“Hard Knock Life” by Jay-Z

In the history of rap music, ghetto anthems, as they’ve come to be called, have been a mainstay. And sometimes you may think to yourself like ‘why do dudes keep making songs about this same topic?’ Well, one of the main reasons is because life in the ‘hood is very impactual. 

No matter where the road may take one afterwards, individuals who grew up therein are forever affected by the experience. Some, as implied by the chorus, may be victims of child abuse. But also rampant in city communities like the one Jay-Z grew up in is gun violence. 

Also, there is this ruthless ambition to make it big amongst many young men. In other words, the ‘hood is not an environment generally populated by college-educated people. By virtue of this, the average child doesn’t really come up thinking about the university. 

So when it comes time to generate paper, it’s either hit the streets for an ideological shot at one day making millions. Or resolve one’s self to a job which probably isn’t going to pay much.

Hard Knock Life

That said, we all know that Jay-Z is someone who did in fact make it from the ‘hood to the boardroom (without going the college route), as such has been perhaps the most consistent topic of his music. 

And it is that idea upon which this song is based, i.e. Jigga comparing his earlier days on the streets to the here and now. And let it be known that whereas Jay was already a rap star by the time he wrote “Hard Knock Life”, this was well before he became the mogul we know him as today. 

So as with some similarly-themed tracks by the Notorious B.I.G., whom Mr. Carter gives a shoutout to in the first verse, the lyrics of this piece can at least be partially interpreted as exercises in positivity thinking. 

Chorus of “Hard Knock Life”

In fact concerning the aforenoted chorus, Jay-Z did not choose to utilize it based on the message it is relaying on the surface per se. Rather he interpreted it as being indicative of the persistence of the vocalist, a down-and-out child, to make it in the world despite the impoverished circumstances in which she and her ilk live. And such can also be gleaned by some listeners as the thesis sentiment of this track also.

Verse 1

For instance, the first line of the first verse points directly to Jay-Z’s come up. He uses a good portion of the passage to reminisce on back in the day when, most simply put, he was a street-based drug dealer. 

Again going back to our exposition on life in the ‘hood for a moment, usually when shots are being fired in such communities, it is drug dealers or similar types of bad boys who are doing so. That’s our roundabout way of verifying that yes, if Jay-Z was engaged in such a profession, it is very much probable he may have witnessed a murder or two.

The rapper also uses the first verse to poetically allude to another peril of making money the street way, which is being incarcerated. But to note Jigga himself has never actually been to jail, as implied in the lyrics. 

In fact this song is not meant to be entirely biographical. Rather in that regard its purpose is to serve as a character study, if you will, of the type of tenacity it takes to overcome the ghetto.

But anyway, readers who are really interested in learning about the types of the activities Sean Carter was engaged in pre-music industry should check out Jay-Z’s written memoir, 2010’s Decoded.

And with that in mind, the verse ends with Jigga highlighting the type of monetary ambition that fueled the pursuits of individuals in the ‘hood such as himself. But more to the point is his intention to use incomes generated in the name of chillin’. Or, let’s put it like this – the primary purpose of making it big, from the perspective of popular rap music, is to afford one the opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life.

Verse 2

The second verse buttresses the notion that if there’s one main point which Jay-Z is trying to get across, it’s that he came from a “hard knock life”, i.e. a rough background. For instance, whereas now he may be a professional musician, other individuals he grew up with are incarcerated. But even they, within the confines of their imprisonment, are doing their thing. 

By this juncture of the song, it also becomes apparent what Jay is trying to get at. And that is that the same business-minded mentality he developed as a drug dealer is the same one he practices as a professional musician. So it’s like he got his work ethic from the streets. 

He then proceeds to tout his abilities as an income generator, i.e. someone who is both wise and blessed in that particular field.

Additionally, Jigga enlightens listeners on the methodology, or perhaps we can say ideology behind his music artistry. And that is to “analyze” all he has witnessed throughout his “hard knock life” and put it into song. And concerning his rap music peers, he’s not really interested in befriending them. Rather his mindframe is to take the industry over and destroy anyone or anything that gets in his way.

Verse 4

Yes dear readers, Jay-Z was in fact one of the first popular rappers to promote the idea of incessant, focused hustling in the name of making it big. That’s why, as revealed at the beginning of the third verse, he ‘doesn’t know how to sleep’. 

But such a statement can be taken as a symbolic one also. That is to say that he doesn’t sleep on his “foes” either, as depicted in the line that follows. But Jigga lets it be known that it is indeed his unwavering work ethic which is the main source of his success. 

That’s why he’s been able to persevere despite not being fully appreciated by rap fandom at first. And now that he has really established himself, he’s out for blood – in a climbing the corporate ladder kind of way. And this song, as well as the overall project it is featured on, is an integral part of said ambition.

In the End…

So conclusively, whereas we can say that Jay-Z may have grown up in an environment where many guys like himself get lost along the way, his is a success story. 

But even now being able to post up in luxury whips as opposed to standing on the corner, he’s still not content. Rather his goal is to make it as big as he possibly can. 

And of course looking back on this song decades later, he did achieve said ambition of becoming one of the richest rappers in industry history.

Facts about “Hard Knock Life”

This is the title track to Jay-Z’s third album, “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life”. That project was put out by Def Jam Records and one of its partners at the time, Jigga’s own Roc-A-Fella Records.

This track was produced by DJ Mark the 45 King.  Jay-Z first came across it being regularly played by Kid Capri during both of their participation in Puff Daddy’s No Way Out Tour of the late 1990s. And upon taking a liking to it Jigga had his business, Dame Dash, proceed to purchase the instrumental for $10,000.

And arguably, the most notable feature of “Hard Knock Life” is the vocal sample used in said instrumental, which features a child singing and serves as the rap’s chorus. 

The name of the song from which the sample was derived is “It’s the Hard Knock Life”, which comes to us via a child-based musical entitled Annie that first came out in 1977. And it is sung by Danielle Brisebois, an entertainer from Brooklyn who was a major child actress in her youth.  She participated in Annie at the tender age of seven. She was actually the youngest of all the actors cast in the role of orphans. And she went on to have a highly-celebrated career in television, primarily by co-starring on a show entitled Archie Bunker’s Place, circa the early 1980s.

But anyway, while rendering this song for Annie, Danielle signed some type of contract where she is not entitled to any royalties from the song being sampled. And that agreement came back to haunt Brisebois considering how big “Hard Knock Life” went on to become. 

Success of “Hard Knock Life”

This classic broke the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The tune has also been certified platinum in the United States and charted in over 15 countries overall. It actually holds the distinction of being one of Jay-Z’s first major hits. 

Moreover to this day, “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life”, whose own success is highly attributable to this song, remains the highest selling album Jigga ever put out as a soloist and was his first of many to top the Billboard 200.

“Hard Knock Life”also went on to be utilized in the 2014 movie version of Annie, a film in which Jay-Z was employed as one of its celebrity producers. And to note it was also parodied early in the 2002 Mike Myers comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember, a movie that co-starred Beyoncé, whom Jigga would go on to marry in 2008.

It was also famously parodied in an episode of the iconic American sitcom “The Big Bang Theory”.

Credits for “Hard Knock Life”

The writers of “It’s a Hard Knock Life”, composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Martin Charnin (1934-2019), are also credited as co-authors of “Hard Knock Life”. So is one James H. Billington, as well as of course Jay-Z himself.