VIDEO: “Empire State of Mind” (Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys)

First off, I know there are haters, but I love this song. It can make the smallest fishes in this huge pond feel like the most colossal of champions, especially when it’s late night on the headphones, walking down any street in Manhattan. (You really won’t understand the feeling until you do it for yourself.) It’s pure ear candy that should be appreciated for what it is: a great piece of unadulterated pop music porn.

But damn, the video could have been so much more. I’m really disappointed — I think it’s boring. It looks like something a grad student could have made for a film editing course (though I guess the fly-overs probably would’ve been challenging). Jay and Alicia consistently bring the class. I feel like the director Hype phoned it in.

I do have a cool story about this video, though. Click here to read it. I was standing about 20 feet away from Jay when he says “I used to cop in Harlem…etc”. Here’s basically what I saw (P.S. I did NOT take this video):