Jay-Z Shares New Version of “Empire of State of Mind” Featuring Gil Scott-Heron: Listen

The new song, “New York (Concept de Paris),” mashes up Jay-Z’s 2009 hit with Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic I’m New Here song “New York Is Killing Me”

JayZ
Jay-Z, April 2023 (Raven B. Varona)

This past weekend, Jay-Z delivered a rare performance at Paris’ Louis Vuitton Foundation to mark the opening of the “Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands” exhibition. During the show, he played a new version of his 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind.” That new song, “New York (Concept de Paris),” has now been offiically released. Listen to it below.

“New York (Concept de Paris)” mashes up “Empire State of Mind” with Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic I’m New Here song “New York Is Killing Me.” The single was engineered by longtime Jay-Z collaborator Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton.

 

Read about “New York Is Killing Me” at No. 141 in Pitchfork’s “The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.”