 Genius Meanings
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JAY-Z – U Don't Know
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In “U Don’t Know” Jay-Z explains his monetary success in both the drug and rap games. Providing the blueprint for the marriage of soul-sampling and heavy bass, it is recognized as
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JAY-Z (Ft. M.O.P.) – U Don't Know (Remix)
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As Just Blaze tells it:
“I always wanted to make [U Don’t Know] bigger and better, and make the drums hit harder, and the bass more in your face. I always say to myself, ‘I wish I
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JAY-Z – Kill Jay Z
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“Kill Jay Z” is the opening track from Jay’s 13th studio album, 4:44. In an iHeart Radio interview JAY-Z described the song as a killing of his ego. Throughout the song he brings
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JAY-Z – Don't You Know
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“Don’t You Know” is a 2002 song by Jay-Z that found a retail home on the soundtrack to the Roc-A-Fella Records film Paid in Full.
Produced by frequent collaborator Just Blaze, it
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JAY-Z – You Must Love Me
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On this song from Vol 1 Jay-Z reflects and apologizes to his mother for his behavior as a child, his brother who he shot and an ex-girlfriend who smuggled drugs for him.
It
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JAY-Z (Ft. Faith Evans & The Notorious B.I.G.) – A Dream
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Jay-Z and Faith Evans pay a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. on the Kanye West-produced opening track to Jay’s 2002 album The Blueprint²: The Gift & The Curse.
The song samples
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JAY-Z – Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
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The song that made Jay-Z a superstar. Famously sampling “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from the Annie movie (1982), Jay raps about his rags-to-riches story (it’s slightly different than
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JAY-Z (Ft. Rick Ross) – FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
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Jay-Z and Rick Ross team up for a braggadocious rap song, highlighting the luxurious lifestyles they are able to live as a result of their successful rap careers. The track’s
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JAY-Z (Ft. John Legend) – Do U Wanna Ride
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“Do U Wanna Ride” is dedicated to Jay-Z’s close friend Emory “Vegas” Jones. Jay wrote the song while Emory was away in prison to express his thoughts and feelings on his situation
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JAY-Z (Ft. Pharrell Williams) – I Know
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Third and final single from Jay-Z’s tenth studio album, American Gangster. Produced by The Neptunes, featuring Pharrell on the hook. The whole song is an extended metaphor between
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JAY-Z – What More Can I Say
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In the “street single” off of The Black Album, Jay contemplates the retirement he had promised himself after the album’s release. He also uses this song to boast (though many of
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The Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy
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“Juicy” is the first single from Big’s debut album, Ready to Die, and is the track that established him as a titan.
It was one of the first mainstream rap songs about a rapper’s
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JAY-Z (Ft. Beyoncé) – '03 Bonnie & Clyde
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In their first musical collaboration, Jay-Z and Beyoncé put their own spin on 2Pac’s classic “Me And My Girlfriend”, only with a twist: while 2Pac was referring to his gun, Jay’s
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DJ Khaled (Ft. Fridayy, JAY-Z, John Legend, Lil Wayne & Rick Ross) – GOD DID
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In what is the most vintage DJ Khaled posse cut in a fair amount of time, “GOD DID” is the album-titled track for Khaled’s thirteenth studio album.
On the track, the artists
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SZA – Nobody Gets Me
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“Nobody Gets Me” is a break-up ballad that encapsulates SZA’s feelings through the last moments of her relationship with her ex-fiancé, who was the only person at the time that she
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JAY-Z – Song Cry
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“Song Cry” is an emotional ballad in which Jay describes the pain of a long-term relationship ending, caused by his professional schedule and personal philandering. Since his pride
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JAY-Z – Trouble
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The 11th track of Kingdom Come, some interpreted this track as referencing Beyonce due to the final 4 bars of the second verse.
Actually, it’s a primer for the next track, “Dig a
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Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint Freestyle
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Nicki Minaj has been toying with the idea of releasing a new mixtape since she dropped The Pinkprint album back in 2014. While she has thrown out a few guest verses here and there
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JAY-Z – Tom Ford
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Jay Z’s “Tom Ford” includes a sample from M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls,” the lyrics of which follow the same cadence and flow.
Get back, get down
Pull me closer if you think you can hang
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JAY-Z – D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
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The Blueprint 3’s first single was a straight-up attack on the overuse of auto-tune in the music industry. The title is a play on the term D.O.A. which traditionally means “Dead on
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Kanye West – Heartless
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“Heartless” was released as a promotional single 20 days before the official release of 808s and Heartbreak, and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts while topping
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JAY-Z – Dead Presidents
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“Dead Presidents” was the first single released for Jay-Z’s debut album Reasonable Doubt. This version was used for the music video but didn’t make the cut for the album; however
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JAY-Z (Ft. Damian Marley) – Bam
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In contrast to “Kill Jay Z” which features Jay seeking to kill his ego, “Bam” finds him acknowledging its importance to his success. The patois word that gives the song its title
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JAY-Z (Ft. Pharrell Williams) – I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
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The lead single from Jay-Z’s fifth studio album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia was produced by The Neptunes and features a chorus sung by Pharrell Williams. Shay Haley and Omillio
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Eminem – Rap God
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“Rap God” is Eminem’s braggadocious ode to himself and his career. Over its six-minute run-time, he references comic books, throws back to his old songs, and raps crazily fast.
