The Hits Collection, Vol. 1

by Jay-Z

Overview

"Hits," for the sake of this 2010 anthology, tends to refer to crossover singles, which might explain why it pays no attention to Jay-Z's first two albums, Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. The emphasis is on his pop-leaning singles that reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, beginning with 1998's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" and concluding with 2009's "Empire State of Mind." It doesn't include every Top 20 hit -- neither "Excuse Me Miss" nor "Young Forever" appear -- and not every selection qualifies as a hit. For instance, the Black Album tracks "Public Service Announcement" and "Encore" weren't even issued as singles, though the latter might be the stand-in for the Linkin Park collaboration "Numb/Encore," which did hit the Top 20. Regardless, this is a decent overview, but it's far from definitive and more a celebration of the man's popularity, while also serving as a tie-in with Decoded, his memoir. The Hits Collection, Vol. 1 is lavishly packaged, containing a 32-page booklet of black-and-white photos. This might be the first time that a track list has used asterisks for the sake of denoting Grammy winners. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2010
Label:	Def Jam
UPC:	0602527231600
Rank:	25504

Tracks

1. Public Service Announcement (Interlude)
2. Run This Town
3. '03 Bonnie & Clyde
4. Encore
5. I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
6. Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
7. D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
8. 99 Problems
9. Empire State of Mind
10. Dirt Off Your Shoulder
11. Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
12. Show Me What You Got
13. Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)...
14. Big Pimpin'

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jay-Z   Primary Artist
T-Pain   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Kanye West   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
John Holt   Primary Artist
Saunders Sermons   Trombone
Sparks   Vocals
Ira McLaughlin   Vocals
Leonard Harris   Vocals
Don Crawley   Vocals
Kenneth "Bam" Alexander   Drums
Beyonce   Vocals,Featured Artist
Chuce 1500   Bass
Demme Ulloa   Vocals (Background)
Eric "E-Bass" Johnson   Various Instruments
Kenneth Whalum   Sax (Tenor)
Larrance Dopson   Piano
Cameron Johnson   Trumpet
Cassie   Vocals
UGK   Featured Artist
Ed Goldson   Bass,Guitar
Rihanna   Featured Artist
Pharrell Williams   Vocals
Mario Winans   Drums
Just Blaze   Drums,Keyboards
John Legend   Vocals
Keyon Harrold   Trumpet
Alicia Keys   Featured Artist
Beyonce Knowles   Featured Artist
Bashiri Johnson   Percussion

