Many artists took enormous amounts of musical inspiration from the JAY-Z song “Where I’m From”. Twenty years after its release “Where I’m From” has been sampled by some of the best rappers in the world including 50 Cent, Diddy, and Young MA to  J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar.

Kendrick Lamar

On Big Sean’s song “Control” released in 2013, Kendrick Lamar pays homage to JAY-Z and some of the other artists that came before him. In the song Kendrick states “I heard the barbershops be in great debates all the time ‘Bout who’s the best MC: Kendrick, Jigga, and Nas” (Lamar, 2013). Here, Kendrick, is talking about the debates in inner city barber shops about which rapper is the best. When JAY-Z originally released his song “Where I’m From” in 1997, he had a line on the song that stated “I’m from where ni****pull your card, and argue all day about Who’s the best MCs, Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?” (JAY-Z, 1997). Sixteen years after JAY-Z wrote those lyrics Kendrick Lamar put his own take on the line by replacing Biggie with himself along with “Jigga” (JAY-Z) and Nas. Kendrick is telling his audience that he has gotten to a place in his career where now instead of people discussing Biggies name amongst the greats in the barbershop, they are discussing his. This lyric by Lamar is clearly paying homage to JAY-Z, an artist he looks up to and respects as one of the greatest rappers of all time.

J. Cole

 

In 2009 Fayetteville, NC rapper, J. Cole became the first artist signed to JAY-Z’ record label, Roc Nation. Before J. Cole dropped his first official album “The Sideline Story” in 2011, he would often take popular beats from other rappers and use them for his own. In 2010 J. Cole released a song titled “The Last Stretch”. The song features a sample from JAY-Z’ “Where I’m From” which can be heard throughout. Besides the feature from “Where I’m from” being incorporated the lyrics from Cole are very similar to JAY-Z. In “Where I’m From” JAY-Z makes multiple references to being considered one of the best rappers in the game. In “The Last Stretch” Cole states “This the last stretch I’m a half step from legendary”. This notion about being the best is certainly a theme that exists throughout rap music. Although it is common in the industry, this notion of publicly saying that you are the best goes back to JAY-Z’ “Where I’m From”.

(WILL ADD IN SECTIONS ABOUT 50 Cent, Diddy, and Young MA)