all black everything February 17th, 2010
Jay Z is king. Musically he is unequivocally superior. In business he has proven to be up there with the best. And his 14 year career is marked with too many achievements to list. Success was a word coined to describe people like him. But…
Empire State of Mind Part II, the solo version from Alicia “Augello Cook” Keys is perfect, even without the king of rap’s midas touch. Her vocals are so silky smooth that they sum up everything that is alluring about New York: the city lights, the cultural diversity, the American Dream. I can’t argue that she is an astoundingly talented musician, but apart from in a couple of exceptional cases, I am not amazed, or touched by her. With this song however, she has achieved something amazing: whilst reaffirming that the US music scene is way beyond that over here (can you imagine Beverley Knight coming up with a track of this stature about London?), she has made me wish I was American. Ok New Yorkers are a different breed from most Americans, but the principle is there. What’s more her voice is so seductive I’d give up everything I’ve got and up sticks in a flash to share that life with her.
This is already, and surely will always be a classic of our times…
Download here
Posted in music | Comments (0)