Empire State of Mind Lyrics – Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

[Intro: JAY-Z]
Yeah!

[Verse 1: JAY-Z & Alicia Keys]
Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in Tribeca
Right next to De Niro, but I'll be hood forever
I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere
I used to cop in Harlem, hola, my Dominicanos (Dímelo!)
Right there up on Broadway
Brought me back to that McDonald's
Took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen, like a Simmons whipping pastry
Cruising down 8th Street, off-white Lexus
Driving so slow, but BK is from Texas
Me? I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie
Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me
Say "What up?" to Ty Ty, still sipping Mai Tais
Sitting courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high fives
N!gga, I be spiked out (Come on)
I could trip a referee (Come on)
Tell by my attitude (Come on)
That I'm most definitely from

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & JAY-Z]
In New York (Ayy, uh, yeah; aha)
Concrete jungle (Yeah) where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do (Yeah, okay)
Now you're in New York (Aha, aha, aha; uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new (New)
Big lights will inspire you (Come on) (Okay)
Let's hear it for New York (You welcome, OG; uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh, I made you hot, n!gga)

[Verse 2: JAY-Z & Alicia Keys]
Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game
Sh!t, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though
But I got a gang of n!ggas walking with my clique though
Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we selling rock
Afrika Bambaataa sh!t, home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners, it ain't fair
They act like they forgot how to add
Eight million stories out there in the naked
City, it's a pity half of y'all won't make it
Me? I gotta plug Special Ed, "I Got It Made"
If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade
Three dice cee-lo, three-card Marley
Labor Day Parade—rest in peace, Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
(Come on, come on)
Long live the king, yo (Come on)
I'm from the Empire State, that's

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & JAY-Z]
In New York (Ayy; uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do (That boy good, okay)
Now you're in New York
(Uh, yeah, welcome to the bright lights, baby)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let's hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

[Verse 3: JAY-Z & Alicia Keys]
Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
So they can step out of bounds quick, the side lines is
Lined with casualties who sip the life casually
Then gradually become worse—don't bite the apple, Eve!
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in-style
Into the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out
City of sin is a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them
Mami took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
"Hail Mary" to the city, you're a virgin
And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA (Come on) got you feeling like a champion (Come on)
The city never sleeps (Come on)
Better slip you a Ambien

[Chorus: Alicia Keys & JAY-Z]
In New York (Ayy, ow, uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do (Okay)
Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let's hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

[Bridge: Alicia Keys]
One hand in the air for the big city (Oh)
Street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty (Oh)
No place in the world that could compare (Nah)
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say
"Yeah, yeah" (Come on, come on)
"Yeah, yeah" (Come on)

[Chorus: Alicia Keys]
In New York (Uh, yeah)
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do (Okay)
Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah)
These streets will make you feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you (Okay)
Let's hear it for New York (Uh)
New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)