It's a Sunday afternoon, and in a private drawing room at the Lanesborough hotel a sommelier is arranging a couple of bottles of Krug champagne in a silver ice bucket. A side table is heavy with piles of fruit, bottled water, soft drinks and flowers. These could be preparations for an international summit or a board meeting, but it's all in readiness for the arrival of one man: Shawn Carter, otherwise known as Jay-Z, rapper and self-proclaimed chief executive of hip-hop. Think Jack Welch meets Frank Sinatra and you'll have an idea of his business acumen, musical reach and style.

While many black American musicians have demonstrated entrepreneurial skill - the soul singer Sam Cooke was one of the first, founding his own label, SAR Records, back in the 1960s - Carter has proved exceptionally astute, both lyrically and financially. So much so, in fact, that in December 2004 he was appointed president and chief executive of Def Jam Recordings, the pre-eminent, Universal-owned hip-hop label, placing him at the pinnacle of his profession.