*A Toxic Text* Empire State of Mind

In a similar entry into an unknown world, Jay-Z gives hip-hop listeners a tour of the streets of New York. In “Empire State of Mind,” he paints himself as “hood forever,” or as always belonging to the city. He navigates the streets that have impacted his life, such as 560 State Street and 8^th Street, but he also mentions other places in the world, like Texas (which brings country connotations) and the Dominican Republic (with its Caribbean culture and from the eyes of many Americans, it has an exotic flare). He says that New York is a “melting pot,” that “No place in the world can compare.”

New York itself is a very dirty city that is well known for its crime and rudeness; however, Jay-Z’s representation of the city creates a “concrete jungle where dreams are made of.” His lyrics say that The Big Apple is a place for inspiration, a place where you can go and always have something to do and see, where you can belong.

In the second half of the song, he mentions how even the “good” people give in to the temptation of the city: “Don’t bite the apple, Eve, caught up in the crowd / Now you’re in style.” He goes on to rap about how faith or religion really has no place in the city, because New York possesses the power to inspire its people: “Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out… And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.”

And in an effort to show the city has powerful, he directly says that he is from the “Empire State.” Using the state’s nickname calls to attention the hold the city has over its inhabitants. He also comments on the popular sites of the city like the Statue of Liberty and the memorial of the World Trade Centers. He uses those to create a sense of pride and strength that the people much have to “make it.”

Here are the lyrics.

And here is the music video. (Sorry to the Native Americans for using YouTube)