Analysis of “Success 1 ” from American Gangster (2007)
Jay-Z is one of the most successful businessmen of the 21 st
century. With ten #1 records
2
, presidency of Def Jam records and Rocafella record, personal clothing line, part ownership of NBA team
3
, and an estimated net worth of 547 million
4
, Jay-Z is huge. So how did this hustler from Marcy, Brooklyn make it so big? Many factors contributed to his success including great business choices, style, and of course some very popular music. This paper looks at the specific trends that are consistent in Jay-Z’s music and what approaches have brought him to the top of the hip-hop world. I have specifically analyzed the song ‘Success’ of his 12 th
album, American Gangster and have found eight major trends which I believe increase his popularity (movie quotes, lyric biting, pop culture references, overconfidence, autobiographical rap, guest appearances, and funky sampling) that fit into three main categories (Community, Personal ity, and Signifyin(g))
Community-
“The Roc Boys in the building tonight 5 ”
Collaborations are prevalent in all types of popular music. Santana’s
Supernatural
6
(1999) is a prime example of how successful collaborations can be as it went fifteen times platinum. Jay-Z has used this wisdom throughout his career, hooking
1 ‘Success Ft. Nas’ American Gangster (2007) is the first track on the enclosed CD and will be referenced multiple times throughout this paper
2
According to www.billboard.com
3
The NJ Nets, which he is rumored to be moving to Brooklyn
4
According to www.panachereport.com
5
Lyrics from ‘Rock Boys’ American Gangsta (2007).
(Track 2 on enclosed CD)
6
I included ‘Put your lights on Ft. Everlast’ Supernatural (1999).
(Track 3 on enclosed
CD

up with a plethora of artists including Eminem, Kanye West, Notorious BIG, DMX, R.
Kelly, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Beyonce, Chris Martin and many others. Nas joins up with Jay-Z on “Success” which is very noteworthy because of their long time feud, which began to receive public attention in 2001. The beef ended in 2005 with Nas making guest appearances at Jay-Z’s concert and in 2006 when Nas signed under Jay-Z onto Def Jam. Guest appearances and collaborations like this increase songs popularity because fans of both artists are drawn to the music. It also can be a welcome change from the albums main artist that often makes the song and album better overall. Jay-Z does a lot of both appearing in others albums and having others in his, which keeps his relationship strong with other artists.
Jay-Z’s strong community is not confined to the artist that he collaborates with.
He also has very strong relationships with many of the most popular producers in the hiphop industry. Timbaland, Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharell are some of the big names that continue to produce many of Jay-Z’s hits. No ID
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produced “Success” and has also produced two other songs of Jay-Z. “Success” uses a sample from Larry Ellis’ “Funky
Thing Pt. 1” that I will touch more on latter. This community of very potent producers has been a major factor in the success of Jay-Z’s music.
Jay-Z’s community doesn’t stop their, his original record company, Rocafella
Records, was built from the ground up with many of Jay-Z’s closest friends. This group includes Hip-Hop, Beanie Seagle, Memphis Bleak and serves as a tight clan who support all support each other’s music and business.
“New rap patrolling the city, follow my crews,
7
No ID has done a lot of producing for Common, and was Kanye West’s mentor while
Kanye was coming up.

Bleek you’re still with me – nigga what did I say?
The time is comin; you one hit away,
Beans I ain’t tryin to change you – just give you some game,
To make the transition from the street to the fame”
Jay-Z (2001)
8
This tight group and his caring tone creates a personal air that reflects Jay-Z’s commitment to his original friends even though neither of them have had close to the success of Jay-Z. This idea of a tight crew supporting each other in hip-hop can most clearly be seen by the Wu-Tang Clan, who came together in 1992 to attempt to conquer the hip hop world.
Personal ity-
“Hov is back, life stories told through rap,
Niggas actin’ like I sold you crack,
Like I told you, “sell drugs”…no,
Hov did that, so hopefully you won’t have to go through that,
I was raised in the projects, roaches and rats,
Smokers out back, sellin’ they mama’s sofa” Jay-Z (2001) 9
Jay-Z’s lyrics are about himself, what he has experienced, what his is thinking. He makes it clear in ‘The Ruler’s Back’ off of
The Blueprint
, “What you are about to witness is my thought, just my thought, right or wrong, just what I was feelin at the time. (the rulers back)” This first viewpoint is heard throughout Jay-Z’s music and is very prevalent in the hip hop world as a whole. ‘Rapper Delight’ by the Sugarhill Gang, known as the main root of Hop Hop, follows the same fist person theme:
“Now what you hear is not a test-I’m rappin to the beat,
And me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet,
See I am wonder mike and I’d like to say hello,
To the black, to the white, to the red to the brown,
The purple and yellow” Sugarhill Gang (1979) 10
8
‘Momma Loves Me’ The Blueprint (2001) (Track 4 at 2:40)
9 ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A) The Blueprint. (2001) (Track 5 on enclosed CD at 2:16)