In
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Drake (Ft. JAY-Z) – Talk Up
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On “Talk Up,” Drake discusses how he came up from his childhood, and what successes are present in his life today; JAY-Z references his experiences in the streets and the rap game.
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R.E.M. – Losing My Religion
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“Losing My Religion” was released as a single in February 1991, in advance of R.E.M.’s album, Out of Time, where it appeared as the second track.
It became R.E.M’s biggest hit
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Central Cee – Doja
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“Doja” is Central Cee’s first single since the release of his February 2022 mixtape 23 as well as a string of music videos from the mixtape. The track’s beat samples Eve and Gwen
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JAY-Z – Anything
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“Anything” is a Jay-Z single found on Beanie Sigel’s 2000 album The Truth. It was also was included as a bonus track on the European version of Jay-Z’s Vol. 3… Life and Times of S
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David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – I'm Good (Blue)
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“I’m Good (Blue)” is a song by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha, becoming their second collaboration to feature only them together, with their first being 2014’s “Yesterday.” An early
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JAY-Z – People Talkin'
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“People Talkin'” is a track recorded during Hov’s Blueprint-era in October 2001. After being dropped from the classic album’s tracklist it would have an official release as a bonus
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JAY-Z (Ft. Justin Timberlake) – Heaven
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Much like No Church In The Wild from the Kanye/Jigga collab LP Watch The Throne, this track explores themes of religion, philosophy and existential meaning.
This song was
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Amerie – 1 Thing
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“1 Thing” was featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 Will Smith film “Hitch.”
The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s R&B chart for a week in April
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Eminem – Like Toy Soldiers
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Sampling a children’s choir from Martika’s “Toy Soldiers” for the chorus, “Like Toy Soldiers” finds Eminem emphasizing the importance of friendship and his duty/respect to those he
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Pusha T – If You Know You Know
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On the opening track of his 2018 album, DAYTONA, Pusha T touches on a subject that he has been talking about most of his career: crack/cocaine. King Push brags about how he is on
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Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – It Takes Two
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“It Takes Two” is a song by New York hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top 40 hit single was later certified platinum by the RIAA. The song samples heavily from
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Kanye West (Ft. JAY-Z) – Jail
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“Jail” is the triumphant return of Kanye West and JAY-Z, also known as The Throne. The duo has now made amends after their once brotherly relationship stood still. This is the
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Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
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“Take Me Out” is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album in the United Kingdom on 12
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Nas – N.Y. State of Mind
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Nas displays complex lyricism with his “N.Y. State of Mind” over a track from Gang Starr’s DJ Premier. The chorus samples a Rakim line from the track “Mahogany,” which is fitting
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Beyoncé (Ft. JAY-Z) – Drunk in Love
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Beyoncé brings her husband Jay Z aboard for their first collaboration since 2013’s “Part II (On the Run)” continuation of their first collab “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde”.
“Drunk” seems to
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Pop Smoke (Ft. Lil Tjay) – Mood Swings
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“Mood Swings“ sees Pop Smoke reuniting with Bronx rapper Lil Tjay for a slow-moving track. The two take turns dropping references to their women and expensive items to boast about
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JAY-Z – Can I Live Freestyle
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This is a legendary Jay-Z freestyle that displays his supreme language consciousness and elite word play. A retired Hov delivered the bars during a spontaneous visit to Funkmaster
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JAY-Z – Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love) - Album Version (Edited)
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[Jay-Z] / Uh, uhh, listen / First the Fat Boys break up, now every day I wake up / Somebody got a problem with Hov' / Whassup y'all niggas all fed up cause I got a little cheddar
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Drake – Best I Ever Had
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“Best I Ever Had” is Drake’s break-out single from his So Far Gone EP. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for two Grammys Awards—one for Best Rap Song and
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Ice Cube – No Vaseline
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“No Vaseline” is Ice Cube’s diss track about his former group N.W.A and their manager, Jerry Heller.
Cube left N.W.A in 1989 over financial issues, and the group took shots at him
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Nelly (Ft. Kelly Rowland) – Dilemma
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A hugely popular song from 2002 which appeared on both Nelly’s Nellyville and Kelly Rowland’s Simply Deep.
This song is arguably the most successful, ‘biggest’ song of both Nelly’
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