Lucifer

Album: The Black Album (2003)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Kanye West-produced number is a track from Jay-Z's 2003 long player, The Black Album. The Brooklyn MC explained in his 2010 book Decoded that the song is about the desire for revenge against the Notorious B.I.G.'s killers. Biggie was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.
  • Jay-Z told MTV News about why he felt songs like this needed to be explained years later: "I wanted people to have the proper context of rap, the generation, what we went through, these emotions behind these songs," he explained. "A song like 'Lucifer,' it's really about the struggle and really about dealing with death and having that feeling. The evil is inside of you, not this mythical character with pitchforks and things like that. Dealing with a feeling of wanting revenge."
  • The song samples "I Chase The Devil" by Jamaican reggae artist Max Romeo. British dance act The Prodigy previously sampled the track for their 1992 UK Top 10 hit "Out Of Space."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

Jack Tempchin - "Peaceful Easy Feeling"

Jack Tempchin - "Peaceful Easy Feeling"They're Playing My Song

When a waitress wouldn't take him home, Jack wrote what would become one of the Eagles most enduring hits.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.