Our analyzed song “Success” is also in first person:
“I’m way to important to be talking about extorting,
Asking me for a portion is like asking for a coffin,
Broad daylight I’ll of your on switch,
You’re not to bright, goodnight long kiss” Jay-Z (2007)
A major difference however between the Sugarhill Gang lyrics and Jay-Z’s lyrics is the large ego and over confidence that is present in most of Jay-Z rhymes. This is a major theme in many of Jay-Z’s songs that I believe instills a confidence in the listener that can serve to inspire, creating a feeling of invincibility. The listener can feed from
Jay-Z’s confidence. This aspect of Jay-Z’s rap has been criticized by those who think he is arrogant, but this same arrogance is present in many other popular hip hop artists such as 50 Cent, Common or Kanye West:
“So Yeah, At the Grammies I went Ode to Travolta,
Yeah, that tuxedo might have been a little Guido,
But with my ego, I could stand there in a Speedo,
And be look at like a fucking hero”
Kanye West (2007)
11
One thing about Jay-Z’s lyrics that is not shared with any other artists is that they his personal story. Jay-Z’s story telling can paint a vivid story of the ever-evolving life of
Shawn Carter. His first album, Reasonable Doubt (1996), gave the listener a view into his life in Brooklyn, and his latest album, American Gangster (2007), has many songs reflecting on his personal life, his career, and his success. Jay-Z’s arrogant, autobiographical, storytelling style of rapping has been a large contributor to his success because it brings out his personal ity.
Signifyin(g)
10
‘Rappers Delight’ The Sugarhil Gang (1979) (This track is on our listening list)
11 ‘The Glory’ Graduation (2007) (Track 6 on enclosed Cd at 1:46)

“Can I kick it? (Yes you can!) X3,
Y’all motherfuckers must of heard that Tribe Called Quest, let’s do it again,
Can I kick it? (Yes you can!) X3
Well I’m gone… Check this out”
Jay-Z (1996)
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Signifyin(g) as explained by Samuel Floyd as “a way of demonstrating respect for, goading, or poking fun at a musical style, process, or practice though parody, pastiche, implication, indirection, humor, tone or word-play, the illusions of speech or narration, and other troping mechanism (Floyd, 1999)
13 .” Jay-Z is signifyin(g) whenever he makes reference to something from the music industry, including music’s past and present. Jay-Z expands this definition of signifyin(g) to include playing off of movies, and pop culture as well.
Musically, the first thing that many people who don’t usually listen to hip hop notice about hip hop is how it takes from other music using samples to create the beats.
Jay-Z is no different and “Success” uses a sample from Larry Ellis and The Black
Hammer’s ‘Funky Thing part 1.
14 ’ This song was originally released in 1968 and is one of the many different types of music used in Jay-Z beats. Other bands that have been sampled include The Doors, Bobby Bland, David Ruffin, and the Beastie Boys. Joseph
Schloss’ article,
Making Beats: The art of Sample-based Hip-hop, explains very thoroughly the process in which producers take source materials and turn it into something new for rappers to use. Jay-Z’s use of sample-based beats serves as a connection with music that makes him more familiar to new listeners.
12
’22 Twos’ Reasonable Doubt (2006) (Track 7 on enclosed cd at 0:19)
13
Floyd, S. “Ring Shout! Literary Studies, Historical Studies, and Black Music Inquiry”
Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 11, No. 2.
14
Under Funk45 records found at: http://www.funk45.com/index.asp?type=search&page=1&Search=funky+thing&Cat=Titl e&Sortby=Artist&submit=go

