At 13 he was selling crack. By 30 he was a hip-hop legend—having gone, in his words, "from grams to Grammys." Now Jay-Z charts his escape from the hard-knock life, describes the reunion that healed the wounds of his childhood—and even reveals the standing Sunday date he has with what's her name.

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SILKY straight hair has long been considered by many black women to be their crowning glory. So what if getting that look meant enduring the itchy burning that’s a hallmark of many chemical straighteners.