Jay z had 5 number 1 albums before BeyoncéJay was a star in rap but Beyoncé made him mainstream.
Puffy was the bigger star at the time when he got with j.lo
was on SNL
sold 5 million something BiG or Pac didn’t while alive
had the first successful non r&b tour hip hop
he Got a sneaker deal (one of if not the 1st non athlete with a shoe) before it was official with Beyoncé
etc….
how much more mainstream a dude got to get lol
. Damn near everything entertainment wise he's put out has flopped for at least a decade but he's still revered and renown. He can't even get his kids hot musically As big as he is