Dead Presidents (song)

"Dead Presidents"
Single by Jay-Z
from the album Reasonable Doubt
Released	February 20, 1996
Format	12-inch single, Cassette, CD, Vinyl
Recorded	1995
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Label	Roc-A-Fella
Writer(s)	Shawn Carter David Willis Lonnie Liston Smith Nasir Jones Peter Phillips
Producer	Ski
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Jay-Z singles chronology
"In My Lifetime" (1995) "Dead Presidents" (1996) "Ain't No Nigga" (1996)

"Dead Presidents" is the debut single released in promotion by rapper Jay-Z from his debut album Reasonable Doubt. The title is slang for money because portraits of dead United States presidents appear on most US currency.^[1] The song's producer Ski samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace" for the track's melody and "Oh My God (Remix)" for its percussion. The single was a commercial success as indicated by its RIAA certification as a gold single in June 1996.

The actual single "Dead Presidents" does not appear on Jay-Z's debut album, but instead "Dead Presidents II" does. "Dead Presidents II" has the same beat and chorus as the original, but different lyrics.

"Dead Presidents I" is often regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever recorded. "Dead Presidents II" was voted #16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.^[2]

Feud with Nas

Main article: Jay-Z vs. Nas feud

The song's chorus uses a vocal sample from the "The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)" by Nas. Nas was originally invited to re-rap the chorus for Jay-Z and appear in the track's music video, but he declined. Some view these two actions as the foundation of their feud.^[3]

When Nas and Jay-Z feuded directly, both rappers discussed the merit of the sampling in the song in individual "diss" records. In Nas' track "Stillmatic Freestyle," he says:

You show off, I count dough off when you sample my voice.

Jay-Z responds to Nas' claims in his song "Takeover" with the lines:

So yeah, I sampled your voice; you was usin' it wrong: you made it a hot line, I made it a hot song. And you ain't get a coin nigga you was gettin' fucked then; I know who I paid God, Serchlite Publishing.

The line was later used in Cassidy's 2005 hit "I'm a Hustla":

Yeah I used dude's voice props to the boy Shawn, He made it a hot line, I made it a hot song.

In 2005 at Jay-Z's I Declare War concert, he performed "Dead Presidents II" with Nas, officially ending their feud.

Production

In a YouTube video named "Ski Beatz - the making of Jay-Z's Dead Presidents" ^[4] Ski explains how he filtered out the high frequency content of the melody sample (using a lowpass filter) to achieve a more prominent bass line without replaying one in. Ski's Beats, Rhymes & Samples mixtape contains the Q-Tip remix in the context of a "Dead Presidents" sample, because the original "The World is Yours" had altered lyrics in connection to the sampled vocals. At the end of the sample from the chorus, you can hear the "Whose" from "Whose world is this?" from the beginning of the chorus of "The World is Yours".

Remixes

Many artists have released remixed versions of Dead Presidents with original lyrics (often freestyles) performed over the original sample and chorus. Notable artists to release versions of Dead Presidents include Slug of Atmosphere, Chamillionaire, J. Cole, Akala, Lupe Fiasco, Drake, AZ, Lil' Wayne featuring Currensy and DJ Premier who recorded a version with reworked instrumentals with Jay-Z's original lyrics and vocals from Nas' The World is Yours (Remix).

See also

• List of Jay-Z songs

References

1. ^ Dead Presidents Songfacts
2. ^ Top 100 Rap Songs
3. ^ Escobartheory.
4. ^ "Roc-A-Biz: Ski Beatz". HNNLive.com. January 7, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.

External links

• Recording Industry Association of America Gold & Platinum Searchable Database