Jay-Z doesn’t only use old samples for his music. In his first album, Reasonable
Doubt, he used a Nas sample that was released only two years earlier on Illmatic.
This sample and ones like it show his audience how up to date and connected Jay-Z is with the hip-hop world. This relationship is give and take, as other artists use Jay-Z samples in their music. T.I.’s ‘Bring em out’ is an example in which a line from Jay-Z’s ‘What More
Can I Say’ is used for the T.I. beat. This relationship between Jay-Z and other artist through sampling is positive for all the artists involved and creates even more on a community for the listener to feel a part of.
Beats and samples aren’t the only thing that Jay-Z uses from his community.
Lyrical signifyin(g) is a major part of his music, and hip-hop in general. When an artist uses a line from a different song, it is often a way to show respect for other artists. All of the lyrical signifyin(g) that I have found of Jay-Z is from artists that he as personally worked with. The first verse of ‘Success’ begins with:
“I used to give a fuck, now I give a fuck less,
What do I think of success? It sucks
To much stress, I guess I blew up quick”
Jay-Z (2007)
This is a clear bite from Eminem:
“I used to give a fuck, now I could give a fuck less,
What do I think of success? It sucks, too much press I’m stressed,
Too much cess with agress,
Too upset it’s just too much mess,
I uses I must just blew up quick”
Eminem (2000)
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This example is very interesting because Eminem was featured on ‘Renegade’ off of Jay-
Z’s very popular
The Blueprint (2001) just at the time when Eminem was becoming such a major force in hip hop. Then, six years later, Jay-Z shows his respect for Eminem’s
15 ‘I’m Back’ The Marshal Mathers LP (2000) (Track 8 on enclosed cd at 0:48)

lyrical success by using his scheme in a song. It shows that although Jay-Z and Eminem aren’t in a tight community, they both respect each other’s music and listen to it.
Jay-Z has also done full songs that are signifyin(g) of past artists. His version of
‘The Ruler’s Back’ on
The Blueprint (2001):
“Well in these times, well at least to me,
There’s a lot of rappers out there trying to sound like Jay-Z” Jay-Z (2001)
16
Jay-Z’s version includes the same horn melody, and follows the lyrical pattern of Slick
Rick’s ‘The Ruler’s Back’ on
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick :
“Now in these times, well at least to me,
There’s a lot of people out there trying to Rocky D,
Not trying to cause trouble cause its really a small thing,
But their biting what I’m writing God its great being the King.”
Slick Rick
(1988)
17
If you were to just take these two stanza’s and compare them, it would seem that Jay-Z is just stealing from someone who explicitly doesn’t want people too. But when you look deeper into Jay-Z and Slick Ricks relationship, you can see that Jay-Z has a lot of respect for Slick Rick, and that respect is reciprocated. Slick Rick appeared on Jay-Z’s compilation record with R Kelly, Unfinished Business, in which the intro is the same as the intro to Slick Ricks ‘The Rulers Back.’ Slick Rick’s appearance on the album shows that he supports Jay-Z and that he isn’t offended by his signifyin(g).
Jay-Z’s own lyrics are also often bit and used in hip hop songs. One interesting example of this began when Jay-Z mentioned Talib Kweli and Common in his song
‘Moment of Clarity’ in
The Black Album:
16
‘The Ruler’s Back’ The Blueprint (2001) (Track 9 on enclosed CD at 2:12)
17
‘The Ruler’s Back’ The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988) (track 10 on enclosed
CD at 1:25)

