7. “Brooklyn We Go Hard” feat. Santigold (2009)
Jay-Z’s Jamaican moment: Jay references Buju Banton’s “Boom Bye Bye,” speaks patoisMe nah like to eye fight/Me nah think such a ting is worth a man’s life/But if a man test my Stuy/I promise he won’t like my reply/Boom bye bye like Buju I’m crucial
Jay-Z took some flack from the gay community for comparing himself to Buju and quoting his controversial single “Boom Bye Bye,” on 2008’s “Brooklyn We Go Hard.” But the reference fits the context, which has Jay slipping in and out of Jamaican patois as he describes how folks from his corner of Brooklyn prefer to address being ice grilled.