If you were to say you haven’t heard Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ 2009 song “Empire State of Mind,” you would be lying. The unofficial anthem of New York City, one can hear it crossing terminals at JFK Airport. Any millennial worth their weight in rap has this on their top-10 list of the early aughts. And now, Jay-Z can sit back and revel in the song going Platinum a whopping nine times. Going Certified Platinum today, June 28, 2023, it took the track almost 14 years to move nine million units.
“Empire State of Mind” had momentum from the jump. Jay-Z dropped the single on September 1, 2009, ten days before the eight-year anniversary of 9/11. The track went Gold and Platinum in two months. By April 2010, it had gone triple-Platinum. The higher the honor goes, the tougher it is to reach that benchmark. So to see “Empire State” do it nine times is quite impressive. For Jay-Z, this is nothing surprising; most of his lyrics comment on him being the best rapper to do it, and this is just further proof.
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Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, And The Legacy Of “Empire State”
Originally, “Empire State of Mind” had Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell-Ulepic on the hook. In fact, they were the writers of the first version of the song. They had to submit the track twice to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation before Jay decided to keep the chorus, switch up the verse, and record it himself. Roc Nation asked Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic if they thought anyone else was more appropriate for the chorus. They suggested Alicia Keys, and Jay considered Mary J. Blige as well. But once he heard the piano loop, he knew Keys was the right choice.
“Empire State of Mind” was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five straight weeks, making it the first Jay-Z track to top the charts with him as a lead artist. Keeping with the “State of Mind” theme, a la Billy Joel and Nas, the song’s title is a reference to the Empire State Building. The “Excelsior” state and the city that never sleeps are grateful for such a powerful and indicative anthem, showcasing the culture behind one of America’s greatest cities.
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