Dirt off Your Shoulder

Last updated
"Dirt off Your Shoulder"
Jay-Z - 99 Problems+Dirt Off Your Shoulder (CD2).jpg
Single by Jay-Z
from the album The Black Album
ReleasedMarch 2, 2004
Recorded2003
Genre East Coast hip hop
Length3:59
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Timbaland
Jay-Z singles chronology
"Change Clothes"
(2003)
"Dirt off Your Shoulder"
(2004)
"99 Problems"
(2004)

"Dirt off Your Shoulder" is the second single released from Jay-Z's 2003 album The Black Album .

Contents

In 2004, the song was combined with the Linkin Park single "Lying from You" and released as a single for the mash-up album Collision Course .

Political influence

On April 17, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama referenced the song in gesture, in response to sharp attacks from his then-rival Hillary Clinton and a debate which was widely criticized for focusing on campaign gaffes rather than on candidates' policy positions. [1] [2] Referencing his opponents' "textbook Washington" tactics, focusing on personal attacks and trivial issues, Obama used Jay-Z's hand signal to "brush the dirt" off his shoulders. [3] When asked whether Obama was deliberately referencing the song, a campaign spokesman said, "He has some Jay-Z on his iPod." [4]

Clinton later made the same gesture during her appearance before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. [5]

Formats and track listings

A-Side

  1. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Radio Edit)
  2. Dirt off Your Shoulder (LP)
  3. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Instrumental)

B-Side

  1. Encore (Radio Edit)
  2. Encore (LP)
  3. Encore (Instrumental)

99 Problems/Dirt off Your Shoulder, Pt. 1

  1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
  2. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Explicit)

99 Problems/Dirt off Your Shoulder, Pt. 2

  1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
  2. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Explicit)
  3. 99 Problems (Video)
  4. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Video)

99 Problems/Dirt off Your Shoulder, Vinyl

A-Side

  1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
  2. 99 Problems (Clean)

B-Side

  1. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Explicit)
  2. Dirt off Your Shoulder (Clean)

Charts

In the U.S. the song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it Jay-Z's third highest peak on the chart at the time when including featured appearances (tied with "Swagga Like Us").

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [16] 2× Platinum2,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesJanuary 19, 2004 Rhythmic contemporary · urban contemporary radio Roc-A-Fella, IDJMG [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Black Album</i> (Jay-Z album) 2003 studio album by Jay-Z

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.

<i>Collision Course</i> (EP) 2004 EP by Jay-Z and Linkin Park

Collision Course is a collaborative EP from American rapper Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park, released on November 30, 2004, by Roc-A-Fella, Machine Shop, Warner Bros. and Def Jam. From Linkin Park's catalog, Collision Course features three songs from Meteora and four from Hybrid Theory. From Jay-Z's catalog, it features three songs from The Black Album, one from Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter, one from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life and one from The Blueprint. Before the album, Jay-Z had released collaborations with The Roots and R. Kelly, and Linkin Park had collaborated with various artists on their remix album Reanimation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lean on Me (song)</span> 1972 single by Bill Withers

"Lean on Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bill Withers. It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill. It was a number one single on both the soul and Billboard Hot 100 charts, the latter chart for three weeks in July 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 7 song of 1972. It was ranked number 208 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010. Numerous other versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with versions recorded by two different artists. In 2007, the 1972 recording of the song by Bill Withers on Sussex Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 1970s Glam Rock band 'MUD' recorded a cover of the song in 1976 that became a chart hit in the UK the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">99 Problems</span> 2004 single by Jay-Z

"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z from The Black Album. It was released on April 27, 2004. The chorus of "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" is taken from the Ice-T single "99 Problems", from the album Home Invasion (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontin'</span> 2003 single by Pharrell Williams featuring Jay-Z

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh Boy (Cam'ron song)</span> 2002 single by Camron featuring Juelz Santana

"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 Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings.

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