"Stepped on My J'z" is a song written and performed by American rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

featuring American singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

and fellow American rapper

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

; produced by the latter, it was released as the second single from Nelly's fifth studio album, ''

Brass Knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...

''.

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

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

Music video

The music video for "Stepped on My J'z" was filmed in the middle of May 2008 and directed by

Benny Boom Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic '' All Eyez on Me''. Career Do ...

. It then premiered on the show Access Granted on June 11 on BET. 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 James Charles Lewis III (born October 31, 1990), known professionally as Lil' JJ or Big JJ, is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Jordan on the Nickelodeon television series '' Just Jordan'' and doing Vital Infor ...

, actor/singer Maestro Harrell, and another friend skipping school and returning with newly bought pairs of Jordans. Nelly starts his first verse seated atop an Ariel Atom 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, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

film, '' Do the Right Thing''. 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 and 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 "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), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...

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 LRoc Songs written by Nelly Universal Motown Records singles 2008 songs