Jay-Z's method of writing music is unconventional. While it has worked for him, he said he wouldn't recommend it to others.
Crucially, Sprint paid for each of those copies, making every "free" album eligible for a platinum award; and the RIAA says Jay-Z's label RocNation had to provide evidence that the downloads were ...
Jay-Z signed Kanye West to his label. Still, he wasn't sure that the young artist would be able to find an audience.