Jenny from the Block

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“Jenny from the Block”
CD 1 cover
Single by Jennifer Lopez featuring Jadakiss and Styles P from the album This Is Me... Then
Released	August 2002
Format	CD single, 12" single
Recorded	The Hit Factory, New York City, New York; The Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; March 2002
Genre	Pop, R&B, hip hop
Length	3:08
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo, Jennifer Lopez, Troy Oliver, Lawrence Parker, Simon Sterlin, Jose Fernando Arbex Miro
Producer	Troy Oliver, Cory Rooney, Jean Claude "Poke" Olivier, Samuel Barnes
Jennifer Lopez singles chronology
"I'm Gonna Be Alright" (Track Masters Remix)/"Alive" (2002)	"Jenny from the Block" (2002)	"All I Have" (2003)
Alternate cover
CD 2 cover

"Jenny from the Block" is a pop/R&B/hip hop song written by American singer-songwriter Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo, Jennifer Lopez, Jean Claude "Poke" Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Lawrence Parker, Simon Sterlin, and Jose Fernando Arbex Miro for Lopez's third studio album, This Is Me... Then (2002). It was produced by Troy Oliver Cory Rooney, and was remixed by Poke & Tone^[1] and features rappers Styles P and Jadakiss. Released as the album's lead single in the autumn of 2002, the song reached number one in Argentina and Canada, and entered the top ten on the majority of all other charts it appeared on. The song also refers to Lopez's first two albums "On the 6" and "J.Lo"

[edit] History

The song attempts to contrast the life of Lopez growing up in The Bronx, New York City, with her later life as a celebrity. She claims that despite her success, she is still "Jenny from the block", which had some critics deriding both the song and her as being "hypocritical". The track's instrumentals sample Boogie Down Productions's 1987 "South Bronx" and The Beatnuts "Watch Out Now", which in turn samples Enoch Light's version of Herbie Mann's 1974 "Hi-Jack". It's opening passage of "Children grow and women producing, men go working some go stealing, everyone's got to make a living" is borrowed from the African Dreams song "Make a Living".

Faith Hill would reprise the exact same theme in a country music context, in her 2005 hit "Mississippi Girl"; many observers compared that song to "Jenny from the Block".^[2]

Both Gwen Stefani and Fergie reprised this theme with the 2007 songs "Orange County Girl" and "Glamorous", respectively.

[edit] Music video

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (April 2008).

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in the music video

The music video, directed by Francis Lawrence, shows how publicized her relationship with Ben Affleck was, and it is meant to emphasize her Bronx roots. Ironically, Styles P and Jadakiss are from Queens and Yonkers, respectively.

The video begins with an intro: Lopez in her underwear and tanktop sitting in her couch, then she goes to get dressed and time passes, then comes back and sits on the couch again and answers the phone, then Lopez and Affleck are seen sitting on the couch with friends, laughing, then Lopez is seen removing her earrings, then cuddling and kissing Ben Affleck on the couch, then is seen getting up from the couch.

The video then starts: Lopez is seen from her window listening to her iPod, dancing and later jumping on the bed, then we see another scene featuring Lopez on the streets wearing beige pants and top, and behind her you can see the the subway bus moving, also Styles P and Jadakiss are seen singing with her there, another scene we witness is Lopez on a boat removing her robe to reveal a racy pink bikini, she's seen lying there with 2 topless girlfriends. Another scene is Lopez walking her dog, and then we see Lopez getting out of the car with Affleck, and then they sit to have lunch, Lopez has something in her eye and Affleck helps her remove it, then another scene is seen, where Lopez is in the studio recording the song, and she also drinks water; and looks outside the window, then we see Lopez in the car while Affleck fills it with gas, then they're seen looking at a magazine and after that kissing, a new scene surfaces, Lopez in nothing but a white trench coat and tiny underwear with her hair in a bun and with red lipstick, dancing erotically, while she's being filmed, then she's seen taking a break and her make artists are putting perfume on her, and she's seen laughing, then she's seen with Affleck in the pool, he pulls her up to reveal an erotic blue swimsuit in which her buttocks are fully visible, then she's seen splashing the water. After that we see Lopez jumping on a bed and then scratches her nose, then she's seen in a jewelry store, she tries a watch on and buys it, the store clerk wraps it up, puts it in a bag, and gives it to Lopez, then she's seen getting out of her house to find out lots of paparazzi taking pictures of her, she's surprised, then she's seen sucking on a popsicle, and then talking on her mobile, she's also seen in the car, then Styles P and Jadakiss do their rap, then she's seen in a glamorous white coat during a photoshoot, then Affleck is laying outside on a chair. Lopez comes to see him, then goes on top of him, and they kiss and cuddle, then Affleck is seen on a balcony, then Lopez gives him the watch she bought earlier, revealing she bought it for him, and kisses him, then we go back to the pink bikini scene, to see Affleck with Lopez on the boat, we see Affleck touching and caressing Lopez's buttocks, then kissing it, then removing her bikini underwear fiercely, then Lopez is seen topless in her apartment, then with Affleck helping her putting on her earrings, then the video ends.

There is also a second video where Styles P and Jadakiss' raps are cut out. Instead, when in the original video Jadakiss and Styles P do their rap, the video changes to Jennifer Lopez and a band performing the chorus of "Loving You" in a building. Then Jennifer sees the paparazzi watching them perform, and the video cuts back to "Jenny From The Block".

[edit] Track listings

Major formats released for "Jenny from the Block":

UK CD #1 (673357)
(Released: November 19, 2002)

1. "Jenny from the Block" [Rap a Cappella] – 2:59
2. "Alive" [Thunderpuss Radio Mix] – 4:18
3. "Play" [Mix] – 8:19

UK CD #2 (673357)
(Released: November 19, 2002)

1. "Jenny from the Block" [Track Masters Remix] – 3:09
2. "Jenny from the Block" [Album Version] – 3:08
3. "Love Don't Cost a Thing" [HQ2 Vocal Club]

Australia CD Single (673281)
(Released: November 26, 2002)

1. "Jenny from the Block" [Track Masters Remix] – 3:09
2. "Jenny from the Block" [Rap a Cappella] – 2:59
3. "Jenny from the Block" [Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit] – 2:50
4. "Alive" [Thunderpuss Club Mix] – 8:56

[edit] Chart performance

On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Lopez entered with this single at number sixty-seven the week of October 12, 2002. Six weeks later, "Jenny from the Block" had already reached the top ten, finally peaking at number three the week of December 7, 2002, where it remained for four consecutive weeks, stuck behind Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and Missy Elliott's "Work It".

[edit] References