"Guilty Until Proven Innocent" is the third and final single from

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's 2000 album '' The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. It features production by

Rockwilder Dana Stinson (born February 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Rockwilder, is an American hip hop record producer and rapper. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast hip hop artist ...

and a chorus sung by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

. The song's title flips the legal declaration "

innocent until proven guilty The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present co ...

" and its lyrics follow suit. Jay-Z's lyrics deal with how the press villainized Jay-Z by accusing him of stabbing his once business partner

Lance Rivera Lance "Un" Rivera is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, record producer, and music executive. Career Lance Rivera began his music career when he met a neighborhood rapper named Christopher Wallace, who rhymed under the name, ...

on December 2, 1999. Jay-Z later pled guilty to stabbing Rivera and was sentenced to 3 years probation for the incident. "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" is also one of the first collaborations between Jay-Z and R. Kelly before they released two albums together. On June 12, 2001—three months after the release of the "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" single—a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

named ''The Making of Guilty Until Proven Innocent'' was released. The DVD helps explain the making of the

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

-directed music video that shows R. Kelly and Jay-Z rapping in court.

Buckshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired thro ...

and

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

and Jay-Z do not have a scene where they are together in this video, but separate scenes.

Formats and track listings

CD

# "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (Radio Edit) # "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (Album Version) # " Change the Game" # "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (Enhanced Video)

Vinyl

A-side # "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (Radio Edit) # "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (LP Version) # "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" (Instrumental) B-side # "1-900-HUSTLER" (Radio Edit) # "1-900-HUSTLER" (LP Version) # "1-900-HUSTLER" (Instrumental)

Charts

References

{{authority control 2001 singles Jay-Z songs R. Kelly songs Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly Songs written by Jay-Z Songs written by Rockwilder Roc-A-Fella Records singles 2000 songs Song recordings produced by Rockwilder

Formats and track listings

CD

Vinyl

Charts

See also

References