JAY-Z
JAY-Z & Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel
JAY-Z & Pharrell Williams
JAY-Z & Beanie Sigel
JAY-Z & Beanie Sigel & Scarface
JAY-Z & Memphis Bleek & Snoop Dogg
JAY-Z & Beanie Sigel
Dynasty (Supergroup)
JAY-Z & R. Kelly
JAY-Z, Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek
Memphis Bleek
JAY-Z, Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek & Freeway
Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek
JAY-Z
JAY-Z
JAY-Z & Beanie Sigel
This introduction to Jay’s 2000 album – the full title of which is The Dynasty: Roc La Familia – is an unusually dark look at the mind-state of a man who has risen to the top but can never forget where he started. It’s viewed by many as the greatest intro of all time.
[Produced by Just Blaze]
[Intro]
It's the Dynasty, niggas
As promised
The world's most infamous, Roc-A-Fella Records
This is Roc La Familia
It's Young Hova
Beanie Sigel
Memphis Bleek
Amil-lion
It's the Dynasty, niggas
2000 to infinity
This is ghetto to ghetto, gutter to gutter
Street corner to street corner, project to project
Worldwide
Walk with us, niggas
Hoffa, Dash
It's The Dynasty, niggas
Check it out
Ugh, walk with me, talk to me, yo
[Verse]
The theme song to The Sopranos
Plays in the key of life on my mental piano
Got a strange way of seeing life, like
I'm Stevie Wonder with beads under the do-rag
Intuition is there, even when my vision's impaired, yeah
Knowing I can go just switching a spare
On the highway of life, nigga, it's sharp in my sight, oh!
Keen senses ever since I was a teen on the benches
Every time somebody like Ennis was mentioned
I would turn green—me, being in the trenches
Him, living adventurous, not worrying about expenditures
I'm braving temperatures below zero, no hero
No father figure; you gotta pardon a nigga
But I'm starving, my niggas, and the weight loss in my figure
Is starting to darken my heart, 'bout to get to my liver
Watch it, my niggas; I'm trying to be calm but I'm gon' get richer
Through any means with that thing that Malcolm palmed in the picture
Never read the Qu'ran or Islamic scriptures
Only Psalms I read was on the arms of my niggas
Tattooed, so I carry on like I'm nonreligious
Clap whoever stand between Shawn and figures
Niggas say it's the dawn, but I'm superstitious
Shit is as dark as it's been, nothing has gone as you predicted
I move with biscuits, stop the heart of niggas acting too suspicious
This is food for thought—you do the dishes!
Intro (The Dynasty) was written by Just Blaze & JAY-Z.
Intro (The Dynasty) was produced by Just Blaze.
JAY-Z released Intro (The Dynasty) on Tue Oct 31 2000.
Just Blaze said:
It took about a year before Jay took notice and started paying attention. Once we did get in the studio, it was like Batman and Robin. That intro is probably the meanest beat on [The Dynasty]. The fact that I did it and that it was the first thing you heard when you put the CD in,...
Blaze explained an error that was made on the beat:
I didn’t get to hear the final mix before it went to mastering. So there were two separate loops that were playing at the same time and weren’t supposed to be, but Duro didn’t know that. There was no time to do anything about it. That singing in t...
Young Guru revealed (107 minutes) that this was one of the first times Jay allowed him to help out in the studio on a solo song. Guru had been working extensively with Memphis Bleek, but his work on record precipitated a lucrative relationship between Guru and Jay.