“If skills sold, then truth be told,
I’d probably be, Lyrically Talib Kweli,
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense,
But I did five Mil,
I aint’t been rhyming like Common since”
Jay-Z (2003)
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Jay-Z is responding to claims that his lyrics have simplified over time and that he is dumbing down for his audience by claiming that he just does what sells. This gives the listener an insight to why Jay-Z does a lot of what he does, for money. Talib Kweli signifies on Jay-Z’s line:
“If Lyric sold then truth be told,
Id probably be, just as rich and famous and Jay-Z
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like common sense,
Next best thing
I did a record with Common Sense”
Talib Kweli (2004)
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This example shows both artist’s signifyin(g) off of each other. They both gain from the exchange, Jay-Z gains some lyrical respect, and Talib Kweli gets some free advertising on a very popular album.
Jay-Z’s use of references to connect himself with the listeners culture doesn’t stop at connecting with other hip hop artists. He is also one of the best at using pop culture references to keep his music relevant. In ‘Success:’ the Trump Tower, the movie The
Long Kiss Goodnight, Google Earth, McLerrin, Camarro, and Jacob Jewelry are mentioned. Many of the products he mentions help to give him his air of confidence and richness. Other references like Google Earth (also MySpace and Youtube in other songs) are very up to date technologically. Jay-Z doesn’t take long to make a record, this way his music can reflect very recent topics.
18
‘Moment of Clarity’ The Black Album (2003) (Track 11 on enclosed cd at 1:50)
19
‘Ghetto Show ft. Common’ The Beautiful Struggle (2004) (Track 12 on enclosed cd at
1:44)

“I missed the part when it stopped being about Imus,
What do my lyrics got to do with that shit?
Scarface the movie did more than Scareface the rapper to me
Are you saying what I’m spitting
Is worse then there celebutantes showin they kitten you kiddin?
Lets stop the bullshittin
Till we all without sin, let’s quit the pulpitin”
Jay-Z (2007)
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This stanza is describing the basketball announcer Don Imus racist comments about the
Rutgers woman’s basketball team and the aftermath, which included the media blaming hip hop for its racist lyrics. Imus’ comments were in April of 2007 and American
Gangster was released in November of the same year. American Gangster itself was inspired, written, and produced in the two months after Jay-Z saw a screening of the movie.
Movies are the final major theme that is found within Jay-Z’s music. He has many lyrical references to movies such as Scarface, or Casino.
These movies reflect a part of his life story and have affected the way Jay-Z thinks. Signifyin(g) comes in is when Jay-Z uses clips from movies as parts of his songs. “Success” begins with a quote from the movie American Gangster:
“Your Success took a shot,
What are you gonna do now
How’re you gonna kill it,
You gonna make him unsuccessfull?”
Another very interesting use of movie quotes was his quote from Gladiator on ‘What
More Can I Say?’ from The Black Album:
“Are you not entertained?
Are you not entertained?
Is this not why you’re here?” 21
20
‘Ignorant Shit Ft. Beanie Seagel’ American Gangster (2007) (Track 13 of enclosed Cd at 2:45)

Here Jay-Z is signifyin(g) without changing anything from the movie. He uses the quote and makes it relevant for himself and his music. These movie clips connect his music to pop culture, and help to convey what he is trying to say on a particular song. Sometimes
Jay-Z even changes a quote to fit his situation. On his album Vol 2. Hard knock Life, Jay-
Z changes a Goodfellas quote to fit his image at the time:
“So now the guys working for Jay-Z,
Any problems he can go to Jay-Z
Trouble writing a song he can go to Jay-Z,
Beef with his label with other rappers he can call Jay-Z,
But now the guys gotta come up with Jay-Z money every week no matter what,
Aint selling any records, fuck you pay,
Oh you want me in your video, fuck you pay me,
No ones coming to your shows huh, fuck you pay me…” 22
This is a very popular monologue, and Jay-Z’s rendition of it again strengthens both sides. Anyone who hears the speech in both the movie and Jay-Z song remembers both of them for each other. This is also a way for Jay-Z to show his respect for the things that have affected him during his life.
Jay-Z is a phenomenally popular and successful hip-hop icon, and through an analysis of hit song ‘Success’, I have found many of the trends that appear often in his music. These trends fall into three main categories: Community, Signifyin(g), and
Personal ity. Through his ‘formula of success’ Jay-Z can connect himself to his listeners and convey a feeling of both arrogance and respect that has made him one of the most popular artists of this generation.
21
From ‘What More Can I Say’ The Black Album (2003) (Track 14 on enclosed cd at beginning.)
22
From ‘Money, Cash, Hoes’ Vol. 2, Hard Knock Life (1998) Track 15 on enclosed cd at
4:10)