Genius Meanings
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JAY-Z & Kanye West (Ft. Frank Ocean) – Made in America
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Originally titled ‘Sweet Baby Jesus,’ here we have Kanye, Jay, and R&B crooner Frank Ocean collaborating on a number that sums up the superstars' feelings about black history
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JAY-Z – Somewhereinamerica
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This song is about racism still being alive in America, but “Somewhereinamerica” there are people of all races embracing African American culture. As Hov has said before, it is
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JAY-Z & Kanye West – Gotta Have It
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A lecture on success, money, the desire to get them both; and how you deal with those who try to take them from you. The song is one of many on Watch The Throne that addresses
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JAY-Z – Legacy
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The song is an upbeat track which discusses the legacy for the Carter family name. It goes on to discuss members of the family and what they have done in the family name and how
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JAY-Z & Kanye West (Ft. Otis Redding) – Otis
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The second single from Watch the Throne, “Otis” has Yeezus flipping a portion of a classic Otis Redding track into an entire instrumental. He formed the track after his mentor No I
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JAY-Z & Kanye West – Murder to Excellence
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“Murder To Excellence” is the thematic centerpiece of Watch The Throne. The song, like the album, contains lyrical expressions of the spectrum of black experience and blackness in
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JAY-Z (Ft. Alicia Keys) – Empire State of Mind
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The Blueprint 3’s third single is a love song to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' home city of New York, which is also known as “the Empire State.” The title alludes to the Billy Joel ballad
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JAY-Z (Ft. Frank Ocean) – Caught Their Eyes
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This is the fourth track off of 4:44, featuring Frank Ocean. Frank Ocean is no stranger to collaborating with JAY-Z as he previously appeared on “No Church in the Wild,” “Made in
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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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Beyoncé (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) – AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (Remix)
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Beyoncé surprise-drops an eclectic remix of her song “AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” off of her Grammy-winning 2022 album, RENAISSANCE, featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
This is
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JAY-Z & Kanye West (Ft. Frank Ocean & The-Dream) – No Church in the Wild
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“No Church in the Wild” is an existential renunciation of traditional, organized religious worship. Its theme is reminiscent of a famous line delivered by Cassius in Shakespeare’s
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JAY-Z (Ft. Eminem) – Renegade
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“Renegade” serves as a “fuck you” to critics who said JAY-Z had forgotten his ghetto roots with his new found riches, and moralizers who said Eminem was a bad influence on children
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JAY-Z – Picasso Baby
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTaOtTScD2Q&t=4m30s
Contains a sample of Adrian Younge’s “Sirens”.
https://twitter.com/S_C_/statuses/354343299542294529
On June 10th, Jay-Z
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JAY-Z – Pray
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“Pray” is the second track from Jay-Z’s tenth studio album American Gangster.
In the track Hov delivers a semi-biographical narrative, which largely emphasizes the context in
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JAY-Z (Ft. Nas) – Success
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This song is off Jay-Z’s 2007 album American Gangster. Inspired by the movie of the same name, the album uses the life arc of main character Frank Lucas – the humble beginnings as
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JAY-Z – The Story of O.J.
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The song title refers to O.J. Simpson, the former NFL running back who was accused and acquitted of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The trial
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JAY-Z (Ft. Frank Ocean) – Oceans
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In a video preview Jay explains the meaning behind the song. “It sounds like a celebration of where we are now on some big yacht, throwing champagne in the water,” he tells Rick
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Knowledge Drop: JAY-Z & Kanye West Had A Four-Day Argument Over Two Songs On ‘Magna Carta... Holy Grail’
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Kanye wanted “Holy Grail” & “Oceans” for their joint project, ‘Watch the Throne.’
