| "Dead Presidents" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Jay-Z | ||||
| from the album Reasonable Doubt | ||||
| Released | February 20, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio | D&D Studios (New York City) | |||
| Genre | Mafioso rap[1] | |||
| Length | 3:28 (Original) 4:27 (Dead Presidents II) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Ski | |||
| Jay-Z singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Dead Presidents" on YouTube | ||||
"Dead Presidents" is a 1996 song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the first promotional single for Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt, though it did not directly appear on the album: a different version of the song with the same backing track and chorus but with different lyrics called "Dead Presidents II" appeared on Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents II" was voted number 2 in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Jay-Z Songs.[2]
The title is slang for money because portraits of dead United States presidents appear on most Federal Reserve Notes.[3]
The song was produced by Ski. "Dead Presidents" samples multiple artists including Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace"[4][5] for the track's melody and A Tribe Called Quest's "Oh My God (remix)" for its percussion; the chorus is a sample of Nas rapping "I'm out for dead presidents to represent me", from his 1994 song "The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)".
- ^ "Jay-Z: 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. October 27, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Jay-Z: 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. December 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Dead Presidents Songfacts
- ^ "Lonnie Liston Smith: A history in 5 hip-hop samples". Red Bull. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- ^ "From Jay-Z To 2 Chainz: The Story In Samples Of Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden Of Peace"". Stereogum. March 18, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2022.