Dead Presidents (song)
"Dead Presidents" is the first single released in promotion by rapper Jay-Z from his debut album Reasonable Doubt. The title is slang for money because portraits of dead United States presidents appear on most US currency. The song's producer Ski samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace" for the track's melody and "Oh My God (Remix)" for its percussion. The single was a commercial success as indicated by its RIAA certification as a gold single in June 1996.
The actual single "Dead Presidents" does not appear on Jay-Z's debut album, but instead "Dead Presidents II" does. "Dead Presidents II" has the same beat and chorus as the original, but different lyrics.
"Dead Presidents I" is often regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever recorded. "Dead Presidents II" was voted #16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.
Read more about Dead Presidents (song): Feud With Nas, Production, Dead Presidents 3, Remixes
Famous quotes containing the words dead and/or presidents:
“Rosencrantz. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body?
Hamlet. Compounded it with dust, whereto ‘tis kin.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A president, however, must stand somewhat apart, as all great presidents have known instinctively. Then the language which has the power to survive its own utterance is the most likely to move those to whom it is immediately spoken.”
—J.R. Pole (b. 1922)