Songfacts®:

• In this song, Jay-Z lets his lady know it's time for a night out, so she needs to change clothes into something dazzling, because where they're going is high-end. Around the time, he and Beyoncé were becoming an item, but the song is mostly a showcase for his lyrical prowess, with lots of clever lines. Behold:
  
  I ain't a New Jack nobody goin' Wesley Snipe me
  
  Wesley Snipes starred in the 1991 movie New Jack City.
• Pharrell Williams sings the hook and produced the track with his Neptunes partner Chad Hugo. The Neptunes are also the credited writers on the song along with Jay-Z.
  
  The Neptunes were on a roll, having produced Usher's 8701 album and Justin Timberlake's Justified. They were also making music on their own as N.E.R.D., yet another outlet for their bumpin' beats.
• "Change Clothes" was the first single from Jay-Z's The Black Album, which he said would be his last. He went out with a bang, staging a farewell concert at Madison Square Garden and documenting it for the 2004 film Fade To Black. The album was huge, with "99 Problems" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" following "Change Clothes" up the charts.
  
  But of course, he didn't retire. Jay put out another album in 2006, Kingdom Come. His retirement was sincere - he wanted to devote more time to running his record label, Roc-A-Fella, and to his sundry business ventures. He found out he could do all that while still making his own music.
• The music video is set at a fashion show Naomi Campbell, Jade Cole and a host of other models walk the runway. It opens with Jay on the red carpet answering the question, "Is it true this is your last album." His answer: "Yeah, absolutely."