The N.Y.C. Apartment Jay-Z Raps About in ‘Empire State of Mind’ Just Listed for $1.4 Million

Justin Ray
·2 min read
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An apartment mentioned in Jay-Z’s hit song “Empire State of Mind” has hit the market.

In the iconic song, which featured Alicia Keys in the chorus and bridge, the rapper says: “I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicanos / Right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald’s / Took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street / Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them pastries.”

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Jay-Z lived in the apartment located in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill neighborhood at some point in late 1996 and early 1997, the New York Post reported. During that time, neighbors of his 10C apartment were part of a community of Black artists, attracting musicians and filmmakers.

In the 2013 Ron Howard-directed documentary “Made in America,” Hov revisited the building and his past dealing drugs. Although he thought he had “made it” when he lived in the building, he also said he had a falling out with his cousin over his lifestyle at the time.

“My conscious was alive,” Jay-Z said. “So I just decided to let that street life go and just really focus on music. This is what I love to do. If I had my choice to be successful—to be successful in the street or be successful making music, it would be making music.”

“So let me treat it like that and give it my all,” he explained. “And when I did, it happened pretty much right away for me.”

One of Jay-Z’s former neighbors said he was a very respectful person during his time in the building. “He would nod his head to you in the hallway. He’d open the door for you,” Nathan Dudley, a school principal who first moved into the building in 1998, told New York magazine. “He always had a group of people with him, but not many going in and out.”

The unit currently available in the building, apartment 3B, is on sale for $1.4 million, according to the Post. It is a duplex that includes two bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. Spanning over 1,000 square feet, it includes a kitchen with a center island, as well as stainless steel appliances.

Check out photos of the apartment below.

A view of the kitchen in the 550 State st. apartment.
A view of the kitchen in the 550 State st. apartment.
A view of a common area in the 550 State st. apartment.
A view of a common area in the 550 State st. apartment.
A view of a bedroon in the 550 State st. apartment.
The bedroom of the apartment.

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