Toppa Top 10: Jay-Z’s Most Jamaican Moments

Words by Jesse Serwer—

Jay-Z is probably not a reggae fanatic. He’s definitely never chased the Caribbean market with his music. In fact, he was more than a dozen years into his career before he co-signed his first dancehall track—Mavado’s “On the Rock— by jumping on a remix. But Jay is certainly a product of Brooklyn, and he’s a sponge when it comes to absorbing his surroundings, so it’s only natural that the Caribbean music and culture so evident in his home borough has seeped into his music, even if only for fleeting moments.

From shooting videos in Jamaican villas (not to mention St. Thomas and Trinidad) to sampling John Holt and Max Romeo and quoting Buju, Hov’s had a likkle yaad flavor in his music throughout his career. And, following the current hip-hop trend set in motion by his buddy Kanye, he’s sprinkled a concentrated dose of that spice into his latest release, Magna Carta Holy Grail, which samples Sizzla’s “Solid Like a Rock,” quotes from Mavado, and jacks a classic dancehall riddim. Here’s a look at 10 of Jay-Z’s “most Jamaican moments” over the years.

10. “Empire State of Mind” feat. Alicia Keys (2009)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican Moment: “Empire State of Mind” references Brooklyn’s West Indian American Day Parade and Bob Marley

“Empire State of Mind,” the biggest hit of Jay’s career and his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, was a panorama-like tribute to New York City that had the rapper highlighting NYC landmarks both notable and personal. In his survey of crucial NYC points of interest, he didn’t fail to big up Brooklyn’s Caribbean culture in a fashion that was typically succinct for Hov, and also quite explicit to those whom the reference was intended for: “Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley.”

9. “Friend or Foe 98” (1998)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican Moment: Jay-Z’s story rap is “rudely interrupted” [by actual] Jamaican accents

Jay-Z’s original “Friend or Foe” was a brief, story rap/interlude about getting over on rival drug dealers, on a DJ Premier beat, from the rapper’s classic debut Reasonable Doubt. For the ’98 redux, Jay kept the blueprint the same, telling a similarly themed story over another DJ Premier beat. Except in the middle of his story, Jay is “rudely interrupted….Jamaican accents”… Bwoy you know you know ah fuckery!

“What They Gonna Do” (2002)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican Moment: “What They Gonna Do” features dancehall star Sean Paul

We tend to forget all about The Blueprint 2, Jigga’s longest, most over indulgent album. But it was Jay’s only LP to feature a guest spot from an actual Jamaican dancehall artist: Sean Paul, on the Timbaland-produced “What They Gonna Do.” While we applaud Jay’s move to include a then red-hot Sean (especially considering the story that Jay would not allow Beyonce to perform her song “Baby Boy” with SP on account of the perceived romantic heat produced by that track), Sean’s part—basically adlibs like “Yo Yo Yo” and “Stick out her backside”—on “What They Gonna Do” is so limited that we almost forgot about it. (Actually, we kinda did. LargeUp, Max Glazer).

[NOTE: Track is not on YouTube. To activate the player below, you must join Spotify].

7.  “Brooklyn We Go Hard” feat. Santigold (2009)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican moment: Jay references Buju Banton’s “Boom Bye Bye,” speaks patoisMe nah like to eye fight/Me nah think such a ting is worth a man’s life/But if a man test my Stuy/I promise he won’t like my reply/Boom bye bye like Buju I’m crucial

Jay-Z took some flack from the gay community for comparing himself to Buju and quoting his controversial single “Boom Bye Bye,” on 2008’s “Brooklyn We Go Hard.” But the reference fits the context, which has Jay slipping in and out of Jamaican patois as he describes how folks from his corner of Brooklyn prefer to address being ice grilled.

6. “Frontin (Dancehall Remix)” with Pharrell, Vybz Kartel & Wayne Marshall (2002)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican moment: Frontin (Dancehall Remix) features dancehall stars Vybz Kartel and Wayne Marshall

Jay-Z has spoken in recent years about wanting to collaborate with Vybz Kartel, specifically for 2009’s The Blueprint 3.  Well, Hov and Vybz actually do have a song together. For 2003’s hip-hop-meets-dancehall-themed Def Jamaica compilation, our dudes Max Glazer and Cipha Sounds re-upped Pharrell’s original version of “Frontin” with Jay-Z in an island style, adding vocals from a pre-superstar-level Kartel, and fellow dancehall artist Wayne Marshall.

