The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, the Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
"Drop It Like It's Hot" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring American singer, rapper and musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, R&G : The Masterpiece (2004). The song was produced by Williams alongside Chad Hugo as the Neptunes. It is regarded as an iconic song, with Snoop performing the chorus and the second and third verses while Pharrell performs the first verse.
"Can I Have It Like That" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams featuring vocals from fellow American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from the former's 2006 debut album In My Mind and it’s the opening track. The song's hook comes from a one-line contribution from Stefani, used as part of a call and response in the chorus. "Can I Have It Like That" was released as the album's lead single October 10, 2005.
"Let's Get Blown" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on December 13, 2004, as the second single released from the former's seventh studio album R&G : The Masterpiece (2004). It was produced by The Neptunes and features additional uncredited vocals from American singer Keyshia Cole.
"Frontin'" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right. However, he released his own solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006.
"Oh Boy" is a 2002 Grammy-nominated hip hop single by Cam'ron from his album Come Home with Me, and features Juelz Santana. The single was released through Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, Cam'ron's Diplomats Records and Def Jam Recordings.
"Fiesta (Remix)" is a song by singer R. Kelly featuring rappers Jay-Z & Boo & Gotti. The hit song spent five weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. R. Kelly and Jay-Z have worked several times together. In 2002, they released the album The Best of Both Worlds, which sold 285,000 copies in its first week. The single is ranked by Billboard as the best selling and most played R&B/Hip Hop song of 2001.
"I Just Wanna Love U " is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released as the first single from his 2000 album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. It was produced by the Neptunes and features a chorus performed by Neptunes member Pharrell and Pennsylvania rapper Omillio Sparks, both of whom remain uncredited. The video for the song, directed by David Meyers, features cameos from rappers Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease, Damon Dash, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jermaine Dupri and actor John Witherspoon.
"Beautiful" is a hip hop song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring vocals from Pharrell Williams and Uncle Charlie Wilson. It was released on January 27, 2003, as the second single from Snoop Dogg's sixth studio album, Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss. The song was written by Snoop Dogg alongside producers The Neptunes. The music video was filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"(Always Be My) Sunshine" is a hip hop song by American rapper Jay-Z with guest vocals from fellow femcee Foxy Brown and R&B singer-songwriter Babyface who performs the song's chorus. It serves as the first single from his second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997). The track features production by Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool. Vanderpool samples MC Lyte's "Cha Cha Cha", Alexander O'Neal's "Sunshine", Kraftwerk's "The Man-Machine" and The Fearless Four's "Rockin' It" for the track's beat. In addition, George Fonenette plays keyboards on this song. The song's lyrics helped indicate Jay-Z's change from his Mafioso rap style to a more commercial "shiny suit" style. Steve Juon of RapReviews.com supports the song claiming that it is a less gangsta version of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Me & My Bitch", a well-received track. Jay-Z cites this song as "what killed the album."
"I'll Be" is a song recorded by American rapper Foxy Brown for her debut studio album, Ill Na Na (1996), featuring Brooklyn-based rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the second single from the album on March 4, 1997, by Violator and Def Jam Recordings. The song was written by Shawn Carter, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Angela Winbush, René Moore, Bobby Watson and Bruce Swedien with production by Trackmasters, and samples René & Angela's 1985 song "I'll Be Good". It was recorded at Chung King Studios in New York City, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory. "I'll Be" is a hip hop and R&B song with explicit lyrics that revolve around sex and money.
"Pass the Courvoisier, Part II" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes featuring fellow American rappers P. Diddy and Pharrell Williams. It was released as the fourth and last single from his fifth studio album Genesis on February 12, 2002, by Flipmode Entertainment and J Records. The song is a continuation to an album track off of Genesis, also featuring P. Diddy.
"Talk That Talk" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her 2011 studio album of the same name. It features a rap verse by American rapper Jay-Z, who had previously collaborated with Rihanna on her song "Umbrella" in 2007 and "Run This Town" in 2009. The song was written by Jay-Z, Ester Dean, together with the Norwegian production duo Stargate. Def Jam Recordings serviced the track to urban contemporary radio in the United States on January 17, 2012, as the third single from Talk That Talk. It was released in France as a CD single on March 26. "Talk That Talk" is a hip hop song with R&B beats, rough drums and unrefined synths, and has a similar style to Rihanna's 2010 single "Rude Boy". It contains a brief sample of "I Got a Story to Tell" by the Notorious B.I.G. Therefore, the Buckwild, Sean Combs, Chucky Thompson, and the Notorious B.I.G. are credited as songwriters despite the Notorious B.I.G's death in 1997.
"Holy Grail" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z from his twelfth studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail. It features vocals from American singer Justin Timberlake and serves as the album's lead single. It was produced by The-Dream, Timbaland, and J-Roc, with additional production from No ID and contains elements of Nirvana's 1991 hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Following the release of the album, the song charted in many regions, entering at number eight and reaching number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. "Holy Grail" had sold over 3.4 million copies in the United States as of 2018.
"Peaches N Cream" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg, featuring vocals from American singer Charlie Wilson. was released on March 10, 2015, as the first single of his thirteenth studio album Bush, with the record labels I Am Other and Columbia Records. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams, who also participated in the band composition, along with the interpreters and Nelly, Garry Shider, George Clinton, James Brown, Robert Ginyard, Jr., Mary Brockert, and Walter Morrison.
"Fix" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B group Blackstreet, originally appearing as the fourth track on their second studio album Another Level. A remixed version of the song was issued as the third single from the album and features the band Fishbone, as well as Ol' Dirty Bastard and ad-libs by Guns N' Roses guitarist, Slash. The song peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997.
"Pop Style" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, featuring American rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z, collectively known as The Throne. The song was released alongside "One Dance", as singles promoting Drake's fourth studio album Views, initially for exclusive digital download on iTunes on April 5, 2016. The album version features only Drake with a new verse. The single version was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards.
The American rapper Jay-Z has released 68 singles as a lead artist, 51 singles as a featured artist, and 14 promotional singles. "Can't Knock the Hustle" was the most successful single from his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt, reaching the top 30 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. During 1997, Jay-Z had success with singles like "Sunshine" which peaked at number 25 in United Kingdom, 18 in Germany and 22 in New Zealand. His next single "Wishing on a Star" peaked at number 13 in UK being his highest peak on the chart until Hard Knock Life. The next single "The City Is Mine was the most successful single of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. The album peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and it received positive reviews from critics. In 1998 he released the smash hit singles "Can I Get A..." and "Hard Knock Life " which peaked at number 19 and 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and had wide success worldwide, too. The singles helped the album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life to debut at number 1 on the Albums chart and selling over 5 million copies. Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter had hits like "Jigga My Nigga" which peaked at number 1 on the Rap chart and #28 on the Hot 100. Hits like "Girl's Best Friend" and "Big Pimpin'" were released and the later peaked at #18 on the Hot 100 earning a platinum certification by the RIAA.
"Talk Up" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his album, Scorpion (2018). It features American rapper Jay-Z and additional uncredited vocals by Canadian rapper Baka Not Nice. The song reached the top 20 in Canada and the United States.
"Love All" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy (2021). It features American rapper Jay-Z and was produced by Oz, Dez Wright and Leon Thomas III.
