"Can't Knock the Hustle" is the third single from American rapperJay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. The song features a beat produced by Knobody. It is co-produced by Sean C and Dahoud Darien. The chorus is sung by Mary J. Blige. The prelude to the song is a reference to the 1983 Scarface film, in the scene where Omar Suarez is talking to Tony Montana and Manny Ray, giving them information about a job that he wants them to undertake involving purchasing cocaine from Colombian dealers.
"Can't Knock the Hustle" marked Knobody's first foray into outside production after the rap group he was in disbanded.[1]Knobody had been very pleased with the last track he had produced for the band and, together with Sean C, had taken it to the nearby home of Roc-A-Fella's Damon Dash.[1] Dash then showed it to Jay-Z, who was suitably impressed and encouraged the young producer to contribute beats.[1]Knobody then gave Jay-Z the backing track to what would become "Can't Knock The Hustle".[1] The rapper then recorded the track.[1]
Combat Jack spoke to Complex about the record. Saying "This song was an effing pain in the ass, as it was the beginning of the end of my run with Roc-A-Fella. Because Dame 'dated' Mary J. Blige briefly, right before she blew up, she did him a solid and dropped her cameo on 'Can't Knock The Hustle.' This was supposed to be the first official single, and like B.I.G., Mary J. Blige was running this 'Queen of R&B and Hip Hop' shit. And like 'Brooklyn's Finest,' the label did not want to have her associated with some unknown 'Jay-Z' rapper dude. In response to my request, MCA/Universal records flat-out ordered Dame to remove any and all types of Mary references from Reasonable Doubt. This was bad, mainly because Dame had spent mad money advertising how the song featured Mary, and there was even a full-page ad out in The Source! "I decided to pull a favor from one of my colleagues that was a top exec at Universal. Granting me a solid, he said they'd allow for Mary to remain on the album—only no singles, no videos, and no advertising. Dame was pissed, and had me set up a conference call with said Universal connect. On the call, as my connect was explaining to Dame why Mary could not appear on a single, Dame lost it and asked dude if he owned Universal. When dude said he didn't, Dame laid into him (and me) about how I had him dealing with 'peons.' My heart dropped and I immediately dropped Dame from the call. Pissed that I just wasted a major favor, and having dude now totally done with me, I continued to apologize to my connect for Dame's behavior. I damn near had to suck him off to keep Mary J. Blige on the album. Pause. Afterwards, I had a major argument with Dame, how he could go ahead and burn his bridges, but how there was no way in hell I'd allow him to burn any more of mine. You could say that that's when we started hating each other. Switching to plan B, Dame had to replace Mary's vocals with Me'lissa Morgan's for the single. Me'lissa was also featured in the video. Dame did keep the Mary version on the album. It wasn't Mary's fault, but there was mad drama behind this song."[2]
A space was left for the hook, which the Latin singer Veronica was originally supposed to sing, but for which Mary J. Blige stepped in after Roc-A-Fella had contacted her and she heard the track and immediately wanted to get involved.[1] The appearance of Blige was considered a major coup because the label was an independent and Jay-Z was unknown at the time.[1] Blige came up with the idea for the chorus.,[3] which is a vocal interpolation of a verse from "Fool's Paradise" by Meli'sa Morgan, with slightly modified lyrics.
A live version of "Can't Knock the Hustle" found on the bonus disc of Kingdom Come features Beyoncé singing the song's hook. The song's beat has been heavily sampled by UK soul singer Lemar in his song "50/50".
Receptionedit
Aside from reaching #73 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #30 on the UK Singles Chart, "Can't Knock the Hustle" also garnered much critical acclaim. As Steve Juon of RapReviews.com states: "Knobody put together an incredibly smooth opening track for Jay that became the mantra of his career. With a bouncy beat and Mary J. Blige on the hook, the song was infinitely danceable, but the lyrics he spit were far from just the average shit."[4] Juon also considers the Hype Williams-directed music video[citation needed] for "Can't Knock the Hustle" to be "movie quality."[5]
^"The Making of Reasonable Doubt Told U So" 2009-03-20 at the Wayback Machine. XXL Magazine. June 23, 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
^Juon, Steve. "Reasonable Doubt Review at RapReviews.com". Retrieved July 9, 2007.
^Juon, Steve. "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Review at RapReviews.com". Retrieved July 9, 2007.
