Jenny from the Block
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| "Jenny from the Block" | |||||
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| Single by Jennifer Lopez featuring Styles P and Jadakiss | |||||
| from the album This Is Me... Then | |||||
| Released | August 2002 | ||||
| Format | CD single, 12" single | ||||
| Recorded | March 2002 The Hit Factory (New York City, New York) The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
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| Genre | Pop, R&B, old school hip hop | ||||
| Length | 3:10 | ||||
| Label | Epic | ||||
| Writer(s) | Jennifer Lopez, Troy Oliver, mrDEYO, Samuel Barnes, Jean-Claude Olivier, Fernando Arbex, Lawrence Parker, Scott Sterling, Michael Oliver | ||||
| Producer | Cory Rooney, Troy Oliver, Poke & Tone | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (ARIA, IFPI: Norway) Gold (IFPI: Belgium, Switzerland; SNEP; RIANZ) |
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| Jennifer Lopez singles chronology | |||||
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"Jenny from the Block" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez, featuring American rappers Styles P and Jadakiss. Written by Lopez, Troy Oliver, mrDEYO, Samuel Barnes, and Jean-Claude Olivier and produced by Cory Rooney, Oliver, and Poke & Tone, it was released in August 2002 as the lead single from Lopez's third studio album, This Is Me... Then (2002). The song reached number one in Canada and entered the top ten on the majority of all other charts it appeared on.
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[edit] Song information
The song attempts to contrast the life of Lopez growing up in the Bronx, New York City, with her later life as a celebrity. She claims that despite her success, she is still "Jenny from the block." Its lyrics refer to Lopez's first two albums, On the 6 and J.Lo. Some critics derided both Lopez and the song as "hypocritical". Faith Hill would revisit the same theme of being true to one's roots in a country music context for her 2005 hit "Mississippi Girl." Many observers compared that song to "Jenny from the Block".[1] Gwen Stefani and Fergie both reprised the theme in 2007 with their songs "Orange County Girl" and "Glamorous", respectively.
[edit] Samples
"Jenny from the Block"'s opening passage, "Children grow and women producing, men go working, some go stealing, everyone's got to make a living", is an interpolation from 20th Century Steel Band's 1975 song "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth", which has made several appearances in hip hop music as interpolated on Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 "Heaven or Hell", Lauryn Hill's 1998 "Every Ghetto, Every City", and the Black Eyed Peas's 1998 "Say Goodbye".
"Jenny from the Block" also samples Enoch Light and the Light Brigade's 1975 "Hi-Jack" (originally released the previous year by Barrabás). "Hi-Jack" had previously been sampled on Boogie Down Productions' 1987 "South Bronx" (known for starting The Bridge Wars) and The Beatnuts' 1999 "Watch Out Now". Though not the first to sample the song, The Beatnuts believed that the idea to sample "Hi-Jack" was stolen from them without credit, and subsequently criticized Lopez on their 2004 song "Confused Rappers".[2]
[edit] Chart performance
On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Lopez entered with this single at number sixty-seven the week of October 12, 2002. Six weeks later, "Jenny from the Block" had already reached the top ten, finally peaking at number three the week of December 7, 2002, where it remained for four consecutive weeks, stuck behind Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and Missy Elliott's "Work It".
[edit] Music video
The music video, directed by Francis Lawrence, is meant to show the intrusion of paparazzi into her life and her relationship with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck, by showing the two from the point of view of surveillance cameras and photographers' camera lenses.
The video alternates between several different scenes of Lopez and Affleck in their daily life: the two sitting around their apartment in various states of undress, out in their car, on a yacht in the ocean, Lopez shopping, and Lopez at a high-fashion photo shoot; in each case, the view is meant to be from a hidden camera or a photographer's lens. In addition, there are scenes of Lopez singing and dancing on a New York street corner, and of Styles P and Jadakiss rapping (perhaps ironically, the two rappers are from Queens and Yonkers, respectively).
There is also a second version of the video where Styles P and Jadakiss' raps are cut out. Instead, when in the original video Jadakiss and Styles P do their rap, the video changes to Jennifer Lopez and a band performing the chorus of "Loving You" in a building. Then Jennifer sees the paparazzi watching them perform, and the video cuts back to "Jenny from the Block".
[edit] Track listings
UK CD 1 (673357)
(Released: November 19, 2002)
- "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit) – 2:59
- "Alive" (Thunderpuss Radio Mix) – 4:18
- "Play" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) – 8:19
UK CD 2 (673357)
(Released: November 19, 2002)
- "Jenny from the Block" (Track Masters Remix) – 3:09
- "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Instrumental) – 3:08
- "Love Don't Cost a Thing" (HQ2 Club Vocal Mix) – 10:54
Australian CD single (673281)
(Released: November 26, 2002)
- "Jenny from the Block" (Track Masters Remix) – 3:09
- "Jenny from the Block" (Rap a Cappella) – 2:59
- "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit) – 2:50
- "Alive" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) – 8:56
[edit] Charts
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[edit] Certifications
| Territory | Certifier | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ARIA | Platinum[12] | 70,000 |
| Belgium | IFPI | Gold[13] | 25,000 |
| France | SNEP | Gold[14] | 263,000[15] |
| New Zealand | RIANZ | Gold[16] | 7,500 |
| Norway | IFPI | Platinum[17] | 10,000 |
| Switzerland | Gold[18] | 20,000 |
[edit] References
- ^ USATODAY.com - Country stars find their way back to roots
- ^ DeGracia, Robert. "Milk Me review". AllHipHop.com. http://allhiphop.com/stories/reviews/archive/2004/09/01/18134252.aspx.
- ^ "This Is Me... Then > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fqxqualdje~T31. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Jennifer Lopez feat. Jadakiss and Styles – Jenny From The Block – swisscharts.com". SwissCharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?key=5399&cat=s. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 49 – 2002" (in Dutch). Top 40. http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=49&jaar=2002. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "European Top 20 Singles Chart – Week Commencing 2nd December 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030107-0000/Issue666.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-15.
- ^ "Irish Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 28 November 2002". Chart-Track. http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240001&arch=t&lyr=2002&year=2002&week=48. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
- ^ "Chart Stats – Jennifer Lopez – Jenny From The Block". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=30446. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Musicline.de – Jennifer Lopez – Jenny From The Block" (in German). Musicline.de. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/Lopez%2C+Jennifer/Jenny+From+The+Block/single. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Single (track) Top 10 lista – 2003. 1. hét" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=kislemez&ev=2003&het=1&submit_=Keresés. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Romanian Top 100 – 11/2003" (in Romanian). Vento Consultanta SRL. http://www.rt100.ro/top-100-edition.html?edition=374&go=Go. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". ARIA. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2002.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Ultratop – Goud en platina – Albums – 2003" (in Dutch). Ultratop. January 4, 2003. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/certifications.asp?year=2003. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Certifications Singles Or – année 2003" (in French). SNEP. July 9, 2003. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=2003&type=7. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Les Certifications (Singles) du SNEP (see "LOPEZ J. & LOX")" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "New Zealand Top 50 Singles (see "Chart #1341 – Sunday 19 January 2003")". RIANZ. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "IFPI Norsk – Salgstrofeer" (in Norwegian). IFPI. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/index_trofe.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Swiss Certifications – Awards 2002". SwissCharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2002. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
| Preceded by "Die Another Day" by Madonna |
Canadian Singles Chart number-one single January 18, 2003 February 1, 2003 – February 8, 2003 |
Succeeded by "Die Another Day" by Madonna "The Ketchup Song" by Las Ketchup |
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