Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Jay-Z Raps About Frank Sinatra

jay-z-gangster

Jay-Z is an extremely successful rapper and businessman. Besides selling millions of albums, he owns everything from a clothing line to a basketball team to nightclubs. He's also the husband of Beyonce. The reason I'm posting about Jay-Z today is that I've noticed in two of his recent songs that he's mentioned Frank Sinatra. I'm not sure if he's done this in the past or not. I can't really remember. I did think it was cool that he would rap about Sinatra at all. I'm posting clips of these two songs. These references are brief, but I hope you'll check them out to see what I'm talking about. It's always cool to hear artists of today talk about these cool cats of the past.

sinatra


Death of Auto-tune:



Empire State of Mind:



63 comments:

Anonymous said...

Godmorning Keith & Frank.....It's very very early in Sweden, and you made /make?) my morning... you and Frank!!

Agneta

Leah said...

It's like his tribute to Frankie.

Zuzana said...

Ha, amazing, I was watching the last clip just the other night, Saturday night to be precise, on BBC.;) It is Jonathan Ross show, a late night show similar to Leno or Letterman. Sir David Attenborough was there as well and also Eva Herzigova, the model.;)
I did not notice the Frank reference until I saw the clip again on your blog.;)

Keith said...

Hey Agneta. Thanks for commenting. Glad you enjoyed this post.

Keith said...

Hey Leah. I thought it was cool that he mentioned Sinatra in these two songs.

Keith said...

Hey Protege. Thanks. They show Jonathan Ross here in the United States on BBC America. I've seen some of the episodes, but not this one. I thought it was cool when I came across this clip.

Nancy Sinatra Fan said...

I'm not a big fan of hip hop, but I did enjoy these. Now if Jay-Z will just rap about Dean.

Kim @ The Girl Can't Help It said...

Yeah, but doesn't he say "I'm the new Sinatra" in the song about New York? If he's comparing himself to Frankie, then his head is bigger than I thought.

Marcos Callau said...

Yeah it's so cool. Is wonderful that tribute to Sinatra. Two latin singers called "Coti" and "Ariel Rot", both from Argentina, compossed songs as a tribute to Sinatra. Ariel Rot's song was "Lo siento, Frank" and Coti's song was "Ella escuchaba a Frank Sinatra". Sorry but my English is so bad.

www.janetteria.com said...

WOW, cool clips!


XoXo

Mondo said...

Jay Z's not normally my sorta thing - but these could swing me over - love that top photo!

Keith said...

Hey Phoebe. Thanks. That would be cool if Jay-Z or any other rapper will mention the Rat Pack again.

Keith said...

Hey Kim. Yeah, he does say that. Not that I agree with him on that. There will never be another Sinatra. I'm not praising what he's saying, but just reporting the facts. lol

Keith said...

Hey Dana. Thanks. That's so cool. I didn't know that. I'll have to check it out. I appreciate you letting me know. Cheers!

Keith said...

Thanks Janet. Glad you liked them. Cheers!

Keith said...

Hey Dave. Thanks. I try to share different things here, especially if it has some relevance to the Rat Pack.

Wolf Boy said...

Cool videos. I like Jay-Z. That's a cool picture of him. What a life he lives.

Keith said...

Thanks Wolf. Yeah, the man does have a hot wife on top of all the success he's had.

Unknown said...

i love your pics.. i will email u.. ok?
kisses, sweety

Rika Sulaiman said...

thats so cool :D i like frank :)
cheers too ! :)

http://iamrikaa.blogspot.com

Keith said...

Hey Fashion. Yeah, emailing me is fine. I'll get back to you asap. Cheers!

Keith said...

Hey Rika. Thanks for commenting. I hope you'll visit again soon. Cheers!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tights Lover said...

That is great.

I always liked Jay-Z, but after his appearence on Bill Maher a few weeks back, I think I like him even more. It's sometimes tough to tell the personality of a rapper by their music, but in this interview he came across as extremely intelligent and grounded. I enjoyed hearing about some of the behind the scenes stuff that goes into his music and writing.

Gia said...

Thank you so much for your comment!
Wow, I didn't know Frank Sinatra was mentioned in one of Jay-Z songs, very nice:)
Have a great week!

Bisous,
Gia.

Lizzy said...

Well, I don't like that kind of music, but it is always interesting to listen new things.

AutumnJones said...

Yea Jay-Z has loved Frank Sinatra for years. Hope your weekend was great!

erika sorocco said...

I think that the cool cats of yesteryear will always strike a chord with more modern artists - after all, they are the ones who paved the way for their talent. Love this tribute! :)

Couture Carrie said...

So cool that Jay-Z references Sinatra ~ great call, Keith!

xoxox,
CC

James Jean said...

Jay has made many Frank Sinatra references, one of his records, 'The Blueprint 2', he sampled "I Did It My Way". Really dope song. You should give that a listen as well......

Keith said...

Thanks La Mode. Cheers!

Keith said...

Hey Tights. Thanks. I appreciate your comment. Jay-Z seems to have his head screwed on right. Besides being a talented entertainer, he's also a smart businessman. There's much to admire there.

Keith said...

