Jay-Z - 'Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)'
it's astonishing to think about just how many songs Jay-Z can spin out of his former career as a street-hustler, isn't it? I mean sure, it's not like the rest of popular music covers a massive spectrum of subjects - you don't often hear pop songs from the perspective of someone who is wheelchair-bound, for example, which go on to explain how difficult it can be to get from place to place, given cobbled streets, pavements with no ramps, shops with narrow aisles, and stuff like that - but still...
Actually, the really astonishing thing is that he has managed to create so many different and not-boring songs out of his shady past. And a good portion of them seem to be the definitive version of where he came from and why he made it. This is a perfect example, and you can bet it won't be the last. It's a super-confident, super-funky, supercharged celebration of life's successes, and one which is so brass-heavy that Mark Ronson would have to take the horns OFF in order to make his mark.*
Naturally, this being taken from the soundtrack to the film 'American Gangster', you can hardly blame Jay for harking back to his early days. He even takes the time to thank the brown paper bags and duffle bags he used to smuggle...illicit things...in, and the Nike shoebox his gang used for a till and accounts department. Nowadays he can afford a more expensive box - maybe a gold one, one which used to contain some big hand-stitched riding boots, which would give room for a bit more of his impressive fortune. In any case, it's a really touching way to demonstrate that he's still in touch with his roots. Grubby roots though they may be.
And in case you, the listener, are not sure how much his life has changed since those crazy days...well he's going to explain it to you. Basically he looks amazing, he's got amazing jewellery, he's buying amazing drinks with his massive wad of cash, and seeing as it's a celebration, you are not expected to get your round in.
You'd have to be some kind of success Scrooge not to want to raise a glass in his honour. It's only manners, after all. Be nice to hear that wheelchair song one day though, donchathink?
Download: Out now
CD Released: December 17th
(Fraser McAlpine)
*Although oddly, the band sampled are a spin-off from the Dap-Kings, who are the band Mark used to help make Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black'. True story.
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