I don't like to "editorialize" these songs to loves... well it's more like I don't like the word "editorialize" - I love doing it though. And watch me go:
I LOVE this song. There is something about this song that catches my attention like no other. There is a power to it. It's like Jay-Z's urban take on Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" and he even mentions Sinatra in it. I'm realizing more and more that one of my favorite music genres is Rap and although that might sound surprising based on my other favorite musicians, songs, etc. I have good reason.
I can't think of much mainstream, top 100 Billboard music that has more soul and feeling than some of these hit rap songs of the past five years. Artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z, Common, Kid Cudi, T.I. and David Banner have so much heart in their music it's ridiculous. Maybe it's covered with a smattering of pomp and some form of shock and awe but underneath there's a world where feelings are the most important thing and magic comes in the form of addicting beats and desperately delicious rhymes.
This song by Jay-Z off his new album, The Blueprint 3, is one I first heard on the disastrous VMA's earlier this month and while I enjoyed it then, it wasn't until I downloaded it last week that it grabbed me. There are such interesting elements working together on this track - Alicia Keys with a hook that's beautiful and haunting (I have never heard her sound better - she has a bridge that's utterly breathtaking), Jay-Z with verses that explain the topic (Manhattan) in a fresh, new way, and music that sounds exactly like the words do, if you know what I'm saying. The song sounds like New York. It's like music onomatopoeia, and that's really rare. Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks" also has this sound. (side note: Jay-Z was recently seen attending a Grizzly Bear show in New York so it all comes full circle)
So far this song has reached #1 on the iTunes charts and #5 on the official Billboards list, also managing to chart in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Switzerland. It doesn't officially get released to radio until October 19th.
You MUST check this song out. Whether you like rap or not, this is a special case. I would listen to this every hour if I could.
Empire State of Mind
Yeah,
Yeah, Imma up at Brooklyn,
now Im down in Tribeca,
right next to DeNiro,
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,
all of my dominicanos
right there up on broadway,
brought me back to that McDonalds,
took it to my stash spot,
Five Sixty Stage street,
catch me in the kitchen like a simmons whipping pastry,
cruising down 8th street,
off white lexus,
driving so slow but BK is from Texas,
me I’m up at Bedsty,
home of that boy Biggie,
now i live on billboard,
and i brought my boys with me,
say wat up to Ty Ty, still sipping Malta
sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives,
N-gga i be spiked out, i can trip a referee,
tell by my attitude that I most definitely from…
[Alicia Keys]
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
big lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Jay-Z]
I made you hot n-gga,
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game,
sh-t i made the yankee hat more famous than a yankee can,
you should know I bleed Blue, but I aint a crip tho,
but i got a gang of n-ggas walking with my click though,
welcome to the melting pot,
corners where we selling rocks,
afrika bambaataa sh-t,
home of the hip hop,
yellow cap, gypsy cap, dollar cab, holla back,
for foreigners it aint fitted they forgot how to act,
8 million stories out there and their naked,
cities is a pity half of y’all won’t make it,
me i gotta plug Special Ed "i got it made,"
If Jesus payin LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade,
3 dice cee-lo
3 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 thats…
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
big lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
Welcome to the bright light..
[Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding,
girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick,
the side lines is blind with casualties,
who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse,
don’t bite the apple Eve,
caught up in the in crowd,
now your in-style,
and in the winter gets cold en vogue with your skin out,
the city of sin is a pity on a whim,
good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them,
Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out,
everybody ride her, just like a bus route,
Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin,
and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends,
came here for school, graduated to the high life,
ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight,
MDMA got you feeling like a champion,
the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
big lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
[Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,
no place in the World that can compare,
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeaaahh
come on, come,
yeah,
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
Theres nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
these streets will make you feel brand new,
big lights will inspire you,
lets here it for New York, New York, New York
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