“Empire State Of Mind” is arguably the biggest commercial record in Jay-Z’s catalog. The Alicia Keys-assisted single spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first lead Number One for Jay.
Alicia Keys recently spoke with Audacy’s Mix 94.7 in Austin, Texas. During the interview, the R&B legend recalled how difficult it was for Jay-Z to lock her in for the “Empire State Of Mind” appearance. Hov almost chose another artist to sing the hook and bridge.
“He had this idea, he wanted to build it out. He wanted to make it the New York energy,” Alicia Keys explained. “The crazy part of that story that I just love is that he actually couldn’t get in touch with me because you go through the different channels, management, all these different places.”
Keys continued, “He couldn’t really get movement on it. And so at one point, he was like, ‘Alright, I might have to move on, I can’t connect with her. I guess I have to do it with somebody else.’ Could you imagine if that ended up happening? I think about it all the time.”
Songwriters Angela Hunte and Jane’t Sewell-Ulepic penned the original version of “Empire State Of Mind” before Jay-Z added his own lyrics to the track. Apparently, Jay first considered the Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige as the featured vocalist instead of Alicia Keys.
Once the collaboration was finalized, “Empire State of Mind” became a New York City anthem. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed the collaboration at the 2009 World Series at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. They also ran through the hit at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards which included the infamous moment of Lil Mama crashing the stage.
“Empire State of Mind” won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011. The RIAA certified The Blueprint 3 single as 9x-Platinum. Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down” also earned a Platinum plaque.
