"Blue Magic" is the first single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster.[1] The song was released as a single on September 20, 2007. In the chorus, Pharrell sings an interpretation of the song "Hold On" by the R&B girl group En Vogue, who are also featured in the song. The name "Blue Magic" is a reference to a potent form of heroin sold by Frank Lucas at the height of his drug trade in Harlem, New York. An official remix features Pharrell and Trey Songz.
| "Blue Magic" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Jay-Z featuring Pharrell Williams | ||||
| from the album American Gangster | ||||
| Released | September 20, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | East Coast hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | The Neptunes | |||
| Jay-Z singles chronology | ||||
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| Pharrell singles chronology | ||||
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The lyrics in the first verse refer to Eric B. & Rakim's song "My Melody". Most of the song itself is a reference to the 1980s. Jay-Z brings up his time as an early age drug dealer with links to the Iran-Contra scandal and CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US that rocked the 1980s and the Reagan Presidency.[2]
Blame Reagan for making me into a monster
Blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra
I ran contraband that they sponsored
Before this rhyming stuff we was in concert
Blue Magic also samples the 1931 horror film, Frankenstein.
Chamillionaire released a freestyle of this song for his Mixtape Messiah 4 called "What the Business Is". Royce Da 5'9" released a freestyle of this song called "Blue Magic". It was a "diss" track on Mistah F.A.B..
Music video
editThe music video was directed by Hype Williams with costumes designed by June Ambrose. It was first shown on BET's 106 & Park on October 11, 2007. The video shows the recording artist and dancer Teyana Taylor, dancing and popping throughout the video.[3] The video appeared at the bottom of BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 on December 31, 2007. The video[4] was noted for prominently featuring wads and a suitcase full of 500 Euro notes, and it was noted that the video gave the euro media attention at a time when the U.S. dollar had sharply lost in value against most major world currencies such as the euro, pound Sterling and Canadian dollar.[5]
Charts
edit| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] | 69 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 55 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] | 31 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[9] | 17 |
| US Pop 100 (Billboard)[10] | 52 |
References
edit- ^ Shake (September 20, 2007). Jay-Z to Release 'American Gangster' Archived 2007-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. Accessed September 27, 2007
- ^ "Mixtape Maestro | Blue Magic". Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "TEYANA TAYLOR DROPS HER DEBUT ALBUM, 'FROM A PLANET CALLED HARLEM' IN MAY". Skope. Skope Entertainment Inc. March 31, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Jay-Z – Blue Magic on YouTube, universalmusicgroup, official Universal Music Group YouTube channel
- ^ David Usborne, "Rappers join models in insisting on euros as greenbacks fall further out of fashion", The Independent, November 17, 2007. Accessed February 9, 2017
- ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Jay-Z – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2022.