Alicia Keys may have a new classic loading after revealing that she has teamed back up with JAY-Z. On Saturday (June 15), the singer dropped what may be the most unexpected promo video of the summer, celebrating the duo’s 2009 collaboration “Empire State of Mind” and hinting that there was still more to come.
Keys captioned the post, “1 Dream. 1 Song. 1 Billion streams. Thank you! We love you. What’s next…” The clip showed JAY-Z dressed in a white tee, denim jeans and Timberland boots with a durag tied on his head, reminiscent of his early-2000s HOV era, as he stood in an empty lobby-like space. Keys then walked up and took her place beside him, placing an elbow on his shoulder as a muffled loop of her vocals from “Empire State of Mind” played. Just as the seconds-long teaser was about to end, the beat switched, showcasing what may be the audio from their possible upcoming release.
The “Concrete Jungle” anthem appeared on JAY-Z’s The Blueprint 3 album. It nabbed him his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and earned the duo two Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. In June 2023, the record was certified nine-times platinum by the RIAA. Two years ago, Keys questioned if another collaboration with her industry peer could reach the heights of success and impact as their nearly two-decade old ode to their hometown.
“It’s so funny ‘cause we talk about that a lot because there’s so many songs that come up, and it’s like, ‘Oh, JAY would be crazy on this,’ and ‘Oh, AK would be crazy on this,’” she told E! News. “We’re like, ‘But will it ever be like ‘Empire State of Mind’? So, I wonder if it kind of, you know, hinders us in some kind of way; it’s almost like there’s no topping it… Definitely we are not limited, and I’d love to do another collaboration with my brother,” she continued.
The track is forever immortalized in pop and Hip Hop culture, thanks in part to Lil Mama, who crashed the artists’ 2009 MTV Video Music Awards performance in epic fashion. Both the singer and rapper-turned-mogul have since shared that the incident is a distant thought despite it being repopulated every so often.