Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)

This 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 raps. Brisebois was less-than-thrilled when this 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.

This is one of Jay-Z's most famous songs, and helped the album sell over 5 million copies as it broke through to a mainstream audience.

In 2002, this was spoofed in the movie Austin Powers: Goldmember when it was performed by Dr. Evil.