"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is a single from rapper Jay-Z's third album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. It samples the song "It's the Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway musical Annie. The song was produced by The 45 King and at the time of its release, was the most commercially successful Jay-Z single. The RIAA certified it as a gold single in March 1999. In addition, it was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999.
It was ranked number 11 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
The song was parodied by Mike Myers' character Dr. Evil in the 2002 movie Austin Powers in Goldmember.
"Hard Knock Life" was Jay-Z's first single to achieve success outside the U.S., reaching the top 10 in several countries. Commercially, its biggest success came in the United Kingdom, where it reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1998.
Famous quotes containing the words hard, knock and/or life:
“So you finally got wise to yourself, did you? Funny thing about you women. Most of you don’t get wise soon enough. You wait until you’re so old nobody want you.... You’re not so hard to look at. Give yourself a tumble, you’ll make the grade.”
—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)
“‘Who knocks?’ ‘I, who was beautiful,
Beyond all dreams to restore,
I from the roots of the dark thorn am hither,
And knock on the door.’”
—Walter De La Mare (1873–1956)
“I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)