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"Jockin' Jay-Z" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, produced by Kanye West. Originally intended for inclusion on his eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3, the song didn't make the final track listing and remained a digital-only single until it was included as a b-side on various releases of the "Empire State of Mind" single. It samples "Dumb Girl" by Run-D.M.C. and first leaked on the internet in July 2008 – but with low quality sound. The mastered version was released in August 2008.

Background

Jay-Z debuted the song at a Kanye West show at Madison Square Garden in August 2008. West told the audience that he wanted to play a beat he'd been working on, and once it started, Jay-Z came out and rapped over it. Once the abridged version of song concluded, Jay-Z and West simultaneously struck b-boy stances. The track contains a vocal sample of "Dumb Girl" by Run-DMC. West came up with the idea of revamping Run's line, "I seen you jockin' J.C."

Oasis lyric war

The song's earliest form as previewed at Kanye West's Madison Square Garden show in August 2008 included the line "That bloke from Oasis said I couldn't play guitar, somebody should have told him I'm a fucking rock star" followed by the opening line to the Oasis song "Wonderwall". This was a response to a comment made by Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher in April 2008 when he suggested that a hip-hop headline act was wrong for the Glastonbury Festival. This set off a media-fueled storm of controversy. At Glastonbury Jay-Z performed an ironic version of Oasis's "Wonderwall". Jay-Z's reactions were reportedly described by an Oasis band member as like that of an eight-year-old girl. When Oasis later split due to a personality clash between Noel and Liam Gallagher, Jay-Z scored a point back by suggesting he would like to work with Liam.

Charts

Release history

References

1. "Jockin' Jay-Z" (Live at Madison Square Garden) Archived December 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. "Kanye West Explains 'Jockin' Jay-Z' Sample, Drops Exclusive Freestyle, More In Mixtape Monday". MTV Networks. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
3. Daniel Kreps (August 7, 2008). "Rolling Stone article". Rolling Stone article. Archived from the original on August 11, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
4. "PrefixMag". PrefixMag. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
5. "Who Sampled Who site". Whosampled.com. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
6. Paterson, Colin (April 14, 2008). "BBC report the Gallagher comments". BBC News. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
7. "NME report". NME. UK. April 14, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
8. Gregory, Jason. "Gem Archer interview". Gigwise.com. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
9. ^ "Clash Music". Clash Music. October 6, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
10. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
11. "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
12. "Jay-Z Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
13. "CHR – Available for Airplay Archive". FMQB. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2013.

• 2008 singles
• Jay-Z songs
• Song recordings produced by Kanye West
• Songs written by Kanye West
• Songs written by Jay-Z
• Songs written by Joseph Simmons
• 2008 songs
• Roc-A-Fella Records singles