Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys: 'Empire State of Mind'

He heads up his own record label, has eleven US number one albums under his Rocawear belt and wakes up next to Beyoncé in the morning. If anyone's benefited from the Empire State Of Mind - whatever precisely that might be - it's Jay-Z. Jigga's as well-qualified as anyone, therefore, to be writing a love letter to his hometown.

And what a love letter it is. Jay-Z salutes everything from the Labour Day Parade to Vogue's Anna Wintour, Alicia Keys delivers a chorus that sounds like it's been around forever, and the production is a seamless mix of the classic and the contemporary. Of course, this being Jay-Z, it's also a bit of a love letter to himself. "I'm the new Sinatra and since I made it here, I can make it anywhere," he informs us at the start. By the end of the song, you won't be arguing.


> Click here to read our review of Jay-Z's album