Inspirational

(Jay-Z) Yeah, Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn, Now Im down in Tribeca, right next to DeNiro, But I’ll be hood forever, I’m the new Sinatra, And since I made it here, I can make it anywhere, Yeah they love me everywhere, I used to cop in Harlem, Hola my Dominicanos Right there up on broadway, Brought me back to that McDonalds, Took it to my stash spot, Five Sixty Stage Street, Catch me in the kitchen like the Simmons' whipping pastry, Cruising down 8th street, Off-white lexus, Driving so slow but BK is from Texas, Me I’m up at Bed-stuy, Home of that boy Biggie, Now I live on billboard, and i brought my boys with me, Say wat up to Ty Ty, still sipping Mai Tai's Sitting courtside Knicks and Nets give me high fives, %!#$@ I be spiked out,I could trip a referee, tell by my attitude that I most definitely from…

(Alicia Keys) In New York, Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, Theres nothing you can’t do, Now you’re in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, lets here it for New York, New York, New York

(Jay-Z) Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game, $#!% I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can, You should know I bleed Blue, but I aint a Crip though, But I got a gang of #$%!&* walkin' with my clique though, Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we selling rocks, Afrika Bambaataa $#!%, home of the hip hop, yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back, for foreigners it ain't fitted they forgot how to act, 8 million stories out there and their naked, cities it's a pity half of y’all won’t make it, Me I gotta plug Special Ed "i got it made," If Jeezy's payin' LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade, 3 dice cee-lo 3 card marley, labor day parade, rest in peace Bob Marley, Statue of Liberty, long live the World trade, long live the king yo, I’m from the empire state thats eyyy…

(Chorus)

(Jay-Z) Lights is blinding, girls need blinders so they can step out of bounds quick, the side lines is blind with casualties, who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse, don’t bite the apple Eve, caught up in the in-crowd, now your in-style, and in the winter gets cold En Vogue with your skin out, the city of sin is a pity on a whim, good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them , Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out, everybody ride her, just like a bus route, Hail Mary to the city your a Virgin, and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends, came here for school, graduated to the high life, ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight, MDMA got you feeling like a champion, the city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien

(Chorus)

(Alicia Keys) One hand in the air for the big city, Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty, no place in the world that can compare, Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeaaahh come on, come, yeah,

(Chorus)

When you think of inspirational songs your mind often harks back to epic hits like "Eye of The Tiger", "We will Rock You", or the Rocky theme song. These ballads evoke a sense of charisma and determination in the human spirit. The rhythms are easy to follow. Their lyrics are easily construed. The choruses are catchy. Jay-Z throws a twist in this sub genre with, "Empire State of Mind", his ode to New York. With the help of fellow New Yorker, Alicia Keys, Jay flows over a high energy drum and piano laden beat. The wordsmith paints pictures of a day in Big Apple as well as exuding his New York swagger. He chimes, "I'm the new Sinatra and since I made it here, I can make it anywhere. Yeah they love me everywhere." Jay-Z makes the point with the time old saying that if you can make it in New York you'll make it anywhere. Alicia Keys hits home with a rousing chorus. The songbird sings ,"there's nothing you can't do..the streets will make you feel brand new..the lights will inspire you". Her chorus is repeated with the message of the big city's inspiring power to let anyone accomplish their dreams. Although Jay-Z warns against the dangers of the big city in his third verse; the central message of the song shines through. Set the bar high. Don't be naive. There will be adversity. You can overcome it. And when its all said and done celebrate your triumphs with the place that made you.

Solid song choice, but the word connotations could have been taken further - for instance when he references broadway and McDonald's he is contrasting his early poverrty with later references to stars like Lebron. Would have liked more detail and specifics.