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Pusha T (Ft. JAY-Z) – Drug Dealers Anonymous
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On “Drug Dealers Anonymous,” Pusha T and Jay Z deliver two stellar verses over an eerie DJ Dahi beat. Both MC’s heavily reference their former days as drug dealers and spit
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JAY-Z & Kanye West – New Day
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Produced by Kanye West and RZA, this song samples Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” It is an uncharacteristically personal and emotional song from Jay Z, in which both rappers speak to
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Reggie Ossé – Living inside and outside of the Hip Hop Revolution
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Originally given as a TEDx talk. Watch the whole speech on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPvrxs7HUXg
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Memphis Bleek (Ft. JAY-Z) – Dear Summer
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Produced by Just Blaze, “Dear Summer” is one of Jay-Z’s best efforts displaying his supreme language consciousness and elite word play. The first time Hov unleashed this verse was
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JAY-Z – American Dreamin'
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The introductory sample is taken from Marvin Gaye’s “Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again” (1976). It is also sampled in “1st Time” by Talib Kweli and Consequence.
Gaye, an influential
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JAY-Z (Ft. Gloria Carter) – Smile
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Smile is the third and longest track on JAY-Z’s 13th album, 4:44 at 4 minutes and 50 seconds.
Jay looks back onto bad memories and how they have helped him change his future for
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JAY-Z – Young Gifted And Black Freestyle [Mariah Carey Skit]
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From the only official mixtape released by Jay-Z, the S. Carter Collection, this is a freestyle over the legendary Big Daddy Kane’s “Young, Black, and Gifted” from his 1989 album
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Miley Cyrus – Party in the U.S.A.
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“Party in the U.S.A.” was co-written by English singer-songwriter Jessie J; she originally intended to sing it (listen to the leaked snippet of the demo version), but decided to
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JAY-Z – F.U.T.W
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The sample for this instrumental sounds similar to the sample in “OG” by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wIcu8ElZZqk
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JAY-Z – Sweet
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Diddy and co sample “Does Your Mama Know” by Rudy Love & The Family. The track runs parallel to the scene in American Gangster that shows Frank Lucas inviting his family to his new
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JAY-Z & Kanye West – That's My Bitch
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This drum-heavy, James Brown-sampling track is Jay & Kanye’s ‘old school’ track for their album Watch the Throne. They use this one to claim their stakes in the Hip Hop game – that
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JAY-Z & Kanye West (Ft. Mr. Hudson) – Why I Love You
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“Why I Love You” is the closing song of Watch the Throne. It deals with betrayal and the question of how you can keep admiring someone despite what they do to you.
Though names
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Pearl Jam (Ft. JAY-Z) – 99 Problems
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As retribution for being called for Jay Z’s Made in America festival, Pearl Jam decided to join the music of their song “W.M.A.” with “99 Problems” as Jay-Z appeared in their gig
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JAY-Z – D'Evils
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A meditation about how the desire for money and power corrupts the ghetto and all of its inhabitants, leading to violence and betrayal.
The song title means “da evils” but is
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JAY-Z & Kanye West – Primetime
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This track is called “Primetime” because No ID’s first name is “Dion” (and Deion Sanders' nickname is “Primetime”.. you follow?)
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JAY-Z (Ft. Travis Scott) – Crown
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“Crown” is a triumphant track from Magna Carta… Holy Grail that sees Jay-Z declaring himself the king of hip-hop music. The song marks the first official collaboration between Jay-
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JAY-Z – Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)
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“Momma Loves Me” is the first part of the Track “Blueprint”, which is the outro of Jay’s 6th studio album “The Blueprint”.
“The Blueprint” was certified double platinum as sales
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Meek Mill (Ft. The-Dream) – Young Black America
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The track finds Meek rapping about the challenges faced by a young African American growing up in the streets just “tryna get [their] coins up” from segregation to police brutality
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JAY-Z – This Life Forever
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“This Life Forever” is one of Jay-Z’s greatest Jay-Z musical efforts, sadly not known by the general public. It was recorded pre-Reasonable Doubt in 1995, but was left off his
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