Busta Rhymes & DJ Drama Wish Jay-Z "Happy 40th" B-Day

With over a decade of music to his name, Hov turned 40 on Friday.

On 2001's "Ether," Nas quipped that Jay-Z was "36 in a karate class." But today (Dec. 4), Jay-Z is in a class of his own, as he becomes the first 40-year-old rapper to command hip-hop's number one spot. Follow us in ushering in Jay-Z admittance into middle age with a birthday extravaganza. (VIBE)

Fellow New York rapper Busta Rhymes ushered in Jay's special day.

"Happy Bday Hov....Congrats on the 4 grammy nominations 2 big homie...," Busta wrote Friday (December 4). "Along with acknowledging each others greatness, acknowledge ur own greatness u deserve it...Salute!!!!" (Busta Rhyme's Twitter)

While acknowledging Hov, Drama also paid homage to the memory of Pimp C.

"RIP Pimp C! Happy Bday Jay Z!," he wrote today. "Thank u to @wyclef for creating a NEW level for mixtapes. U r an icon and innovator big brother!!! From the Hut, 2 The Projects, 2 Mansion! A big big thank u to my brother @djsense who has stuck with me thru thick & thin since day one!! A real friend, not everyone has those!!" (DJ Drama's Twitter)

Rapper Skillz also spoke on Jay's 40th birthday via Twitter.

"Look! I'm a JAy fan as well. Hes witty w/d words. Am I goin ova shiz's crib 2nite so we can all watch fade 2 black n the dark? F!ck naaawh....I'm mean if he's 44 sh*t don't matter..u still nice wit the wordplay," he wrote. "I know scarface is atleast 40 and I don't care..he's nice. My homie shiz is prolly out shopping for Jays birthday doo rag right now. That ni//a is n Sallys beauty supply as we speak." (Skillz's Twitter)

Game took shots at Jay due to him being a 39 year-old emcee last summer.

"N*gga's talking like Game ain't got no money, f*ck all that," Game said from his pent house. "I ain't never said I'm trying to be Bill Gates, I ain't trying to be Bill Gates. Never said I had more money than Jay, I don't. But you know, I'm doing good...I ain't never said I have more cheese than 50 [Cent]. He got a lot of money, n*gga can't rap better than me, straight up. Now Jay, that's another subject...You can't be getting old on n*ggas like Hov, gotta stay young...Right here, you can't do sh*t unless you got the Jay-Z breath aroma stick candles. Take one of those Jay-Z candle sticks, wave it in the air like that, in the bath, and you too can be Roc-A-Fella...This sh*t right here is d*mn near old as Jay-Z. This bottle here is 50 years old...Jay-Z breath aroma sticks. You gotta get you one of these. It's the Roc-A-Fella-A** aroma sticks." (TayDoe TV)

Jay has often responded to critics citing his age as reason enough to put down the microphone and retire.

"I hear it all the time -- 'Yo, he should let the young guys, the new generation of guys come in,'" Jay explained in an interview. "But you don't become the front-runner in music because someone lets you. You have to claim your shoes...If you grow up listening to hip-hop, you love hip-hop and that's the end of it. But if you're a 30 year-old rapper still trying to make music like you're 15, then you're making it narrow. At my age, I can't relate to a 15 year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group -- it has to all be based on true emotions. The more diversity and the more mature we make hip-hop, the bigger the net you cast...Kanye is really the father to the next generation -- he's from the school of Q-Tip and now Drake and Kid Cudi are from the school of 'Ye. And, when you look at Kanye, you have to look at Lil Wayne. I think they're like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James." (Reuters)

Check out a recent Jay-Z interview below: