A song that would have any listener actually feel like he's a mdma-fuelled SUV driven diamonded-hoes-surrounded self-satisfied self-centered overpowered superstar billionaire cruising the streets of New-York (symbol here!) with the city at his feet, yet totally in love with it (a non new-yorker couldn't have made this song). It was all about showing-off, and developping even further musically an inner feeling of supremacy, overpower, omniscience, both to conjure inexorable decline, and show the demanding masses you were part of the few, dominant, superrich chosen ones. 'Popaganda', somehow.Īrtistically it was most of the time dreadful and fast sleep-indulging, but then, among a very few others (including certain Timbaland x Nelly Furtado songs imo) came a song which was the epitome of that 00s myth, yet transcending it to actually sound like the real thing, its credible official soundtrack. With a context of war, back-to-basics and economic recession, the years 00 were paradoxically in US and occidental mainstream pop the climax of celebrating blingish supersuccess, 'winner attitude', simplified/childish 'cool' (or rather : signs of it), and somehow dissing nuance, subtlety, humor and culture as excuses for the weak and loser.

Alicia keys jay z empire state of mind