Today is Jay-Z's birthday, as anyone who has listened to “The Black Album” will surely recall. He turns 43 today, and will surely ring in the occasion in true Brooklyn style.

But it's an even more special day than usual for Jigga, as it's his first birthday since his wife Beyonce gave birth to their adorable daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

The classic track “December 4th” off his 2003 release “The Black Album” tells the story of the birth of Sean Carter – aka: Jay-z – better than any writer ever will.

Featuring Jay's smooth raps and the voice of his mother, Gloria Carter, the song relays the tale of her “special child” coming up, from his birth through his early development as a rapper.

Here's what Gloria Carter says at the outset of the song, where she describes his birth on Dec. 4, 1969:

“Sean Carter was born December 4th,
Weighing in at 10 pounds 8 ounces,
He was the last of my 4 children,
The only one who didn't give me any pain when i gave birth to him,
And that's how i knew that he was a special child.”

But that's just the beginning of the odyssey from little kid in the projects to international superstar that Jay-Z has followed in his life.

As for his current status, he is riding high this year. Sean Carter and Beyonce gave birth to their first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, on Jan. 7, 2012, and she seems to be an absolute bundle of joy for them.

He even released the song “Glory,” featuring Blue Ivy Carter's infantile cries, just two days after she was birth, in which he discussed the happiness of having a child.

Hov is also now the partial owner and essentially the mascot of the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team, which played their first game earlier this season at the brand-new Barclays Center, just a stone's throw from his Marcy Projects childhood home.

Jigga is also still involved with his highly-successful Rocawear clothing label, which has been going strong for years now.

He released a mega-hit collaboration album with Kanye West in 2011 called “Watch the Throne,” and word on the street is that a follow-up LP is due to drop next year.

So it seems that everything's going pretty great for Hova, and he continues to rise. He “went from Marcy to Hollywood,” as he says in one of his hit songs, and he's not done yet.

Jay took heat after returning to rap after “The Black Album,” which he said would be his last, but it appears he wasn't quite ready to “fade to black,” despite his boasts at the time that it was his retirement LP.

It seems there's a lot of time left yet before we hear the last of Sean Carter.

On that note, Happy Birthday, Jay-Z.

Beyonce