Hip-Hop Game Changer: Hard Knock Life

From standing on the corners boppin to driving some of the hottest cars New York has ever seen for dropping some of the hottest verses rap has ever heard... Hard Knock Life is the song that started Jay-Z on his ascent to power. It was the first time a street legend made it to the suburbs. Before the song Corporate America had been reluctant to embrace gangsters and admitted drug dealers for fear of the negative influence they would have on society. After the Annie chorus hit the airwaves the money making potential was evident and they changed their tune. They even went so far as to put the song Can I get a fu*k you on the radio by changing the words to Can I get a what what. Because the Run DMC/Aerosmith collaboration, The Beastie Boys, and Vanilla Ice made it cool for suburbans to listen to rap music it was easier for Jay-Z to tap into that demographic. J followed the blueprint to super stardom and the rest is history.