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Empire State of Mind

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"Empire State of Mind"
Song

"Empire State of Mind" is a single by American hip hop rapper Jay-Z, released as the third single from his studio album The Blueprint 3 (2009) on his Roc Nation label. It features guest vocals from R&B and soul singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. The song is an anthemic ode to Jay-Z's and Keys's native New York City, featuring sampling of "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments. It also contains elements of electropop and orchestra pop. Jay-Z and Keys performed the song at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. It is also the walkup song of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

After the song was released as a digital download in the iTunes Store on September 8, 2009, it reached the fiftieth position on the Billboard Hot 100, with more than 40,000 downloads. The next week it rose to number 5, becoming Jay Z's sixteenth top 10 hit and Keys' ninth top 10 hit. "Empire State of Mind" reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on October 4, 2009. The song also reached number 2 in the Irish Singles Chart on September 25, 2009 with no official release. In the U.K., it received rotation on BBC Radio 1 and The Hit Music Network Playlists.

Background

"Empire State of Mind" is an anthemic hip hop song that features sampling from "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments with influences of electropop and orchestra pop. It has been said that fellow New York MC Nas (who himself has a song called "N.Y. State of Mind") was supposed to be featured on the song but declined because of a busy touring schedule, an on going divorce case with his ex wife Kelis, and his ongoing work with Damian Marley on their collaboration album titled Distant Relatives, but he would be featured in the official remix.[1] The title is a reference to New York's eponym "The Empire State", as well as the Billy Joel song "New York State of Mind". The song is an anthem to Jay-Z's hometown, New York City. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is currently on the BBC Radio 1 Playlist.

Release

The song has already received airplay from numerous radio stations and has gained a huge number of downloads, specifically after the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The song will be released as the third single from the album to Rhythmic Airplay on October 19, 2009, the same day as Alicia Keys's new single "Doesn't Mean Anything" is released.[2]

Critical reception

Allmusic stated "The king of the crossovers here is 'Empire State of Mind,' a New York flag-waver with plenty of landmark name-dropping that turns into a great anthem with help on the chorus from Alicia Keys.[3] Los Angeles Times writer Greg Kot commended Jay-Z for his ability to perform with cameos, and called the song "Empire State of Mind" "the sound of Jay-Z cruising for pop hits".[4] Newsday's Glenn Gamboa said that Jay-Z declares "'I'm the new Sinatra' - and when he pushes for change" on the song.[5] NME described Alicia Keys's cameo as "lusty bellowing".[6] Pitchfork Media stated "the piledriver hooks of 'Run This Town' and 'Empire State of Mind' are content to annoy their way to ubiquity".[7] PopMatters called the song "yet another chance for Jay to show love for his city, but it remains interesting thanks to a fantastic Al Shux beat and celebratory hook from Alicia Keys . Above all, it’s a chance for the Marcy emcee to show off shades of a new flow while not losing you for a second".[8] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen called it a "pallid New York shout-out".[9]

Steve Jones of USA Today perceived a maturity by Jay-Z in the song, and wrote that "The upper-crust landmarks he now references are a far cry from the grimy Marcy Projects sights that he once detailed, something that perhaps is to be expected from the self-described 'new Sinatra.'"[10] The Daily Telegraph described the song's sound as "anthemic club pop" and called Keys's chorus line "singalong".[1] About.com called "Empire State of Mind" the album's apex, while commending Alicia Keys for her "excellent display of some unusually strong vocals".[11] Slant Magazine's William McBee described it as a "glittering paean to the Big Apple with Alicia Keys soaring skyscraper-level on the hook and Jay putting on for his city".[12] Smoking Section called "Empire State of Mind" an "antithesis to Nas’ 'NY State Of Mind,'as he presents the city that never sleeps as the ultimate proving ground for those who can escape it’s trappings".[13] The Times called it an "orchestral rap ballad".[14], and The Guardian's Alexis Petridis described its chorus as "incredible, breezy pop".[15]

Performances

The song was first performed at Jay-Z's "Answer the Call" benefit concert in Madison Square Garden on September 11, 2009, where it was the opening song. The song was then performed live at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009.[16], where it closed the awards. Also, Jay-Z performed the song on September 18, 2009, during a live performance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Because of scheduling conflicts, Roc Nation singer Bridget Kelly performed in Alicia Keys' place (with an exception to the MTV Video Music Awards).

The song will be performed at game 1 of the 2009 World Series.

Music video

The music video was filmed on October 1, 2009, in Harlem, Times Square and around Ground Zero of New York City. The video was directed by Hype Williams.[17]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Sample(s)Length
1."Empire State of Mind" (feat. Alicia Keys)S. Carter, A. Shuckburgh, A. Keys, A. Hunte, J. Sewell-Ulepic* Contains a sample of "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments 4:37
UK/EU digital single
  1. "Empire State of Mind"
  2. "Jockin' Jay-Z"

Chart history

Chart (2009) Peak Position
Austrian Singles Chart[18] 20
Canadian Hot 100[19] 21
Danish Singles Chart[20] 28
Dutch Top 40[21] 13
Eurochart Hot 100[22] 8
Irish Singles Chart[19] 2
Italian Singles Chart[19] 15
Swedish Singles Chart[23] 14
Swiss Singles Chart[24] 25
UK Singles Chart[19] 2
UK R&B Singles Chart[25] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[26] 8
U.S. Billboard Rap Songs[27] 3

Personnel

Credits adapted from The Blueprint 3 liner notes.

References

  1. ^ a b Columnist. Review: The Blueprint 3. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2009-09-08.
  2. ^ "Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". FMQB. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  3. ^ Bush, John. Review: The Blueprint 3. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-09-06.
  4. ^ Kot, Greg. Review: The Blueprint 3. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-09-08.
  5. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. Review: The Blueprint 3. Newsday. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
  6. ^ Cashmore, Pete. Review: The Blueprint 3. NME. Retrieved on 2009-09-14.
  7. ^ Cohen, Ian. Review: The Blueprint 3. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-09-14.
  8. ^ Andrew, Martin. Review: The Blueprint 3. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-09-10.
  9. ^ Rosen, Jody. Review: The Blueprint 3. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-09-14.
  10. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: The Blueprint 3. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
  11. ^ Barbour, Shannon. Review: The Blueprint. About.com. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
  12. ^ McBee, William. Review: The Blueprint 3. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-09-08.
  13. ^ Ziglar, Marshall. Review: The Blueprint 3. The Smoking Section. Retrieved on 2009-09-13.
  14. ^ Dalton, Stephen. Review: The Blueprint 3. The Times. Retrieved on 2009-09-13.
  15. ^ Petridis, Alexis. Review: The Blueprint 3. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-09-11.
  16. ^ Exclusive: Lil Mama Apologizes For Crashing Jay-Z's VMA Performance, MTV. 2009
  17. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-10-01). "Jay-Z, Alicia Keys Shoot 'Empire State Of Mind' Video Near Ground Zero". Mtv.com. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  18. ^ Steffen Hung. "Schweizer Hitparade - Singles Top 100 11.10.2009". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Music Charts - αCharts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  20. ^ "hitlisten.nu". hitlisten.nu. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  21. ^ http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=875994
  22. ^ "Rap Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  23. ^ "Swedish Singles Chart". Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  24. ^ "Music Charts - αCharts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  25. ^ "Radio 1 - Chart Show - RnB Singles". BBC. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  26. ^ "Top Hip-Hop and R&B Songs & Singles Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  27. ^ "Rap Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
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