Released February 3, 1998 Recorded 1997 Label Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam | Format CD Length 4:02 | |
Genre East coast hip hop, R&B, jazz rap | ||
"The City Is Mine" is the third single from rapper Jay-Z's second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. It features vocals from Blackstreet and production from Blackstreet member Teddy Riley. Riley samples "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by The Jones Girls for the song's beat, while Blackstreet interpolates "You Belong to the City" by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin for the song's chorus. In addition, a young Chad Hugo plays saxophone on this song. The first verse is dedicated to the memory of his friend, The Notorious B.I.G..
Contents
Reception
"The City Is Mine" was a little commercial success reaching #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #38 on the UK Singles Chart. It was panned by critics for its commercial nature and poor interpolation of Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin's "You Belong to the City.". Allmusic's John Bush considers the beat to be the "most commercial" beat on In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and the interpolation to be "unfortunate." Steve Juon of RapReviews.com describes that track as "some cotton candy sugary rap FLUFF" and its interpolation as a mistake, but still considers the lyrics to be "vintage Jigga."
US CD
- "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
- "The City Is Mine (TV track)"
- "A Million and One Questions (Radio Edit)"
UK CD
- "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
- "Intro / A Million And One Questions / Rhyme No More (Premier Radio Edit)"
- "The City Is Mine (Album Version)"
- "Dead Presidents II"
A-Side
- "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
- "The City Is Mine (LP Version)"
B-Side
- "The City Is Mine (TV Track)"
- "A Million and One Questions (Remix)"
- "A Million and One Questions (Remix) (TV Track)"
A-Side
- "The City Is Mine (Radio Edit)"
- "The City Is Mine (Dirty Version)"
- "The City Is Mine (Instrumental)"
B-Side
- "Face Off (Dirty Version)"
- "Face Off (Instrumental)"