In 1996, rap fans learned that perfection is indeed possible, if only for rare, four minute stretches.
It was that year some Miami kids were sitting on a sofa, snacking and taking cues from their heroes. Cues on fashion, slang, and overall panache. This is back when music television existed, when "Rap City" was around to show us the way and before Jay Z had multiple business ventures to distract him from making the purest of things. A gem we had never heard called "Dead Presidents" cracked the top 10 countdown and we lost our minds—knowing that the East Coast was poised to capitalize on the flame sparked by Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and the Notorious B.I.G. after a long period of West Coast domination.
The first promotional single for Jay Z's debut Reasonable Doubt, "Dead Presidents" remains one of the most exalted rap recordings ever made. Though an alternate version called "Dead Presidents 2" appeared on the album, the success of the original helped establish Jay as a viable candidate for the title of King of New York. Produced by Ski Beatz, it's an exercise in minimalism and features a chopped piano lick from Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace", percussion from A Tribe Called Quest's "Oh My God (remix)", and is built around a vocal sample of Nas' "The World Is Yours".
While Jay had made appearances on songs with the likes of Jaz-O, Big Daddy Kane, and Big L early in his career, with "Dead Presidents" he struck a chord commercially—rightfully eclipsing the underground buzz of his first official single "In My Lifetime".
What "Dead Presidents" accomplishes is what the whole of Reasonable Doubt does; it juxtaposes Jay's cool, calm allure with his assertive lyricism to brilliant effect. The villain is center stage throughout—his ambition laid bare for the world to see, and fear. On "Dead Presidents", every word and every line is pressing, flowing one to the next as easy as water. And Jay is on it, a hungry poet at the height of his powers. Cocky, too. See, it's a hustler's anthem, "Dead Presidents"—a mesmerizing production concerned largely with making moves and achieving at any cost. Unmatched by most everything that came before it, it points to the Big Willie, mafioso, champagne-laced brand of rap that Jay would champion for a time. "Got the city drinking Cristals, re-up the fee / Rappers going broke, tryin' to keep up with me."
Years later, Jay would use the song's borrowed chorus as ammunition against Nas. "You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song," Jay rapped on "The Takeover",—a dig that provoked the Queensbridge MC's "Ether". The lyrical bout between the two made for arguably the best feud in rap history. It refueled tensions that traced back to the mid-'90s and saw it all finally boil over for art’s sake. Jay went on to call it a "great moment for hip-hop."
There are reasons why "Dead Presidents" has aged so well. From its sultry melody, to its airy verses and Godfather-esque lessons on loyalty and determination, few rap songs have since measured up. It dwarfed competitors at the time of its release and in many ways still does. Being that it took 26 years to make, it's no wonder Jay himself considers it among his best work. It's a song that required a lot of living in order to report—offering a depth of knowledge and understanding from which anyone, at any time, can glean a thing or two.