Jay-Z is a very established rapper and has been around for a long time, with a significant amount of hits. He has fans right around the world and is certainly one of the biggest and well-known rappers of all time. You would have to be living under a rock for many decades to not know who Jay-Z is.
He has left a significant mark on the music scene and has won many awards over his career to prove it. There are so many different tracks that he has released, or been a part of, so it can be definitely difficult to narrow them down to just the best of the best.
But, it has been done, so have a read on below at some of the most popular Jay-Z songs of all time:
Ni**as in Paris (with Kanye West)
When Jay-Z teamed up with Kanye West, another big player in the industry, it was pretty much going to be a guaranteed success. This was one of the best songs from the pair’s collaborative album, Watch The Throne. This song was performed many times live by the two artists, much to the pleasing of the crowd and peaked at #5 on Billboards Hot 100 chart.
Umbrella (by Rihanna)
Jay-Z featured on this massive smash hit by Rihanna in the album Good Girl Gone Bad. It was a pivotal moment in Rihanna’s career and helped change her image, and she needed the help of Jay-Z for that. Umbrella spent 7 weeks at #1 on Billboards Hot 100 chart all the way back in 2007.
Crazy In Love (by Beyoncé)
Being married to Beyoncé certainly has many perks, one of which being that it is very easy to write and perform songs together. Crazy In Love was one of many songs by Beyoncé that Jay-Z featured on, but it is considered to be one of the best. This tune peaked at #1 on Billboards Hot 100 chart and managed to stay #1 for an impressive 8 weeks.
Empire State of Mind (featuring Alicia Keys)
This song grabbed the attention of anyone listening to it, thanks to the help of Alicia Keys’ powerful voice. While Jay-Z had a lot of popular songs over the years, it might come as a surprise to you that this was his first song to reach #1 on Billboards Hot 100 chart as the lead artist (i.e. not just featuring on a track).
Suit & Tie (by Justin Timberlake)
The 20/20 Experience was a massively successful album for Justin Timberlake, and one of the most popular songs on this album was certainly Suit & Tie, which was helped by the rap work of Jay-Z. It’s everything you could and would expect from the great Jay-Z and it is way this song deserves a spot on this list. Suit & Tie was #3 on Billboards Hot 100 chart.
’03 Bonnie & Clyde (featuring Beyoncé)
Another smash hit with his now wife, ’03 Bonnie & Clyde was everything that the fans hoped it would be. Released in 2002, it is also certainly worth checking out the music video for this song, if you haven’t already, or have but haven’t seen it for years; it’s a great one! This song reached #4 on Billboards Hot 100 chart in late 2002.
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Jay-Z didn’t need any help from other artists in this song, it’s just him and it is definitely worthy of being on this list. In 2004 this became one of Jay-Z’s most popular songs and it reached as high as #5 on Billboards Hot 100 chart.