Somewhereinamerica

Album: Magna Carta... Holy Grail (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Jay lambasting the white American money snobs who don't much like their wealthy new African-American neighbors.

    "New money, they looking down on me
    Blue bloods they trying to clown on me
    You can turn up your nose high society
    Never gone turn down the homie."

    The difference between "old money" and "new money" is one of the major themes of Magna Carta… Holy Grail.
  • Jay concludes the track by giving a nod to Miley Cyrus's twerking. The former Disney princess co-opted black culture when she shared a video of herself performing twerk dance moves to J Dash's track "Wop," causing the single to go viral. Hova is saying something like that could only happen in America.

    Cyrus responded to Jay's namecheck on Twitter, writing: "Somewhere in America a Jay Z song is onnnnnn." She later added: "That's a win win forrrrrr me."
  • Hit-Boy and Mile Dean supplied the jazzy beat. Hit Boy is signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label and has successfully worked with Jay before, when he produced the Watch the Throne track "Niggas in Paris." Veteran producer Mike Dean is best known for pioneering the "Dirty South" sound. He worked with Kanye West on his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Yeezus albums.
  • The song embodies portions of Johnny Guitar Watson's 1957 tune, "Gangster Of Love."
  • Jay-Z touched more on Miley Cyrus's association with black culture and twerking during an interview with Angie Martinez on New York's Hot 97. "I think it's more reaction to people [who] want her to be Hannah Montana," he said before adding, "I like what she's doing right now. She's fearless. Just watching the situation, people want her to be something and she's like, 'I'm not that. I was six years old. You want me to be six years old forever?' And this is her reaction to it. Maybe it's loud, but it's understandable."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."