Jay-Z hit #1 with “Empire State of Mind”

Empire State of Mind Jay-Z with Alicia Keys

Writer(s): Angela Hunte, Alicia Keys, Alexander Shuckburgh, Burt Keyes, Janet "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic, Shawn Carter, Sylvia Robinson (see lyrics here) Released: October 20, 2009 First Charted: September 19, 2009 Peak: 15 US, 5 RR, 39 A40, 13 RB, 2 UK, 3 CN, 4 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.51 US, 0.77 UK, 6.49 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 213.07 video, 767.29 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Empire State of Mind” was written by Angela Hunte and Jane’t Sewell Ulepic as a tribute to their hometown of New York City. They wrote it while overseas in London and feeling homesick. They submitted the song to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and it was initially rejected. However, EMI’s Jon Platt heard the track at a barbeque and sent it to Jay-Z again. Jay-Z kept the singing part of the hook, but changed the verses. WK Initially Hunte was still going to sing the hook, but she suggested Alicia Keys. WK Because of the track’s piano loops based on a riff from the Moments’ “classic 1970 soul ballad ‘Love on a Two-Way Street,’” SS Jay-Z wanted Key’s piano and vocal talents. He called her and said, “I feel like I have this record that’s going to be the anthem of New York…and it couldn’t be the anthem of New York without you.” WK She went by the studio and listened to it and, as she said, “I really felt the energy of New York all through it…I said ‘I love it, so let’s do it.’” SF The song allowed Jay-Z and Alicia Keys “to shout the praises of the city in which both…had been raised.” SS Complex magazine agreed with Jay-Z’s assessment, saying that the song “has replaced Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ as the city’s go-to anthem.” WK The New York Racing Association concurred when they replaced “New York, New York” with “Empire State of Mind” as the opening song at the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes. WK The song also got attention during the New York Yankees’ World Series run and Jay-Z performed it at their victory parade. SF The song was Jay-Z’s fourth time to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100, but his first time as a lead artist. WK The song was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. WK The song won Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Entertainment Weekly named it the best single of 2009. WK Resources: SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 726. WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 6/20/2023.

Beyoncé hit #1 with “Crazy in Love”

Crazy in Love Beyoncé with Jay-Z

Writer(s): Shawn Carter, Rich Harrison, Beyoncé Knowles, Eugene Record (see lyrics here) Released: May 19, 2003 First Charted: May 24, 2003 Peak: 18 US, 12 RR, 29 A40, 13 RB, 13 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 9 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.57 US, 1.2 UK, 8.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 751.77 video, 969.72 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: For the modern day Supremes, the power pop/R&B trio, their diva leader Diana Ross, and the legendary music mogul romantically linked to the diva were recast as Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z. Like Ross, Beyoncé’s time with the group who gave her a taste of #1 success proved a stepping stone to solo success. Still, no one was quite prepared for what a monster she had right out of the gate. “Crazy in Love” won the 2003 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song and was the only tune from 2003 to top both the US and UK charts. SF On the strength of what NME magazine called her “finest single,” NME “The groove…was not quite like anything else on the charts – toughter than pop but too smooth for the average R&B hit. The extra element would seem to be the singer herself.” TC Beyoncé became “the definitive female R&B singer of her era,’” PF “the heiress to Ruth Brown and Etta James and Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin.” PD Beyoncé’s link to divas from other eras can be partially credited to Grammy-winning producer Rich Harrison. He’d sat for awhile on a demo built on a horn sample from “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So),” a 1970 top 10 R&B hit from the Chi-Lites. When he shared it with Beyoncé, she thought it was too retro, but gave Harrison two hours to come up with lyrics. He was inspired by her saying “I’m looking “crazy right now.” WK “The freakishly charismatic Jay-Z” PF guests on the song and supposedly convinced Columbia Records to release this as Beyoncé’s first proper single. TB He thought the rap up in about ten minutes and didn’t even write it down before he delivered it in the studio at about 3 in the morning. WK It wasn’t the last the world would hear of B and J; the pair would go on to become “the power couple of the decade – prettier than Brangelina, more clout than the Obamas.” SP Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 634. NME NME.com (11/11/09). 100 Tracks of the Decade PF Pitchfork.com (8/21/2009). “The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s” PD Popdose.com (11/24/2009). “The Popdose 100: The Best Songs of the Decade” SP Spinner.com (11/24/2009). “Best Songs of the 2000s” Related Links: First posted 10/30/2019; last updated 9/5/2023.