MTV Unplugged

Lore & Background

Recorded on November 18, 2001, during the taping of an MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode, Jay-Z: Unplugged captures the rapper performing past songs with live instruments by the Roots. The album sold more than 600,000 copies. All songs were produced by Questlove of the Roots, except "People Talking" which was produced by Ski. The track listing includes interpolations of classic songs: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" borrows from "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5; "Takeover" weaves in "Sound of da Police" and "Five to One"; "Girls, Girls, Girls" uses "I Love You More and More Every Time"; "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" draws from "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City"; "Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)" samples "It's the Hard Knock Life"; "Ain't No" combines "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" and "Seven Minutes of Funk"; "Can't Knock the Hustle" interpolates "Much Too Much" and "Fool's Paradise"; "Song Cry" uses "Sounds Like a Love Song"; and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" incorporates "Give It to Me Baby" and "The World is Filled...".

In Their Own Story

On November 18, 2001, Jay-Z took the stage for an MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode, backed by the Roots. The performance yielded a live album that sold more than 600,000 copies. The setlist reworked past hits with live instrumentation: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" interpolated "I Want You Back", "Takeover" blended "Sound of da Police" and "Five to One", and "Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)" drew from the Broadway tune "It's the Hard Knock Life". Questlove produced all tracks except "People Talking", which Ski handled. The album stands as a document of Jay-Z's catalog reimagined with a live band.

Reader's Guide

The album Jay-Z: Unplugged was recorded on November 18, 2001, during an MTV Unplugged 2.0 taping. It features past songs performed live with the Roots. All songs were produced by Questlove except "People Talking", produced by Ski. The track listing includes interpolations of multiple songs: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" uses "I Want You Back"; "Takeover" uses "Sound of da Police" and "Five to One"; "Girls, Girls, Girls" uses "I Love You More and More Every Time"; "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" uses "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City"; "Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)" uses "It's the Hard Knock Life"; "Ain't No" uses "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" and "Seven Minutes of Funk"; "Can't Knock the Hustle" uses "Much Too Much" and "Fool's Paradise"; "Song Cry" uses "Sounds Like a Love Song"; and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" uses "Give It to Me Baby" and "The World is Filled...". The album sold more than 600,000 copies.

Did You Know?

• The album was recorded during the taping of an MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode on November 18, 2001.
• All songs were produced by Questlove of the Roots, except 'People Talking' which was produced by Ski.
• The album sold more than 600,000 copies.
• 'Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)' contains an interpolation of 'It's the Hard Knock Life' from the musical Annie.
• 'Takeover' contains interpolations of both 'Sound of da Police' and 'Five to One'.