Hey Gia. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad my post let you know about this then. I always seem to pick up on things like this.

Keith said...

Hey Lizzy. Yeah, it's not everybody's cup of tea. I usually don't post rap music here. I did it because it was relevant to what this blog is all about in this case.

Keith said...

Hey Autumn. Thanks. I hope you will have a great week. I had no clue that Jay-Z liked Sinatra. There are people in hip hop today living the Rat Pack lifestyle more than a lot of others.

Keith said...

Hey Erika. Thanks for commenting. So true. The Rat Pack inspired so many. It's always great to see artists of today who are fans of theirs. I love it.

Keith said...

Thanks Carrie. I appreciate that. Glad I had noticed it.

Keith said...

Hey JFK. Thanks for letting me know. I've listened to plenty of Jay-Z music before. I have no clue why I had missed any previous Sinatra references. Have to check those out again.

drollgirl said...

i'm not really a fan of jay z, but this is a pretty nice move on his part!

Unknown said...

Rapping about sinantra, how interesting....
XOXOX
Libby
http://fashionconfectionairy.weebly.com

Some Like it Vintage.com said...

Jay Z and frank eh? Well, as long as it's done in good taste! Great to see modern artists recognizing their past influences, because Frank influenced just about everyone, whether they knew it or not!

watermeloncrush.com said...

Hey!

Thanks for your sweet comment. Loving your blog.

xx
Steph

http://watermeloncrush.blogspot.com

Maria Confer said...

I oddly really like that picture of Jay Z!

lululetty.blogspot.com

chic femme said...

How cool is that. I love JAY Z he is the man and to rap about a cool cat is even greater :)

Gabbi said...

I really like Jay-Z and the Auto-tune song is a radio fave of mine! Truly doesn't surprise me that Sinatra is an influence... the Chairman of the Board has timeless style!♥

Unknown said...

I know that's cool! I'm beginning to wonder what my dad will say about this... But anyway, I listen to it (as soon as my daughter sleeps)... Cheers! :)

this wheel's on fire said...

that's so cool!

Anonymous said...

I am always amazed by how many rappers take cues from Sinatra and the rest of the rat pack. Rappers are very inspired by them. I think because they represent and life of pure luxury, wealth and women hahaha

Jay-Z is an icon, isn't he?? Gosh, he is still on top of the world and fabulous!

S.Elisabeth said...

I love Jay Z, I think he is incredibly classic for a rapper, and I feel as though he will go down in history like Sinatra. He's just got a good, classic appeal. Plus Beyonce is beautiful!

Keith said...

Hey Droll. Thanks. I figured that a lot of people here might not necessarily be big fans of his, but I thought it was cool that he mentioned Sinatra.

Hey Libby. Yeah, I thought it was really cool that Jay-Z would mention Sinatra in at least a couple of his songs.

Keith said...

Hey Veronica. Thanks for commenting. I do think there are a lot of guys in hip hop who really admire the Rat Pack. Those cool cats definitely influenced so many artists of today.

Keith said...

Hey Stephanie. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate it. Cheers!

Hey Maria. Thanks. Glad you liked that pic. I thought it was a good one of him.

Emily Cato said...

I LOVE Frank Sinatra, and Jay-Z of course!

Thanks for the comment on my blog. :-)

Keith said...

Hey Steph. Thanks. I agree that it's very cool. I like Jay-Z myself. It's awesome that he would rap about Frankie.

Hey Gabbi. Thanks. Cool to see you're a fan. I am too. I love his song about auto-tune. I also love the other song. I enjoyed his performance of it on the VMAs with Alicia Keys.

Keith said...

Hey Lance. Thanks for commenting. Some people will think it's awesome, while others won't. I think it's neat that artists of today will reference guys like Sinatra, etc. in their music.

Thanks Wheel. Cheers!

Keith said...

Hey Clare. Thanks for commenting. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I so agree with you. The entertainers in hip hop are the ones that are most living that Rat Pack type of lifestyle today. It makes sense that they would pay homage to Sinatra, etc. Jay-Z is definitely still on top of the world.

Hey S. Elizabeth. Thanks. Glad to see you're a fan of Jay-Z. I think he's awesome. He's a great rapper, plus he's got a good head for biz. Plus he's got a beautiful wife.

Keith said...

Hey Emily. You are very welcome. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Cheers!

nativetounge26 said...

jay has become (fs) in sense in hiphop standards, jay catolog will be talked about in years to come

www.cashmerethought.blogspot.com

Keith said...

Hey About Me. I totally agree with you. He's definitely the standard that hip hop will be measured by.

Melissa Hafting said...

that's wonderful everyone admired the greatest singer of the 20th century he was a true legend so people of all genres can appreciate his craftsmanship!

Keith said...

Hey Mel. Thanks. Yeah, so true. Sinatra is a legend and an icon. He will live on forever. All generations will be in awe of him.

RJSingle said...

The Rap Pack, I'm Sinatra, Dame's Sam Davis
Big's the smart one on the low like Dean Martin

Jay-Z- I Did It My Way (off the Blueprint 2) where he sampled My Way by Frankie

just found this site...very awesome

Keith said...

Thanks RJ. I appreciate your comment. It was great hearing from you.