"Can't Knock the Hustle" is the third single from American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's debut album ''
Reasonable Doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, bec ...
''. The song features a beat produced by
Knobody
Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, ...
. It is co-produced by
Sean C
Deleno Matthews, known professionally as Sean C (originally Sean Cane), is an American producer, DJ and "artists and repertoire" (A&R) specialist. Sean is a member of production duo Sean C & LV (Grind Music) which is affiliated with Sean Combs' H ...
and Dahoud Darien. The chorus is sung by
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
.
Background
"Can't Knock the Hustle" marked
Knobody
Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, ...
's first foray into outside production after the rap group he was in disbanded.
Knobody
Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, ...
had been very pleased with the last track he had produced for the band and, together with
Sean C
Deleno Matthews, known professionally as Sean C (originally Sean Cane), is an American producer, DJ and "artists and repertoire" (A&R) specialist. Sean is a member of production duo Sean C & LV (Grind Music) which is affiliated with Sean Combs' H ...
, had taken it to the nearby home of Roc-A-Fella's
Damon Dash.
Dash then showed it to Jay-Z, who was suitably impressed and encouraged the young producer to contribute beats.
Knobody
Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, ...
then gave Jay-Z the backing track to what would become "Can't Knock The Hustle".
The rapper then recorded the track.
Combat Jack
Reginald Joseph Ossé (July 8, 1969 – December 20, 2017), known professionally as Combat Jack, was a Haitian-American hip hop music attorney, executive, journalist, editor and podcaster. He was the former managing editor of ''The Source''. H ...
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."
A space was left for the hook, which the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
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.
The appearance of Blige was considered a major coup because the label was an independent and Jay-Z was unknown at the time.
Blige came up with the idea for the chorus.,
["The Making of Reasonable Doubt Told U So"](_blank)
. ''XXL Magazine
''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997.
History
In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 20 ...
''. June 23, 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2007. which is a vocal interpolation of a verse from "Fool's Paradise" by
Meli'sa Morgan
Joyce Melissa Morgan (usually spelled Meli'sa; born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/Soul singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of urban contemporary hits from the mid–1980s to the mid–1990s. Most notable include her cover version of ...
, with slightly modified lyrics.
A live version of "Can't Knock the Hustle" found on the bonus disc of ''
Kingdom Come'' features
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
singing the song's hook. The song's beat has been heavily sampled by UK soul singer
Lemar
Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...
in his song "
50/50".
Reception
Aside from reaching #73 on
The Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
and #30 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, "Can't Knock the Hustle" also garnered much critical acclaim. As Steve Juon of RapReviews.com states: "
Knobody
Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game, ...
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."
Juon also considers the
Hype Williams
Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...
-directed music video for "Can't Knock the Hustle" to be "movie quality."
Formats and track listings
CD
# "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
A-Side
# "Can't Knock the Hustle (Original Mix)"
# "Can't Knock the Hustle (Instrumental)"
# "Can't Knock the Hustle (Acapella)"
B-Side
# "Can't Knock the Hustle (Hani Remix)"
Charts
Weekly charts
See also
*
List of songs recorded by Jay-Z
The following is a list of songs by Jay-Z organized by alphabetical order. The songs on the list are all included in official label-released, albums, soundtracks and singles, but not white label or other non-label releases. Next to the song tit ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Can't Knock The Hustle
1996 singles
Jay-Z songs
Mary J. Blige songs
Songs written by Jay-Z
Songs written by Marcus Miller
1996 songs
Roc-A-Fella Records singles
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Black-and-white music videos
Mafioso rap songs