Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)

"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is based on "It's The Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway play Annie as sung by Danielle Brisebois. In the play, Annie is an orphan who makes the most of her difficult circumstances. Jay-Z transposes this into a song about how he overcame life in the ghetto to achieve massive success, something that would be a common theme in his music. Brisebois was less-than-thrilled when the song became a hit song for the rapper, despite her voice leading the sample. Because she was paid a flat fee to perform on the soundtrack, she doesn't earn any royalties on the song. "As a result, I'm singing the lead vocal on a #1 song but not making a penny out of it," she told Blender.

"Hard Knock Life" is one of Jay-Z's most famous songs and one of his earliest hits. It was released as the second single from his third album, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, following "Can I Get A..." Jay was well known in the world of hip-hop, but the album broke him through to a much wider audience. It sold over 6 million copies and was his first #1 album. From there, he went on an incredible run, becoming one of the biggest players in hip-hop and a household name.

In his pitch to clear the sample, Jay-Z told the "It's The Hard Knock Life" rights holders that he saw Annie on Broadway as a kid, which he later admitted wasn't true.