Jay-Z’s Bid for King of the Hill
JAY-Z started spreadin ‘the news in September and since then has taken every opportunity important to remember: he is a candidate for a new anthem of New York and wants our votes.
The song, “Empire State of Mind”, is broken down roughly 50 percent of memory-Jay-Z blows to the chest ( “I’m the new Sinatra”), 30 percent travelogue tourist-friendly ( “Statue Liberty, World Trade alive “) and the rest a glorious hook Alicia Keys. If you did not see him do it at Madison Square Garden on September 11, or at the MTV Video Music Awards, two days later, or at Yankee Stadium for Game 2 of World Series, then perhaps recently caught love Letter to the skyscrapers of video, or heard blasting from a car somewhere.
As Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York Yankees, whose victories last week seemed almost inevitable conclusions, Jay-Z is the kind of invincible New York archetype, however the rest campaigns for dominance. And with “Empire State of Mind” that photography is not only popularity but also for a symbolic crown the king of music in New York. His boast of being the new Sinatra is not an accident, or the lines that follow: “Since I’ve done here,” he raps, you can do anywhere. ”
It takes more than shout-outs to Spike Lee, however, a hymn to New York – a song that embodies the spirit of the city and burning in the collective consciousness, for stadium sing along and movie soundtracks . However, in 2009, but Jay-Z could take place if he can carry it out at all?
To some extent, “Empire State of Mind” fit with other taxes big time New York. Since the early success Rodgers-Hart “Manhattan” (as in “I’ll Take Manhattan …”), or” New York, New York, “the musical” On the Town “(” The Bronx is up and Battery down “), enjoys a panoramic, postcard of the city, jumping from milestone to milestone away.
Jay-Z, the opening lines to create an adventure in geography and class, while at the same time, rooting as hard hit good faith: “I am to Brooklyn, I’m now at the Tribeca / Just off De Niro, but I’ll be forever hood. The video, directed by Hype Williams, enters the state iconography, with quick jump cuts in the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, the Bull of Wall Street and so on.
New York is all about scale, from the horizon to the ambitions that box, so “Sinatra New York, New York” is the subject par excellence. It’s just me: “A king number one, top of the list, of the Hill” – a song about the urge to do something big, nothing. Also, “Empire State of Mind” contains perhaps the gutsiest lines ever sung in the presence of Derek Jeter: “I took the Yankees cap more famous than a Yankee can be.” (Mr. Jeter, apparently, was not offended: often used as the theme song of his at-bat.)
Jay-Z/Sinatra The link is not as preposterous. Both grew up poor on the outskirts of New York – Sinatra in Hoboken, Jay-Z’s Marcy Projects in Brooklyn – and made a number one through mastery of the craft, business intelligence and exploitation of its own balance hyper – male. Theirs is the story of the Bad Boy makes it very, very good, that through the breezes of high society style with a stunningly glamorous woman on his arm, yet never loses its edge street smart.
Both also have known better than most pop stars how to continually raise the game of his fame. Sinatra had passed its peak in 1980 when he released “New York, New York” – written by John Kander and Fred Ebb for the 1977 film by Martin Scorsese the same title, and first sung by Liza Minnelli – But the song became a success at a level that graphics can not be registered. It was quickly adopted by the Yankees and has long been played after every home game, a concert in 1987, Sinatra as “the national anthem.”
In 2009, Jay-Z is greater than ever, but also needs an ever larger. Last year he signed a landmark 10 years with Live Nation, the giant concert. An estimated value of $ 150 million, gives an exceptional amount of control over every aspect of his career, from travel records to product promotions. But with the stakes enormous, also made a career need to stardom, and since making the deal Jay-Z has been remaking itself as a genre at the intersection of populism.
In the All Points West festival in Jersey City this summer, for example, made the Beastie Boys’ No Sleep Till Brooklyn “which could be read as a homage, a clever game for further appeal, or both. To celebrate his new album “The Blueprint 3″ (Roc Nation / Atlantic), was held a benefit concert on Sept. 11 for families of fallen police and firefighters. He has done all interviews with “Oprah” on Swedish TV, telling his backstory and explain diplomatically gently why has aimed Sinatra. “It’s always good to compare people to look at,” he said in an interview.
But there is a basic explanation of this new rival: If you are the king of rap, and has already reached all the cards, beat all the other MC’s, and even run a major record company, what is the next challenge ? Where to go? Answer: You start reinforces the pantheon of heroes, thus influencing their way to his Kingdom. And it seems to work pretty well: “The Blueprint 3″ has sold 1.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and after eight weeks is still in the Top 10.
Impersonating Sinatra, however, could be difficult. “New York, New York” is built around a handful of memorable phrases ( “I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps”), which resonate with a universality perfect for a baseball stadium. Ms. Keys supplies ingredient in “Empire State of Mind”, singing a little trite slogans ( “These streets will make you feel brand new”) in a big voice, enthusiastic. However, like all the songs from Jay-Z, “Empire” is, ultimately, only about Jay-Z. And while his personality can fill Yankee Stadium more convincing than any other pop star, 50,000 fans would ever have the opportunity, or memory, reciting, “Say what” Ty-Ty, still drinking Mai Tais / court Sittin ‘, Knicks and Nets give me high-five “?
Jay-Z is not simply a propagandist, however, “Empire State of Mind” also explores the dark side of the mythology of the city. His last verse reminiscent of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, with stories of “good girls” who arrive by bus and quickly becomes corrupted, and “players” who are slaves to drugs.
However, Jay-Z knows that the campaign, even when singing about New York, a little help from Hollywood: he let the last verse in Yankee Stadium.
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