Encore by JAY-Z Song Info
"Encore" is a hip-hop song from Jay-Z's The Black Album. It features guest vocals by John Legend, Don Crawley, GLC and Kanye West. The song was released by Roc-A-Fella Records and produced by West for Konman Productions. The Black Album was touted by Jay Z as his last album before he retired from rap music. He cited a perceived lack of competition as reason for his retirement, stating "The game ain't hot. I love when someone makes a hot album and then you've got to make a hot album. I love that. But it ain't hot." Many critics doubted the longevity of Jay Z's retirement, and Ryan Schrieber of Pitchfork speculated that the retirement declarations could constitute "an elaborate publicity stunt." Lyrically, "Encore" deals with these themes and addresses rumors of a post-retirement career. Critic Rob Mitchum wrote of the song that "it's a little hard to take Jay's claims of retirement at face value when... ("Encore") makes reference to 'when I come back like Jordan wearing the 45.'" The song was first released as the fourth track on Jay Z's The Black Album. It gained popularity when it was mixed with Linkin Park's song "Numb." The subsequent track won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards of 2006.
