001's "Blueprint," which is considered by many one of the greatest rap albums of all time (hell, even Pitchfork ranked it No. 2 on its list of the best albums of the first half of this decade), the brilliant "Black Album," the better-than-the-reviews-show "Kingdom Come" and the concept album/unofficial soundtrack to the film "American Gangster." All of these hit No. 1 on the charts. I can't imagine anyone else being more consistent.

It's typical for hip-hop artists to boast about their talents on their records, but Jay-Z, the self-proclaimed best rapper alive, just might be that.