Song · Jay-Z
“Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” by Jay-Z
From the album Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life (1998)
“Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” by Jay-Z appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2021 and 2025. It was first released in 1998 on the album Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life. Its best result is #199 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #452 of the '90s.
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Jay-Z raided a stage musical for "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)", a single from his third album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, released on Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam in 1998. The 45 King built the track on a pitch-shifted sample of "It's the Hard Knock Life" from the 1977 musical Annie, vocals and all, and Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin share the writing credit with Jay-Z and the producer. Paul J. Falcone recorded it and DURO mixed it.
It became the most commercially successful single Jay-Z had released up to then, climbing to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and into the top ten across much of Europe, as well as in Canada and New Zealand. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance, and it was his first brush with Annie: years later he produced the 2014 film version.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 842 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2023 | 441 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 199 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
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