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Dead Presidents (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "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 | 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 first single released in promotion of rapper Jay-Z's 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]
Contents |
The song's chorus uses a sample from the "The World Is Yours" 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 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.
In a YouTube video named Ski Beatz - the making of Jay'Z Dead [http://www.hhnlive.com/features/more/188 "Roc-A-Biz: Ski Beatz". HNNLive.com. January 7, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007. Oddly, Ski's Beats, Rhymes & Samples mixtape contains the Q-Tip remix in the context of a "Dead Presidents" sample. In the video, he also explains how he filters out the high frequency content of the melody sample (using a lowpass filter) to achieve a more prominent bass line without replaying one in.
- ^ Juon, Steve. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Review at RapReviews.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2007.
- ^ Escobartheory.