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 2006. 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.
Collision Course is a collaborative album 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 records. 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.
"Heartbreaker" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). It was released on August 23, 1999, by Columbia Records as the lead single from Rainbow. The song was written by Carey and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and produced by Carey and DJ Clue. Additional writers are credited, since the song's hook is built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game" by Stacy Lattisaw. "Heartbreaker" pushed Carey even further into the R&B and hip hop market, becoming her second commercial single to feature a rapper. Lyrically, the song talks about a relationship from the female perspective, and how the protagonist incessantly returns to her lover, even though he continuously cheats on her and breaks her heart.
"Dirt off Your Shoulder" is the second single released from Jay-Z's 2003 album The Black Album.
"Check Yo Self" is the third and final single from American rapper Ice Cube's third solo album, The Predator. It was released on July 13, 1993, and features New York City rappers Das EFX. It topped both the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts while also reaching number 20 on the Hot 100 chart. The song retains two main versions, the original and a remix which utilizes the same beat as Grandmaster Flash's "The Message", titled "Check Yo Self ". The original mix includes a sample from the intro of the Beastie Boys' track "The New Style", which uses the phrase "check it" throughout the chorus.
"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from The Black Album. It was released on April 27, 2004. The chorus hook "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). The hook was coined during a conversation between Ice-T and Brother Marquis of Miami-based 2 Live Crew. Marquis used the phrase in the 1996 2 Live Crew song "Table Dance".
"Nastradamus" is the first single from Nas' fourth album of the same name. It was produced by L.E.S. The song contains the lyrics "You wanna ball 'til you fall, I can help you with that" which were viewed as a jab at Rocafella artist Memphis Bleek, sparking the beef which would eventually involve Jay-Z. The music video was originally released in 3-D with Tower Records providing "Nastradamus" 3-D glasses as a tie in. Nas debuted the video with Carson Daly on MTV's TRL in November 1999. The beat uses the sample "The Monorail Express" by the J.B.'s, the same one EPMD used on their song "Let the Funk Flow" from their 1988 album Strictly Business. A music video directed by Jeff Byrd was released too.
"Excuse Me Miss" is a song written and performed by American rapper Jay-Z. It released on February 4, 2003, as a single for his seventh studio album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse (2002). It was also co-written and produced by the Neptunes, whose Pharrell Williams sings the hook in falsetto voice (uncredited). The lyrics refer to love at first sight. It contains a more mature sound in comparison of his previous songs about women such as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "I Just Wanna Love U ". The song samples both the 2001 hit, "Take You Out" by Luther Vandross as well as "Big Poppa" by the Notorious B.I.G.
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" is the first single released by Jay-Z from his sixth album The Blueprint. It is among his most popular singles. This was the second song released off The Blueprint, after the diss track "Takeover", but the lead single from it. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It was Jay-Z's first top 10 single as a lead artist.
"Dead Presidents" is a 1996 song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the first promotional single for Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt, though it did not directly appear on the album: a different version of the song with the same backing track and chorus but with different lyrics called "Dead Presidents II" appeared on Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents II" was voted number 16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs and number two in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Jay-Z Songs.
"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 sung by Neptunes member Pharrell Williams, as well as Shay Haley and Omillio Sparks who all remain uncredited. The video for the song features cameos from rappers Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease, Damon Dash, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jermaine Dupri and actor John Witherspoon. A music video directed by David Meyers was made for the song.
"Encore" is a hip-hop song from Jay-Z's The Black Album. It features guest vocals by John Legend, Don Crawley, GLC and Kanye West. The song was released by Roc-A-Fella Records and produced by West for Konman Productions.
"I Get Money" is the third single from 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. This song was #14 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"Who You Wit" is a 1997 single by rapper Jay-Z that is produced by Ski. It was released in promotion of the 1997 comedy film Sprung and appears on its soundtrack, Sprung . Its beat samples "Night Love" by the Jeff Lorber Fusion.
"(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."
"The City Is Mine" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. It was released on February 3, 1998. It features vocals from Blackstreet and production from Blackstreet member Teddy Riley. Riley samples "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by The Jones Girls for the song's beat, while Blackstreet interpolates "You Belong to the City" by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin for the song's chorus. In addition, a young Chad Hugo plays saxophone on this song. The first verse is dedicated to the memory of his friend, The Notorious B.I.G.
"I'm a Hustla" is the lead single from rapper Cassidy's second studio album I'm a Hustla. The song is produced by Swizz Beatz and contains a sample from "Dirt off Your Shoulder" by Jay-Z.
"Lying from You" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park, released on March 16, 2004. It was released as an airplay-only single from their second album, Meteora, which was released on March 25, 2003.
"Otis" is a song by American hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song posthumously features soul singer Otis Redding, whose version of "Try a Little Tenderness" is sampled in the song. The production was covered solely by West. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the day afterward. Lyrically, the song has the two rappers sharing lines discussing wealth, decadence and fame. The track received highly positive reviews from music critics who praised the trading off of verses by the two rappers and the Redding-sampled beat, which was compared to the style heard on West's The College Dropout. Several publications placed the song amongst the best of the year.
"Best of Me, Part 2" is a song by American singer Mýa featuring American rapper Jay-Z. Significantly different from the original version — both musically and lyrically. "Best of Me, Part 2" served as the second single from DJ Clue?'s album DJ Clue? Presents: Backstage Mixtape (2000), the soundtrack to the 2000 documentary film, Backstage. The remix was written and composed by Harrison, Teron Beal, Shawn Carter, Larry Gates, Marcel Hall, Trackmasters duo Samuel Barnes and Jean Claude-Oliver, and Marlon Williams, and samples an interpolation of the 1987 song "Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz", performed by Biz Markie.
