“Empire State Of Mind” by Jay-Z with Alicia Keys

"Empire State of Mind" was the third single from The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z's 11th album, in 2009, and it began life as somebody else's valentine to New York. Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell-Ulepic wrote it about their hometown, got a cool reception from Roc Nation, then resubmitted it to Jay-Z, who held onto the sung New York hook, rewrote the verses and cut it. Hunte originally sang that hook herself but suggested Alicia Keys; Mary J. Blige was in the frame too, until Jay-Z heard the piano loop and picked Keys.

Al Shux produced it around a sample of the Moments' "Love on a Two-Way Street", all sweep and pounding piano. It spent five weeks atop the Hot 100, his first number one as lead artist and the last of the decade, and won Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.