Jay Z’s American Gangster

Black Camera

Vol. 8, No. 2, (Spring 2017)  pp. 255-266

Published by Indiana University Press

Rappers have long been influenced by the gangster film genre, but rarely have hip-hop artists had the necessary access and means to produce a work like American Gangster (dir. Ridley Scott, 2007). The interest among Hollywood executives in what Jay Z’s star power and music might bring to the film American Gangster created a special opportunity for him to contribute to the movie. Without more examinations of how film-inspired rap music comes into being, we will fail to appreciate fully the interplay between Hollywood and hip-hop. In addition, an examination of the ways that an individual album coincides with and departs from a rapper’s body of work assists us in charting artistic trajectories. A production history of Jay Z’s American Gangster (2007) as well as a consideration of his word usage on his twelve solo albums reveal how specific recurring words and phrases contribute to his overall rap style and persona.