Empire State Of Mind by Jay Z & Alicia Keys song meanings, music video interpretations, comments and interesting facts can be found out below.
Song Lyrics
[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
Yea I’m out that Brooklyn, now I’m down in TriBeCa
right next to Deniro, but I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra, and… since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yea, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicano’s
right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald’s
Took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.
catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them Pastry’s
Cruisin’ down 8th St., off white Lexus
drivin’ so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me, I’m out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say whattup to Ty-Ty, still sippin’ mai tai’s
sittin’ courtside, Knicks & Nets give me high five
Nigga I be Spike’d out, I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude that I’m most defiinitely from….
[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
Newww Yooorrrkkkk, I’m becomin’ where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do
out of Neww Yooorrrrkkk
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let’s hear it for New York, New York,
Neeeew Yooorrrkkkk
[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain’t a Crip though
but I got a gang of niggas walkin’ with my clique though
Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin’ rock
Afrika Bambataa shit, home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
for foreigners it ain’t for, they act like they forgot how to act
8 million stories, out there in it naked
City is a pity, half of y’all won’t make it
Me, I got a plug, Special Ed “I Got It Made”
If Jesus payin’ Lebron, I’m payin’ Dwayne Wade
Three dice cee-lo, three card molly
Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
Long live the Kingdome, I’m from the Empire St. that’s
[Chorus:]
[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
so they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is
lined with casualties, who sip to life casually
then gradually become worse, don’t bite the apple leaf
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you’re in style
End of the winter gets cold, en vogue, with your skin out
City of sin, it’s a pity on the wind
Good girls gone bad, the city’s filled with them
Mami took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city, you’re a virgin
And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin’ like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien
[Chorus:]
[Bridge: Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city
Street lights, big dreams, all lookin’ pretty
No place in the world that could compare
Put your lighters in the air
Everybody say “yeaaaa, yeaaa, yeaaa, yeaaaa”
[Chorus:]
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Song Comment #1
Song Meaning
“Empire State of Mind” was originally created by singer-songwriter-producer Angela Hunte, a Brooklyn native, along with writing partner Jane’t “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic. Hunte grew up in the same building — 560 State Street, an address which is mentioned in the song — where Jay-Z lived. However, they never collaborated on a song before.
The creation of the track was inspired during an overseas trip of Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic to London in February, both feeling nostalgic. Hunte was sick during that summer while Sewell-Ulepic’s mother was ill. Hunte recalls, “We said to ourselves, ‘we complain so much about New York — about the busy streets, about the crowds and the pushing, about the subway system — but I wouldn’t trade that for anything right now.’ Before we left the hotel that night, we knew we would write a song about our city.”
Reviewing Lyrics One Line at a Time
“8th Street”: It’s known to be where St. Mark’s Place is (which of course is in NY), which is where urban teenagers hang out, according to Wikipedia.
“BK from Texas”: Beyonce Knowles is from Texas.
“Bed-Stuy”: Short for Bedford-Stuyvesant, it’s a predominantly black neighborhood found in the center of NY.
“Home of that boy Biggie”: Yep, Biggie Smalls. Also from Brooklyn.
“Say what up to Ta-ta”: It’s Ty Ty, who is Jay-Z’s nickname to Tyron Smith, who is his “BFF”.
“Mai Tais”: Drinks. I don’t know the relevance to NY, but he’s probably mentioning it because its one of his favourite drinks.
“Nigga, I be Spiked out/I could trip a referee”: He could get front row seats to a game and be so close to the players that he could literally trip a referee.
“Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game”: OG referes to Juan Perez, President of Roc-La-Familia, and co-owner of the 40/40 club.
“Corners where we selling rocks/Afrika Bambaataa sh*t”: I think he’s referring to the fact that they’re from the Bronx and they were popular to listen to during the breakout of the hip hop scene when he was growing up.
“Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back”: He names all types of the most common transportation in NY (yellow cab – taxi, gypsy cab – illegal taxi, dollar cab – one dollar taxi).
“8 million stories out there and they’re naked”: Refers to the 1948 film “The Naked City” with the quote: “There are eight million stories in the Naked City; this has been one of them.”
“3 Dice Ceelo/3 Dice Marley” – It’s 3 Card Molly. Both refers to the stereotypical “alley” games.
“Lights is blinding/ Girls need blinders” – Just referring to the chorus about the “big lights” being everywhere in NY. Lights go on during the night time, where girls would be on the streets for A. prostitution or B. night time clubbing.
“Or they can step out of bounds / Quick, the side lines is blind with casualities” – They could get caught up with the lights (which also refers to fame, the in-crowd as he points out a little later). I’m not sure about the casualty part.
“Who sip the light casually, then gradually become worse” – The fame can become an addiction.
“Hail Mary to the city, you’re a virgin / And Jesus can’t save you / Life starts when the church ends” – Still referring to girls chasing fame in the city, where “virgin” means the innocence they have before they get into the real world.
“MDMA got you feeling like a champion” – MDMA is better known as ecstasy. Could be that the girls, who have lost their innocence while chasing fame, are officially in the “in-crowd” by doing drugs and such.
“The city never sleeps, better slip you a Ambien” – Ambien is a drug for people who can’t sleep.
The music video was filmed on October 1, 2009, in Harlem, Times Square, and around Ground Zero of New York City, and shows Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Ebbets Field. The video was directed by Hype Williams.