Jay-Z isn’t trying to make himself out to be a tough guy he is more or less telling his past not necessarily condoning deviant behavior. In the song Jay-Z basically speaks about situations young black males like himself go through in order to make money not always legally. The chorus says he wants “dead presidents to represent me” meaning he is out to make money. The song title Dead Presidents refers to money.

Jay-Z didn’t let the doubters stop him however, he teamed up with a friend Damon Dash to found Rocafella Records and put things into place himself. Some record labels believed his distinctive voice would hold him back and others thought he had talent but nothing worth their interest. Jay-Z shopped around for record deals but was denied by every label. The album gets its name from what he believed to be reasonable doubt that labels had in his failure as an artist. The Song dead presidents is from Jay-Z’s debut album entitled Reasonable Doubt. He says that growing up where he is from was tough but it made him the successful person he is today at the same time. Jay-Z pours lots of money back into the community Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, NY which is the housing projects that raised him.

No other artists has put out that many albums over such a long period of time and gain popularity with mainstream pop culture and the black community. Since 1996 Jay-Z has released ten solo albums many of them considered to be classics. Jay-Z is well respected within the hip-hop community for his consistency, longevity, hard work. Jay-Z is one of the most successful hip-hop rap artists of all time.

Dead presidents jay z video