"Lost One" is the second single from

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 o ...

's comeback album '' Kingdom Come''. It was released on November 21, 2006 and peaked at No. 58 on

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 stream ...

. Its music video was released on December 4, 2006, Jay-Z's 37th birthday and notably features the rare

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

Maybach Exelero The Maybach Exelero is a one-off high-performance sports car made by Stola (now part of Blutec) in collaboration with DaimlerChrysler. It was unveiled at the Tempodrom in Berlin in 2005. Development The Exelero was commissioned by Fulda, a ...

Music and lyrics

The song features

Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982) is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song " Be OK" (featuring will.i.am). She was previously signed to Motown Record ...

and is produced by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

and

Mark Batson Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Potter an ...

. The song is composed by S. Carter, D. Parker, C. Payne, M. Batson, and A. Young. Dr. Dre told Scratch magazine in a 2004 interview that he had been studying piano and music theory, like in this song. The beat was used in the 2006 Rap Up by Skillz. The first verse is rumored to be about Jaz-O, his former mentor, but is also speculated as being about former long-time friend and business partner,

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local bar ...

, co-founder of

Roc-a-fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

. In the song Jay-Z states, "I heard motherfuckers saying they made Hov; made Hov say, 'Okay, so, make another Hov.'" Hov refers to his previous stage name Young Hov and the lyrics parallel the history between him and Jaz-O. Jay-Z makes a reference to the film "

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

" with the line: "Shoulda stayed in food and beverage/ Too much flossing/ Too much Sam Rothstein." This reference is viewed by many as commentary on Dash. The second verse is very arguably about

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 ...

. The opening lyric, "I don't think it's meant to be, B," seems to be addressing the singer by her nickname. The third verse is about his nephew, Colleek D. Luckie, who died in a car accident involving a

Chrysler 300 The Chrysler 300 is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Stellantis North America (and its predecessor companies) as a four-door sedan and station wagon in its first generation (model years 2005–2010) and solely as a four-d ...

car, which Jay-Z bought him as a graduation present. In the verse, he mentions Colleek's girlfriend was pregnant when he died. Jay-Z personally blames his nephew's death on himself.Jay-Z Interview
. AllHipHop.com. December 5, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2007.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2006 singles Chrisette Michele songs Jay-Z songs Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler Songs written by Mark Batson Songs written by Jay-Z Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre Songs written by Dr. Dre Song recordings produced by Mark Batson 2006 songs Songs written by Chrisette Michele Roc-A-Fella Records singles

Music and lyrics

Charts

See also

References