"Empire State of Mind" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, featuring vocals sung by American singer Alicia Keys. Produced by Al Shux, Angela Hunte and Jane't Sewell-Ulepic, it was released as the third single from Jay-Z's 11th studio album, The Blueprint 3 (2009), by his Roc Nation label in October 2009. The song was written as a tribute to both artists' hometown, New York City, and features a music sample of "Love on a Two-Way Street" (1970), written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes and performed by The Moments. The following month they submitted the song to Jay-Z's Roc Nation, whose reviews were a discouragement. Following an incident that Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic describe as an omen, they took the suggestion of an associate of EMI Music Publishing and resubmitted it to Jay-Z, who kept t