Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” has enjoyed huge success and currently sits on top of the Billboard Hot 100. But before the song saw the light of day, its writer — Angela Hunte — says it almost didn’t happen. She tells Billboard.com that she and her writing partner wrote “Empire” in February, sent it to Roc Nation, and received only negative reviews in return. Then, EMI’s Jon Platt heard the song and knew it would be a perfect fit for Jay-Z. Hunte didn’t think it would work out given the negativity the song already had met, but played it for Platt anyway. That’s when a Notorious B.I.G. statue near her computer fell. She says, quote, “We all just looked at each other like, ‘if Biggie approves, then send it to Jay.'” That’s just what Hunte did. She says Jay-Z, quote, “loved it and recorded it that night.”
While Jay-Z recorded the track with Hunte’s vocals, it was the songwriter’s idea for Alicia Keys to sing the chorus. Hunte says, quote, “She made the song sound so close to the original. She just nailed it and brought it home.”
Keys’ new album has a sequel to the song on it. “Empire State of Mind (Part II)” is on “The Element of Freedom,”
