"The City Is Mine"
Single by Jay-Z featuring Blackstreet
from the album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
ReleasedFebruary 3, 1998
Recorded1997
Genre
Length4:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Teddy Riley
Jay-Z singles chronology
"(Always Be My) Sunshine"
(1997)		 "The City Is Mine"
(1998)		 "Be Alone No More"
(1998)
Blackstreet singles chronology
"(Money Can't) Buy Me Love"
(1997)		 "The City Is Mine"
(1998)		 "Take Me There"
(1999)

"The City Is Mine" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. It was released on February 3, 1998. It features vocals from Blackstreet and production from Blackstreet member Teddy Riley. Riley samples "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by The Jones Girls for the song's beat, while Blackstreet interpolates "You Belong to the City" by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin for the song's chorus. In addition, a young Chad Hugo plays saxophone on this song. The first verse is dedicated to the memory of his friend, The Notorious B.I.G.

Reception

"The City Is Mine" was a moderate commercial success reaching #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #38 on the UK Singles Chart. It received mixed reviews from critics who complemented Blackstreet's feature but were overall mixed with the song's nature and its interpolation of Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin's "You Belong to the City". AllMusic's John Bush considers the beat to be the "most commercial" beat on In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and the interpolation to be "unfortunate".[1] Steve Juon of RapReviews.com describes that track as "some cotton candy sugary rap FLUFF" and its interpolation as a mistake, but still considers the lyrics to be "vintage Jigga".[2]

Music Video

The video directed by Steve Carr was inspired by the 1995 film The Usual Suspects with actor Michael Rapaport portraying the detective interrogating Jay-Z.

Formats and track listings

US CD

  1. "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
  2. "The City Is Mine (TV track)"
  3. "A Million and One Questions (Radio Edit)"

UK CD

  1. "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
  2. "Intro / A Million And One Questions / Rhyme No More (Premier Radio Edit)"
  3. "The City Is Mine (Album Version)"
  4. "Dead Presidents II"

US Vinyl

A-Side

  1. "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
  2. "The City Is Mine (LP Version)"

B-Side

  1. "The City Is Mine (TV Track)"
  2. "A Million and One Questions (Remix)"
  3. "A Million and One Questions (Remix) (TV Track)"

UK Vinyl

A-Side

  1. "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
  2. "The City Is Mine (Dirty Version)"
  3. "The City Is Mine (Instrumental)"

B-Side

  1. "Face Off (Dirty Version)"
  2. "Face Off (Instrumental)"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 52
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[4] 37
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[5] 14

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bush, John. "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Review at AllMusic". Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  2. ↑ Juon, Steve. "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Review at RapReviews.com". Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
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