While preparing to release his eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 in 2009, Jay-Z put out the LP’s second promotional single “Run This Town” on August 9. Featuring longtime collaborator Kanye West, in the year between his 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) albums, and blossoming pop superstar Rihanna, the song flew a bit under the radar upon first release, debuting at No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, much like the initial conception of “Run This Town,” it would end up growing on listeners tremendously.
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The now-widely-beloved banger was first meant to be a song released by Rihanna, as she recorded her portion of it first with famed producer No I.D. However, shortly after this, she decided against it being included in her solo catalog, much like she did with “Find Your Love,” another No I.D. track that was eventually snatched up by Drake.
“That was initially a Rihanna record,” No I.D. told Complex during a 2011 interview. “She came down to Hawaii and we did it. We did a few records for her — and two of them became ‘Run This Town’ and Drake’s ‘Find Your Love.’ She came down and cut the record and then she passed on it. We were all like ‘What? You’re passing?’”
Once the song became available, and Rih had already laid down her epic intro and Hey, hey, hey, hey Who’s gon’ run this town tonight? chorus, Jay-Z got his hands on it. Though West had also caught wind of the song and wanted it for himself, No I.D. explained that it was pretty much a matter of “finders, keepers” at that point.
“Jay heard it and said, ‘This is my record now,’” No I.D. added. “Then Kanye heard it and said ‘Nah, don’t give Jay that record — that’s my record.’ [Laughs] Then Jay hits me and says, ‘Don’t let Kanye get that record.’ So Jay got it.”
Still, though, West’s trademark intuition couldn’t let him be absent from the song, as he felt he fit the vibe of it like a glove. Finishing his explosive It’s crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow verse in two takes, according to the song’s mixing engineer Young Guru, West knew that his inclusion “would fit the texture of the song.”
Though Jay-Z had a fiery excitement about the song’s eventual release once the recording finished, West was a bit more apprehensive. As Jay explained during a 2011 dinner party in celebration of his and West’s 2011 joint album Watch The Throne, West was discouraged after “Run This Town” was not well-received by a crowd at a barbecue gathering they attended before putting it out. He did not want Jay to release it as a single for The Blueprint 3.
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Wisely, Jay disagreed with West, as he was hoping to use it as an anthem for Roc Nation’s eventual music industry takeover. Ending his reign as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam two years prior, so that he could dedicate attention to building his own imprint, Jay felt “Run This Town” could be an official signifier that he was ready to assert himself as a mogul in the mainstream hip-hop landscape.
“The Def Jam contract had run its course — ending in a great way, which never happens — and this felt like the right message to send on The Blueprint 3,” Jay said in a quote provided by the album booklet for The Blueprint 3. “The song is about the formation of Roc Nation — planting our flag in the ground. Me, aligned with the two greatest artists that I’ve found — Kanye West and Rihanna. The growth of us. It was originally a Rihanna demo but I took it in another direction. I wanted the whole song to feel like a march, a battle cry. Muhammad Ali had the shortest poem ever: ‘Me: We!’ My statement was We Are! Maybe you didn’t hear me? We Are. Yeah I said it. We Are.“
“Run This Town” would go on to peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and eventually take home Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Now certified 2x platinum by RIAA, the song is commonly considered one of the best ever in Jay-Z’s catalog.
“It was a memorable moment,” No I.D. said. “We won a Grammy, but when you have those three on a record, you’re supposed to win a Grammy. That was a monster that didn’t sound like a commercial record. It was a pure hip-hop beat, and darker than a traditional pop record.”
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