Introducing Jay-Z’s American Gangster-inspired album, this well-received first single took its name from a potent form of heroin distributed by kingpin Frank Lucas at the height of his drug trafficking in New York.

Produced by frequent collaborators The Neptunes, “Blue Magic” is one of the strongest Jay-Z tracks that perfectly displays his superior lexical ambiguity, unmatched wordplay and ability to slide over any beat. Hov debuted the song on Funkmaster Flex’s show on Hot 97 on the night of September 20, 2007.