Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind (ft. Alicia Keys) (Audio, Lyrics)

Celebrating Hov at 52!!! Listen to Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind” song with Alicia Keys. The song was produced by Janet Sewell, Angela Hunte & Al Shux. Read the lyrics, buy, stream, mp3 download.

Jay Z Empire State Of Mind

“Empire State of Mind” is a song performed by American rapper Jay-Z featuring vocals by American singer Alicia Keys, from Jay-Z’s 11th studio album, The Blueprint 3 (2009). Produced by Al Shux, the song features a music sample of “Love on a Two-Way Street” performed by The Moments. It was originally written by Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell-Ulepic as a tribute to their hometown, New York City. The following month, they submitted it to Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation, whose reviews were a discouragement. They later took the suggestion of an associate of EMI Music Publishing and resubmitted it to Jay-Z, who kept the “New York” singing part on the hook, changed the verses, and recorded it.

The song originally featured Hunte on the hook, but when Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic were asked if they thought anyone else would be more appropriate for the chorus, Hunte suggested Keys. Mary J. Blige was also considered for the part, but Keys was chosen after Jay-Z heard the song’s piano loop. “Empire State of Mind” contains songwriting contributions from Keys and Shux. The song was described by critics as an “orchestral rap ballad” with “crashing piano chords” and a “soaring” hook. It contains references to various locations in New York and its famous residents while describing the city’s essence. Profanity is present throughout the song and, although it is usually included during live performances, it was omitted during the performance at Game 2 of the 2009 World Series.

A critical and commercial success, “Empire State of Mind” was included in multiple critics’ top 10 list of the best songs of 2009, including Rolling Stone magazine and The New York Times. It was also nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The song achieved commercial success worldwide. It peaked within the top 10 in many countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Italy and Sweden. In the US, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, becoming Jay-Z’s first number-one single on the chart as a lead artist. It appeared in 2009 year-end charts in Italy, Australia and the US, where it was also the last number one hit of the 2000s. As of June 2014, the single has sold over 5.5 million copies in the United States.

In the song’s music video, which is primarily in black-and-white, Jay-Z and Keys are shown performing the song in various locations in New York. “Empire State of Mind” was released as the third single from The Blueprint 3 in October 2009. It has been performed by Jay-Z and Keys multiple times, including during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards of 2009. Usually when the duo performs the song, an overhead screen shows images of places in New York. Keys recorded a sequel entitled “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”, which is featured on her fourth studio album The Element of Freedom (2009). Her version was positively received by critics, reached the Top 10 in the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland charts, and peaked at number fifty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 without an official release. Keys said that she chose to record her own version of “Empire State of Mind” because she wanted to express her own personal feelings about New York.

Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind (ft. Alicia Keys) (prod. Janet Sewell, Angela Hunte & Al Shux)

Lyrics

[Intro: JAY-Z]
Yeah

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Yeah, I’m out that Brooklyn, now I’m down in Tribeca
Right next to De Niro, but I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra, and since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem – hola, my Dominicanos (Dimelo!)
Right there up on Broadway, brought me back to that McDonald’s
Took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen, like a Simmons whippin’ pastry
Cruisin’ down 8th Street, off-white Lexus
Drivin’ so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me? I’m out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say what up to Ty Ty, still sippin’ Mai Tais
Sittin’ courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high fives
Nigga, I be spiked out, I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I’m most definitely from

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & Jay-Z]
In New York (Ayy, aha) (Uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle (Yeah) where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do (Yeah) (Okay)
Now you’re in New York (Aha, aha, aha) (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new (New)
Big lights will inspire you (Come on) (Okay)
Let’s hear it for New York (You welcome, OG) (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh) (I made you hot, nigga)

[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain’t a Crip though
But I got a gang of niggas walkin’ with my clique though
Welcome to the meltin’ pot, corners where we sellin’ rock
Afrika Bambaataa shit, home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners, it ain’t fair, they act like they forgot how to add
Eight million stories out there in the naked
City, it’s a pity half of y’all won’t make it
Me? I gotta plug Special Ed, “I Got It Made”
If Jeezy’s payin’ LeBron, I’m payin’ Dwyane Wade
Three dice cee-lo, three-card Marley
Labor Day Parade—rest in peace, Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
Long live the king, yo—I’m from the Empire State, that’s

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & Jay-Z]
In New York (Ayy) (Uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do (That boy good) (Okay)
Now you’re in New York (Welcome to the bright lights, baby) (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let’s hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
So they can step out of bounds quick, the side lines is
Lined with casualties who sip the life casually
Then gradually become worse – don’t bite the apple, Eve!
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you’re in-style
Into the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out
City of sin is a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad, the city’s filled with them
Mami, took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
“Hail Mary” to the city, you’re a virgin
And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin’ like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you a Ambien

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & Jay-Z]
In New York (Ayy, ow) (Uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do (Okay)
Now you’re in New York (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let’s hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

[Bridge: Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city (Oh)
Street lights, big dreams, all lookin’ pretty (Oh)
No place in the world that could compare (Nah)
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say
“Yeah, yeah” (Come on, come on)
“Yeah, yeah” (Come on)

[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
In New York (Uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do (Okay)
Now you’re in New York (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let’s hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)