Dead Presidents (song)
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| “Dead Presidents” | |||||
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| Single by Jay-Z from the album Reasonable Doubt |
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| B-side | "Ain't No nigga" | ||||
| Released | February 20, 1996 | ||||
| Format | 12-inch single, Cassette, CD, Vinyl | ||||
| Genre | East Coast hip hop Gangsta rap Mafioso rap | ||||
| Label | Roc-A-Fella Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Shawn Carter David Willis Lonnie Liston Smith Nasir Jones Peter Phillips |
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| Producer | Ski | ||||
| Jay-Z singles chronology | |||||
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"Dead Presidents" is the debut single released in promotion by rapper Jay-Z's from his debut album Reasonable Doubt. Its lyrics about the drug dealing underworld have made it a hip hop classic and a staple in Jay-Z's collection of tracks. The song's producer Ski samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace" for the track's melody and "Oh My God (Remix)" for its percussion. The single was a commercial success as indicated by its RIAA certification as a gold single in June of 1996.
The actual single "Dead Presidents" does not appear on Jay-Z's debut album, but instead "Dead Presidents II" does. "Dead Presidents II" has the same beat and chorus as the original, but different lyrics. This version can be found on Jay-Z's 2002 greatest hits compilation Chapter One: Greatest Hits.
Steve Juon of RapReviews.com considers the "Dead Presidents" music video—directed by Abdul Malik Abbott—to be of "movie quality."[1]
"Dead Presidents II" was voted #16 in the 100 Greatest Rap Songs.
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[edit] Feud with Nas
The song's chorus uses a vocal sample from the "The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)" by Nas. Nas was originally invited to re-rap the chorus for Jay-Z and appear in the track's music video, but he declined. Some view these two actions as the foundation of their feud. [2]
When Nas and Jay-Z feuded directly, both rappers discussed the merit of the sampling in the song in individual "diss" records. In Nas' track "Stillmatic Freestyle," he says:
You show off, I count dough off when you sample my voice.
Jay-Z responds to Nas' claims in his song "Takeover" with the lines:
So yeah, I sampled your voice; you was usin' it wrong: you made it a hot line, I made it a hot song. And you ain't get a coin nigga you was gettin' fucked then; I know who I paid God, Serchlite Publishing.
The line was later used in Cassidy's 2005 hit "I'm a Hustla":
Yeah I used dude's voice props to the boy Shawn, He made it a hot line, I made it a hot song.
In 2005 at Jay-Z's I Declare War concert, he performed "Dead Presidents II" with Nas officially ending their feud.
[edit] Production
In a YouTube video named "Ski Beatz - the making of Jay-Z's Dead Presidents" [3] Ski explains how he filtered out the high frequency content of the melody sample (using a lowpass filter) to achieve a more prominent bass line without replaying one in. Ski's Beats, Rhymes & Samples mixtape contains the Q-Tip remix in the context of a "Dead Presidents" sample, because the original "The World is Yours" had altered lyrics in connection to the sampled vocals.
[edit] References
- ^ Juon, Steve. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Review at RapReviews.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2007.
- ^ Escobartheory.
- ^ "Roc-A-Biz: Ski Beatz". HNNLive.com. January 7, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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