5/4. “Lucifer” and “Encore” (2003)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican moment: “Lucifer” samples Max Romeo’s “Chase the Devil” and “Encore” samples John Holt’s “I Will.”

Back when Jay-Z’s alleged swan song The Black Album dropped in 2003, “Change Clothes” and “99 Problems” were the LP’s big singles. But over the decade that’s followed, “Chase the Devil” and “Encore” have proven to be two of the album’s most durable tracks. What both records have in common, besides production from Kanye West, are samples of great reggae artists. “Lucifer” flips a vocal clip and instrumentation from Max Romeo’s “Chase the Devil,”  off of the singer’s Lee “Scratch” Perry-produced War In A Babylon. “Encore,” intended to be Jay-Z’s grand send off on his retirement album, is lead by the horns from John Holt’s reggae cover of The Beatles’ “I Will.”

For a super super bonus, check out Toronto crew the Black Jays’ remix of “Lucifer” featuring Kardinal Offishall, which swapped “Chase the Devil” for an even more irie sample, in Dennis Brown’s “Wolves & Leopards.”

3. Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican Moment: “Crown” samples Sizzla’s “Solid Like A Rock”; “Tom Ford” quotes Mavado’s “So Special”; “Versus” interpolates the Inspector riddim

The past few months have seen a serious infusion of dancehall into mainstream hip-hop. While new dancehall continues to evade the radar of U.S. DJs and tastemakers, rappers like Busta Rhymes and A$AP Ferg have tipped their hat to classic dancehall style, while Kanye West brought a bag of bashment samples with him to his Yeezus party. Not to be outdone by his friend and rival Mr. West, Jay-Z took a similar route on “Crown,” a spacious track which taps Sizzla’s “Solid As A Rock” for atmospherics.

The track’s producer, 16-year-old Wondagurl produced that song with a more noted reggae patron, Pusha T, in mind, after hearing his track “Blocka” with Popcaan and Travis Scott.  “I was at home one day and I was looking for reggae samples,” she said of its origination.

More subtle is Jay’s reference to one-time collaborator Mavado on “Tom Ford” as part of a dancehall-invoking (via Smif N Wessun) couplet: Hands down got the best flow, sound I’m so special/Sound boy burial.

Up for debate, meanwhile, is that “Versus,” as some dancehall aficionadoes have suggested, is a jack of DJ Karim’s Inspector riddim, from 2006. Listen to it here and decide for yourself.

2. Mavado’s “On the Rock (Remix) feat. Jay-Z (2008)


Jay-Z’s Jamaican moment: “On the Rock” features Jay on a remix to the hit single by dancehall star Mavado

Among his other titles, Jay-Z is most definitely rap’s king of the remix guest verse. Though he tends to mail it in these days, the CEO of the ROC has been gullying up pop and R&B hits and elevating underground rap songs with hot verses throughout his career. It’s surprising, however, given Jay-Z’s relevance in Brooklyn (a.k.a. the place where Jamaican music bubbles out to the rest of the world), that he got around to bhangra before dancehall. To this day, we’re baffled why Mavado’s “On the Rock” was the one dancehall track to make Jay-Z stop and go, “Woy!” (Though here’s one reasonable theory). “On the Rock” isn’t even our favorite Mavado track with a rapper-laced remix from this period. But, hey, we’ll take the love. I’m sure the Gully Gad would agree.

+1: Glenn Jones feat. Jay-Z, “Good Thang (Clark Kent Remix)” (1992)

Jay-Z’s Jamaican Moment: “Good Thang (Remix)” samples Cutty Ranks

OK, here’s a super-rare, uber-obscure one for all you nerds. Back in ’92, when Jay-Z was an unsigned MC known mainly as a sideman for speed rapper Jaz-O, his good friend and early producer DJ Clark Kent was working at Atlantic Records, and tried to get Hov signed there. That didn’t happen, but he did wind up contributing a guest verse on Kent’s Cutty Ranks-sampling, ragga hip-hop remix of new jack swing singer Glenn Jones’ “Good Thang.”

+2: Video for “Big Pimpin” feat. UGK (2000)