“Get By” by Talib Kweli with Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Mos Def

"Get By" came off Quality, Talib Kweli's 2002 debut album, and when Rawkus sent it out as the third single in March 2003 it became his most successful solo hit, reaching 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 29 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Kanye West built it around a sample of Nina Simone's "Sinnerman", so Simone shares the writing credit with Kweli and West; Duane Eubanks adds trumpet, and Abby Dobson, Kendra Ross, Chinua Hawk, Vernetta Bobien and William "Na2" Taylor handle the backing vocals.

The remix blew it up into a posse cut, with Mos Def, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, West and Snoop Dogg all taking verses, and the video roamed New York, Chinatown and Times Square included, following low-income people of every background as they struggle to get by.

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