"Stepped on My J'z" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

. The song features American singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

and rapper

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

. It was recorded for Nelly's fifth studio album, ''

Brass Knuckles Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

''. The hip hop and crunk track was produced by Jermaine Dupri, and was released as the second single from the album, but the music video was released before.

Song information

This is the second time Ciara has worked with Jermaine Dupri, the first time working on the single " Like You" with Bow Wow. The song was originally to be the official second single, but was changed to the third single due to the single " Body on Me" charting early. At the BET Awards 2008, Ashanti announced that instead of them collaborating with the same single, she went her way with a different single for her album, and Nelly finally decided to make "J'z" the official second single once again. The song was performed on the

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

'08 by Nelly, Ciara and Jermaine.SC TV: "Stepped on My J'z BET Performance"
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Music video

The music video for "Stepped on My J'z" was filmed in the middle of May 2008 and directed by Benny Boom. It then premiered on the show

Access Granted ''Access Granted'' is an American television series that features an in depth look at the planning, filming and production of R&B and hip hop music videos. Each week a different artist and their new music video are featured, with the video pre ...

on June 11 on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. The video also peaked at #1 on BET's

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

. The music video starts off with young comedian/actor Lil' JJ, actor/singer

Maestro Harrell Maestro Harrell, also known as M A E S T R O (born July 29, 1991), is an American DJ, singer, rapper, actor, and record producer. He starred on the HBO original series ''The Wire'' as Randy Wagstaff (2006–08), and as Malik on the ABC comedy ' ...

, and another friend skipping school and returning with newly bought pairs of Jordans. Nelly starts his first verse seated atop an

Ariel Atom The Ariel Atom is a road-legal high performance open-wheel car made by the British Ariel Motor Company based in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, and under license in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, ...

with a video girl behind, both wearing Jordans. It then cuts over to the scene where Jeffrey Scott Bailey with a careless attitude walks past with a bike and steps on Nelly's freshly bought Jordans. Nelly then immediately confronts him, with his homeboys co-signing behind him, in a scene reminiscent to that of a cut from the popular

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

film, ''

Do the Right Thing ''Do the Right Thing'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson, a ...

''. The video then cuts to

doing his verse in his "personal shoe garage" dancing in front of a mirror and trying on different pairs of Jordans. It then quickly cuts to a black & white scene with Dupri atop a basketball goal imitating a popular commercial in which Michael Jordan continuously attempts to make free throws as Spike Lee blocks each and every shot, with Nelly portraying Michael in this scene. The video then cuts to

and two other dancers pulling up to a basketball park in a blue candy-painted donk. Ciara and her dancers then cut to a sexy choreographed dance scene (which was made up literally two hours before the video was shot) as she sings her verse and shows off her turquoise

Melody Ehsani Melody Ehsani (born March 27, 1980) is an American fashion designer based in Los Angeles. She is notably Foot Locker's first women's creative director and has collaborated with the likes of Nike and Reebok. Career Melody Ehsani was born in Los ...

"POW" 3-finger rings, Melody Ehsani "FOCUSED" plated necklace, and her pair of exclusive Jordans with a Chanel pocket purse attached to her left shoe. After her verse, Ciara dances to the words of Nelly's verse immediately following hers, throwing up the numbered Jordan signs as Nelly raps them. The video finally cuts to a collaborative scene with Nelly, Ciara, and Dupri on a basketball court with spectators cheering and dancing on the sidelines. The video ends this way with the three "artists" performing a choreographed "J'z" step, dancing around, and interacting with the fans. The St. Lunatics, Avery Storm and

DJ Drama Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), professionally known as DJ Drama, is an American DJ, record executive and music promoter. He is the co-founder (with Don Cannon) of Generation Now, an Atlantic Records imprint with artists including ...

make cameo appearances in this video.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Jermaine Dupri 2008 singles Ciara songs Jermaine Dupri songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Nelly songs Song recordings produced by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Ciara Songs written by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Nelly Universal Motown Records singles 2008 songs