Empire State of Mind

"Empire State of Mind" is a song by hip hop artist Jay-Z, featuring guest vocals of R&B and soul singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. The song was released as the third single from Jay-Z's eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 on his Roc Nation label. The song is an anthemic ode to both artists' native New York City, featuring a sample of "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments. Jay-Z and Keys performed the song at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as the American Music Awards of 2009. It is also the plate music for New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, and it was used in the trailer for Sex and the City 2.

The single has been commercially successful in the United States. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jay-Z's first number-one single on the chart as a lead artist. "Empire State of Mind" reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on October 4, 2009. The song also reached number 2 in the Irish Singles Chart on September 25, 2009 with no official release.

Alicia Keys has recorded an answer song to 'Empire State of Mind' titled 'Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down', it features on the album The Element of Freedom and has charted within the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart.

"Empire State of Mind" is an anthemic hip hop song with influences of electropop and orchestra pop. It features a sample of "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments. The title is a reference to New York's eponym "The Empire State", and may also be a reference to Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind". Jay-Z's former rival Nas also titled one of his songs "N.Y. State of Mind". The song is an anthem to Jay-Z's hometown, New York City. The song also mentions NBA superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and teams New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

"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 would trade that for anything right now.' Before we left the hotel that night, we knew we would write a song about our city."

It was reported that fellow New York MC Nas, who himself has a song called "N.Y. State of Mind", was supposed to be featured on the song but declined because of a busy touring schedule, an ongoing divorce case with his ex-wife Kelis, and his ongoing work with Damian Marley on their collaboration album titled Distant Relatives.

Jay-Z stated in an interview that after hearing the piano loops, he immediately thought of Keys and wanted her to be featured. Keys recalls, "There was a first phone call, and Jay hit me up like, 'I feel like I have this record that's going to be the anthem of New York.'" Keys later recorded the sequel of the song called "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", which is included on Keys' fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom. Contrary to previous reports, the sequel does not feature Jay-Z.

The song received airplay from numerous radio stations and gained a huge number of downloads, specifically after the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was released as the third single from the album to Rhythmic Airplay on October 19, 2009, the same day as Alicia Keys's single "Doesn't Mean Anything". The song was featured on episode 12 of the third season of Gossip Girl titled "The Debarted". It was also featured on WWE Monday Night Raw for a Madison Square Garden episode shot there.