| Submission declined on 8 March 2024 by AngusWOOF (talk). This submission's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article—that is, they do not show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject in published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject (see the guidelines on the notability of music-related topics). Before any resubmission, additional references meeting these criteria should be added (see technical help and learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue). If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia. The proposed article does not have sufficient content to require an article of its own, but it could be merged into the existing article at The Black Album (Jay-Z album). Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, you are welcome to add that information yourself. Thank you.
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Comment: Please indicate how this song is independently notable from the album. AngusW🐶🐶F (bark • sniff) 00:44, 8 March 2024 (UTC)
"Lucifer" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, and track 12 on his 8th solo studio album, The Black Album, released in 2003. The track details Jay-Z's reaction to the death of fellow rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. The song contains a sample taken from Chase the Devil, performed by Max Romeo. The track was produced by Kanye West, who also provided background vocals.
Background edit
As detailed in his memoir Decoded, Jay-Z recalls the death of fellow rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. Biggie and Jay-Z were close, and had previously collaborated on the song Brooklyn's Finest, off of Jay-Z's debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt. They had also collaborated on some of Biggie's songs, such as I Love the Dough. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, spoke to his fellow Brooklyn-based rapper right before his untimely demise.[1]
“He wasn’t a troublemaker at all. He was just a funny, charismatic guy. For him to die so senselessly – I spoke to him that night, and he was so happy to be in Los Angeles, after the whole East Coast-West Coast thing."
— Jay-Z, speaking at the launch of his memoir, Decoded
Production edit
The song was entirely produced by Kanye West, built off of a sample of the reggae song Chase the Devil, by Max Romeo. In a video, Jay-Z and West can be seen working in the music studio together. It also shows West singing what would become one of the hooks for the track.[2] The song was written by Jay-Z and Kanye West, with additional writing credits attributed to Hugh perry, Armend Cobi, and Maxie Smith, respectively.[3]
Lyrics edit
In an MTV interview, Jay-Z stated:[4]
"I wanted people to have the proper context of rap, the generation, what we went through, these emotions behind these songs. A song like 'Lucifer,' it's really about the struggle and really about dealing with death and having that feeling. The evil is inside of you, not this mythical character with pitchforks and things like that. Dealing with a feeling of wanting revenge."
In his book Decoded, Jay-Z describes the song as one dealing with the pain of losing fellow rapper, The Notorious B.I.G.
Critical Performance edit
In a review for The Black Album, Pitchfork said the song "comes off a bit too close to flavour-of-the-month material for an album that promised to avoid easy singles," as well as describing some of the wordplay as "beginner's-level." However, they also praised Jay's lyrics: [Jay-Z's] verses make up for these slights by following an incredibly intricate structure, somehow managing to land on religious imagery every time the sample comes up." They also praised the Kanye West production, saying it "retains a snaky bounce without going down the obvious ragga route."[5]
References edit
- ^ https://www.ellecanada.com/culture/music/jay-z-talked-to-the-notorious-b-i-g-just-before-his-death
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdyyNJcNavw
- ^ This is all stated in a booklet that came with The Black Album's CD. This information can also be found on the main Black Album Wiki page.
- ^ https://www.mtv.com/news/kjkrop/jay-z-decoded-songs-like-lucifer-to-give-rap-context
- ^ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4219-the-black-album/