^"Jay-Z Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
^"Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
^"Jay-Z Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
^"Jay-Z Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
November 10, 2023
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Can t Knock the Hustle is the third single from American rapper Jay Z s debut album Reasonable Doubt The song features a beat produced by Knobody It is co produced by Sean C and Dahoud Darien The chorus is sung by Mary J Blige The prelude to the song is a reference to the 1983 Scarface film in the scene where Omar Suarez is talking to Tony Montana and Manny Ray giving them information about a job that he wants them to undertake involving purchasing cocaine from Colombian dealers Can t Knock the Hustle Single by Jay Z featuring Mary J Bligefrom the album Reasonable DoubtReleasedAugust 27 1996StudioD amp D Studios New York City New York mixed at Platinum Island Studios by Carlos Bess and Vaughn SessionsGenreMafioso rap hip hop soulLength5 17LabelRoc A FellaPrioritySongwriter s Shawn CarterJerome FosterMarcus MillerProducer s KnobodyNomad co producer Dahoud Darian co producer Sean C co producer Jay Z singles chronology Ain t No Nigga 1996 Can t Knock the Hustle 1996 I ll Be 1997 Mary J Blige singles chronology Touch Me Tease Me 1996 Can t Knock the Hustle 1996 All That I Got Is You 1996 Music video Can t Knock the Hustle on YouTube Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Formats and track listings 3 1 CD 3 2 Vinyl 3 2 1 A Side 3 2 2 B Side 4 Charts 4 1 Weekly charts 5 See also 6 ReferencesBackground edit Can t Knock the Hustle marked Knobody s first foray into outside production after the rap group he was in disbanded 1 Knobody had been very pleased with the last track he had produced for the band and together with Sean C had taken it to the nearby home of Roc A Fella s Damon Dash 1 Dash then showed it to Jay Z who was suitably impressed and encouraged the young producer to contribute beats 1 Knobody then gave Jay Z the backing track to what would become Can t Knock The Hustle 1 The rapper then recorded the track 1 Combat Jack spoke to Complex about the record Saying This song was an effing pain in the ass as it was the beginning of the end of my run with Roc A Fella Because Dame dated Mary J Blige briefly right before she blew up she did him a solid and dropped her cameo on Can t Knock The Hustle This was supposed to be the first official single and like B I G Mary J Blige was running this Queen of R amp B and Hip Hop shit And like Brooklyn s Finest the label did not want to have her associated with some unknown Jay Z rapper dude In response to my request MCA Universal records flat out ordered Dame to remove any and all types of Mary references from Reasonable Doubt This was bad mainly because Dame had spent mad money advertising how the song featured Mary and there was even a full page ad out in The Source I decided to pull a favor from one of my colleagues that was a top exec at Universal Granting me a solid he said they d allow for Mary to remain on the album only no singles no videos and no advertising Dame was pissed and had me set up a conference call with said Universal connect On the call as my connect was explaining to Dame why Mary could not appear on a single Dame lost it and asked dude if he owned Universal When dude said he didn t Dame laid into him and me about how I had him dealing with peons My heart dropped and I immediately dropped Dame from the call Pissed that I just wasted a major favor and having dude now totally done with me I continued to apologize to my connect for Dame s behavior I damn near had to suck him off to keep Mary J Blige on the album Pause Afterwards I had a major argument with Dame how he could go ahead and burn his bridges but how there was no way in hell I d allow him to burn any more of mine You could say that that s when we started hating each other Switching to plan B Dame had to replace Mary s vocals with Me lissa Morgan s for the single Me lissa was also featured in the video Dame did keep the Mary version on the album It wasn t Mary s fault but there was mad drama behind this song 2 A space was left for the hook which the Latin singer Veronica was originally supposed to sing but for which Mary J Blige stepped in after Roc A Fella had contacted her and she heard the track and immediately wanted to get involved 1 The appearance of Blige was considered a major coup because the label was an independent and Jay Z was unknown at the time 1 Blige came up with the idea for the chorus 3 which is a vocal interpolation of a verse from Fool s Paradise by Meli sa Morgan with slightly modified lyrics A live version of Can t Knock the Hustle found on the bonus disc of Kingdom Come features Beyonce singing the song s hook The song s beat has been heavily sampled by UK soul singer Lemar in his song 50 50 Reception editAside from reaching 73 on The Billboard Hot 100 and 30 on the UK Singles Chart Can t Knock the Hustle also garnered much critical acclaim As Steve Juon of RapReviews com states Knobody put together an incredibly smooth opening track for Jay that became the mantra of his career With a bouncy beat and Mary J Blige on the hook the song was infinitely danceable but the lyrics he spit were far from just the average shit 4 Juon also considers the Hype Williams directed music video citation needed for Can t Knock the Hustle to be movie quality 5 Formats and track listings editCD edit Can t Knock the Hustle Original Mix Can t Knock the Hustle Instrumental Can t Knock the Hustle Acapella Can t Knock the Hustle Hani Remix Vinyl edit A Side edit Can t Knock the Hustle Original Mix Can t Knock the Hustle Instrumental Can t Knock the Hustle Acapella B Side edit Can t Knock the Hustle Hani Remix Charts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1996 1997 PeakpositionUS Billboard Hot 100 6 73US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 7 35US Hot Rap Songs Billboard 8 7US R amp B Hip Hop Airplay Billboard 9 41See also editList of songs recorded by Jay ZReferences edit a b c d e f g Interview With Knobody HitQuarters Sep 27 2005 Archived from the original on February 17 2012 Retrieved Jul 1 2010 Combat Jack Presents True Stories Behind 25 Rap Classics Dominic Green Sep 10 2010 Retrieved Sep 10 2010 The Making of Reasonable Doubt Told U So Archived 2009 03 20 at the Wayback Machine XXL Magazine June 23 2006 Retrieved June 20 2007 Juon Steve Reasonable Doubt Review at RapReviews com Retrieved July 9 2007 Juon Steve In My Lifetime Vol 1 Review at RapReviews com Retrieved July 9 2007 Jay Z Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved December 28 2021 Jay Z Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved December 28 2021 Jay Z Chart History Hot Rap Songs Billboard Retrieved December 28 2021 Jay Z Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Airplay Billboard Retrieved December 28 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Can 27t Knock the Hustle Jay Z song amp oldid 1182396873, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
