JAZ-O

Jonathan Allen Burks Sr.  better known as Jaz-O 

Jonathan Burks was born in the Brooklyn and raised in Marcy Houses, Originally attending college to become an accountant, he decided to become a rapper after being encouraged by a friend, and being inspired after hearing Grandmaster Caz, as well as UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne.

 Jaz-O is an American rapper and record producer. Active in the late 1980s through the 1990s, he became known in retrospect for being the mentor of fellow Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z. Burks, nicknamed "the Originator", debuted the artist on his 1986 single "H. P. Gets Busy". Burks has since released three solo albums: Word to the Jaz (1989), To Your Soul (1990) and Kingz Kounty (2002), all of which were released by the record label EMI. His extended play The Warmup (2021), was the first release from the Roc Nation subsidiary Equity Distribution. He's been credited as a record producer for artists including Puff Daddy, Rakim, Usual Suspects, GZA, Kool G Rap, Queen Latifah, M.O.P., and Group Home, among others