Technical Credits

Jordan Young   Mixing Assistant
Alphonso Henderson   Composer
M. Charnin   Composer
Claydes Smith   Composer
Marcella Araica   Assistant
Al Shux   Producer
Vol Davis III   Music Business Affairs
Chaka Pilgrim   Marketing
Chris Atlas   Marketing
Mike Flowers   Composer
Janko Nilovic   Composer
Anthony Mandler   Photography
Andrew Harr   Composer
Carol Corless   Package Production
Dennis Lussier   Composer
Nicholas Solis   Engineer
Khaled Khaled   Composer
Tha Bizness   Producer
Antoinette Trotman   Music Business Affairs
Norman Landsberg   Composer
Deleno Matthews   Composer
Ali Alatas   Composer
Michael Deller   Composer
Darryl Haper   Composer
Kitt Walker   Composer
William Squier   Composer
Eva Darby   Composer
Justin Henderson   Composer,Composer
Kamel Abdo   Engineer,Engineer
Lenny S.   A&R
Justin Smith   Composer
Eric Weissman   Sample Clearance
Terese Joseph   A&R,Administration
Nick Bubnich   Assistant
Raw Deal   Engineer
Clay Patrick McBride   Photography
Alex Haldi   Design,Art Direction
Faheem Najm   Composer
George "Funky" Brown   Composer
John Ventura   Composer
Mike Miller   Assistant
David Guy   Composer
P. Leka   Composer
R. Rouse   Composer
T. Wrice   Composer
Zack Atkinson   Graphic Production
Levar Coppin   Composer
Christopher Whitacre   Composer
Alexander Shuckburgh   Composer
Nasir Jones   Composer
Mark James   Composer
Elliott Wilson   Liner Notes
Kyambo Joshua   Composer
Michael McEwan   Composer
Garrett Decarlo   Composer
Ty Fyffe   Composer,Producer
Steven Defino   Graphic Production
David Brown   Engineer
Ian Allen   Engineer,Music Business Affairs
Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton   Mixing,Engineer,Additional Production
Tracy Marrow   Composer
Paul Leka   Composer
B. Jackson   Composer
Kit Walker   Composer
Angela Hunte   Composer,Producer
Chad Butler   Composer
D. Harper   Composer
Barry Mann   Composer
Freddie Perren   Composer
Charles Strouse   Composer
Ernest Wilson   Composer
Dr. Dre   Mixing
Tyrone Wrice   Composer
Dave Sucky   Composer
Shane Woodley   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Jennifer Justice   Legal Counsel
Miguel Peguero   Assistant Engineer
Matt Testa   Assistant Engineer
Paul Falcon   Engineer
Victor Abjaoudi II   Mixing,Engineer
Muzzy   Mixing
No I.D.   Producer
Robyn Fenty   Composer
Raymond Levin   Composer
Kenneth Whalum   Arranger
Derek Garcia   Assistant
Jason Goldstein   Mixing
Marcos Tovar   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
L. Coppin   Composer
Sean C   Producer
Steve "Rock Star" Dickey   Engineer,Assistant
M. Deller   Composer
Jay Jenkins   Composer
LV   Producer
Kristen Yiengst   Art Coordinator,Photo Coordination
L. Michels   Composer
Billy Jackson   Composer
James Johnson   Composer,Composer
Don Elliott   Mixing
Chauncey Mahan   Engineer
Carlton Ridenhour   Composer
Christopher Wallace   Composer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
Shawn Carter   Composer
John Meneilly   Management
Patrick Hegarty   Design,Art Direction
Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua   Composer
Chad Hugo   Producer,Composer
E. Wilson   Composer
Eric "Vietnam" Sadler   Composer
Tupac Shakur   Composer
Ricky Rouse   Composer
Johnny Pate   Composer
Tyrone Fyffe   Composer,Producer
Jay-Z   Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Robert "Kool" Bell   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Leslie Weinstein   Composer
Gary DeCarlo   Composer
Janet Sewell-Ulepic   Composer,Producer
Dale Frashuer   Composer
Todd Russell   Design,Art Direction
Albert Watson   Photography
Nichell Delvaille   Art Coordinator,Photo Coordination
Arthur Elgort   Photography
Michael Seltzer   Music Business Affairs
Scott Townsend   Graphic Production
Lenny Santiago   Photography
Jermaine Jackson   Composer
Marlon Williams   Composer
Rick Rubin   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer
Prince   Composer
The Neptunes   Producer
Diddy   Producer
Jeff Bhasker   Composer
The Runners   Producer
JP Robinson   Design,Art Direction
Antonio Hardy   Composer
Timothy Mosley   Composer
Timbaland   Producer
Ben Diehl   Engineer
Todd Shaw   Composer
C. Butler   Composer
C. Smith   Composer
C. Strouse   Composer
Ann Mincieli   Engineer
Jason Lader   Programming
Ryan West   Mixing,Engineer
Justin Trawick   Assistant
James Auwarter   Engineer
Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie   Composer
Pharrell Williams   Composer,Producer
Robert "Spike" Mickens   Composer
Marley Marl   Producer
Just Blaze   Mixing,Producer
N. Landsberg   Composer
Luis Diaz   Mixing
Sean Combs   Composer
Deke Richards   Composer
Dennis "D.T." Thomas   Composer
K. Walker   Composer
Richard Westfield   Composer
Jimmy Douglass   Mixing,Engineer
Mike City   Composer
Demacio Castellon   Engineer
Bert Keyes   Composer
Hank Shocklee   Composer
Darryl Harper   Composer
Javier Valverde   Engineer
Leon Michels   Composer
Thomas Brenneck   Composer
Alicia Keys   Composer
Tony Dawsey   Mastering
Paul McCartney   Composer
The 45 King   Producer
Andrew Scheps   Mixing,Engineer
Bernard Freeman   Composer
Martin Charnin   Composer
Berry Gordy, Jr.   Composer
Sylvia Robinson   Composer
B. Freeman   Composer
B. Keyes   Composer
Bobby B. Keyes   Composer
Billy Squier   Composer
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Mixing,Engineer
Bosco Mann   Composer
Nick Howard   Engineer
Leslie Brathwaite   Mixing
J. Ventura   Composer
L.A. Reid   Executive Producer
Joe Budden   Composer
D. Richards   Composer
E. Darby   Composer
Alphonso Mizell   Composer
Felix Pappalardi   Composer
D. Matthews   Composer