American Gangster

Lore & Background

American Gangster was recorded in sessions at Audiovision Studio and South Beach Studios in Miami; SoundTrap Studios in Atlanta; Hot Beats Recording Studios in Atlanta; and Baseline Studios, Daddy's House, KMA Studios, and Rock The Mic in New York. Jay-Z had the film American Gangster playing on the monitors above the recording booth as a source of motivation. Producer LV from the Hitmen told MTV, 'Jay would have the beats...He'd do the record, and he'd send it back to us. We'd fill in the blanks as far as making them full records. From having live horns, live strings, live drummers. This percussion dude, he was coming in with bottles, banging on bottles, just sprinkles of shit. We went all out.' The Neptunes provided production twice, on 'Blue Magic' and 'I Know'. Diddy and producers LV & Sean C from the Hitmen are responsible for six tracks: 'Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)...', 'American Dreamin'', 'No Hook', 'Party Life', 'Pray', and 'Sweet'. Jay-Z originally stated he recorded nine tracks, but the final track listing accumulated 15 overall cuts including two bonus tracks. Def Jam executive Tracey Waples noted each track would have its own 'mini-film'. The album cover and music videos were costume designed by June Ambrose.

In Their Own Story

According to Yahoo! Music journalist Angus Batey, American Gangster used 'a selection of beats built from '70s soul and funk' to reflect 'the period setting; lyrically, its primary theme is an investigation of the evolution of the gangsta archetype, looking at how the drug dealer became a semi-sympathetic outlaw figure, examining the contradictions inherent in those who chase the American Dream on the far side of legality.' Jay-Z stated that almost every song is based on a specific scene from the film. On the Charlie Rose Show, he said: 'It's a New York City true story, you know. So as soon as the movie came on, it was like familiar, things that my pop seen and my uncles seen and, you know, different things like that, things I've seen growing up.' Although inspired by the movie, songs such as 'Say Hello' touch on the topics of censorship and the Jena 6 controversy. Jay-Z also drew on personal memories from his early life when he lived in Brooklyn, New York City, New York's Marcy.

Reader's Guide

American Gangster was made available for digital download in its entirety at Amazon.com, Roc-A-Fella's website, and Rhapsody on November 6, 2007. Jay-Z had the album removed from the iTunes Store, explaining that 'as movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles.' It was eventually released to iTunes in 2011. Jay-Z promoted the album with the American Gangster Live concert tour, performing material only from the album in five smaller sized venues across the US, starting on November 6 in Los Angeles and ending on November 12 in Philadelphia. The five-city club tour sold out in less than 60 seconds. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling over 425,000 copies in its first week. This became Jay-Z's tenth number-one album, tying him with Elvis Presley for the second most number-one albums on the chart. A month after its release, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 2007. This would be Jay-Z's last album released under Def Jam Recordings before signing with Live Nation two years later.

Did You Know?

• American Gangster was Jay-Z's tenth number-one album on the Billboard 200, tying him with Elvis Presley for the second most number-one albums on the chart.
• The album sold over 425,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2007.
• Jay-Z had the album removed from the iTunes Store at release, saying it would not be sold as individual singles because 'movies are not sold scene by scene.'
• The five-city American Gangster Live club tour sold out in less than 60 seconds.
• Rolling Stone named the album's second single, 'Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)...', the best song of 2007.