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Shallow Nation

September 17th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Jay-Z Empire State of Mind Video, Lyrics (with Alicia Keys)

Here are the official Jay-Z Empire State of Mind video and lyrics featuring Alicia Keys. The song is from his newly released 11th studio album Blueprint 3 and was performed live at the MTV VMA Awards 2009 (photos above and below). The song can be heard and seen in its entirety via the live performance video.

Update: The official music video directed by Hype Williams and shot on location in New York City has been added below; it debuted on Oct. 30, 2009

Blueprint 3 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 476,000. As such it was Jay-Z’s eleventh No. 1 debut which breaks the record previously held by Elvis Presley for the most such debuts by a solo artist. Jay-Z is second to the Beatles who are the music group with the most; 15 chart topping debuts.

The L.A. Times has some interesting statistical comparisons of sales of Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 album on the Billboard 200 and the re-release of the 13 Beatles albums on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums (which charts sales of albums released more than 18 months ago): Jay-Z and the Beatles: Together again

Additionally, in light of the landmark achievement, Jay-Z was recently profiled in an article published in the New York Times; it can be seen in its entirety here: The Anxiety of Being Influential

Here are the Jay-Z Empire State of Mind lyrics in their entirety. The dynamic anthem to the landmarks and legacy of New York City the song seems destined a classic. See the videos below.

Official video

Video Link

Link: Jay-Z Empire State of Mind Video Live Performance with Alicia Keys at 2009 VMAs (pictures above)

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