Jenny from the Block
Encyclopedia
"Jenny from the Block" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

, featuring American rappers Styles P
Styles P
David Styles better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo...

 and Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...

. Written by Lopez, Troy Oliver
Troy Oliver
Troy Oliver is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter who presided over some of the most successful pop recordings of the late '90s and early 2000s. He wrote and produced "Jenny from the Block" and “I’m Real" with Jennifer Lopez, as well as “Differences” with Ginuwine...

, Mr. Deyo
Andre Deyo
-Andre' Deyo:Andre' Nathaniel Deyo , better known by his stage name mrDEYO , is an American R&B singer and hit songwriter best known for his songwriting abilities and arrangements on "Jenny From The Block" for Jennifer Lopez. He has been signed to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing...

, Samuel Barnes, and Jean-Claude Olivier and produced by Cory Rooney
Cory Rooney
Cory Rooney is an American songwriter, record producer, and C.E.O. of Cory Rooney Group. He has written, produced, and developed many hits and careers for artists such as Mariah Carey, Mary J...

, Oliver, and Poke & Tone
Trackmasters
The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R...

, it was released to radio in late September 2002 as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

 from Lopez's third studio album, This Is Me... Then
This Is Me... Then
This Is Me... Then is the third studio album by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez, released on November 19, 2002 by Epic Records. The album debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling 314,000 copies during its first week, then propelled to number two two months later remaining...

(2002). In its lyrics, she insists that success has not spoiled her yet and that she remains the same girl she has always been. It received mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom noticed that it was silly whereas others felt it was infectious. The song reached number one in Canada and entered the top ten on the majority of all other charts it appeared on.

Themes

The song attempts to contrast the life of Lopez growing up in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, with her later life as a celebrity. She claims that despite her success, she is still "Jenny from the block." Its lyrics refer to Lopez's first two albums, On the 6
On the 6
On the 6 is the debut studio album by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez, released on June 1, 1999 by Work Records. It debuted at number eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 the week of June 19, 1999, with first-week sales of 112,000 copies, remaining in the top 20 for 11 weeks and on the chart...

and J.Lo. Some critics derided both Lopez and the song as "hypocritical". Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

 would revisit the same theme of being true to one's roots in a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 context for her 2005 hit "Mississippi Girl
Mississippi Girl
"Mississippi Girl" is a 2005 song recorded by country music singer Faith Hill and the lead single from her album Fireflies. A Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in late 2005, it was her first Number One on the country music charts since 2000's "The Way You Love Me".-About...

," which many observers compared to "Jenny from the Block". Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

 and Fergie both reprised the theme in 2007 with their songs "Orange County Girl" and "Glamorous
Glamorous (song)
"Glamorous" is a R&B single taken from R&B singer Fergie's solo debut album, The Dutchess. In March 2007, the song became Fergie's second number-one single in the United States. The single was released on March 19, 2007 in the UK and was the second single taken from the album...

", respectively.

Samples

"Jenny from the Block's" opening passage, "Children grow and women producing, men go working, some go stealing, everyone's got to make a living," samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 20th Century Steel Band's 1975 song "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth", which has made several appearances in hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 as interpolated on Salt-n-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....

's 1993 song "Heaven or Hell", Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...

's 1998 song "Every Ghetto, Every City", Positive K
Positive K
Darryl Gibson, better known by his stage name Positive K , is an American emcee from the Bronx, New York City, New York, and is one of the original artists of the First Priority Music camp...

's 1992 song "Aint No Crime", Stop the Violence Movement
Stop the Violence Movement
The Stop the Violence Movement was begun by rapper KRS-One in 1989 in response to violence in the hip hop and African American communities.In 1988, during a concert by Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, a young fan was killed in a fight. The killing occurred shortly after Scott La Rock, a...

's 1989 song "Self-Destruction", and The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

's 1998 song "Say Goodbye".

The prevalence of this sample among a variety of different songs is ultimately due to its inclusion on Ultimate Breaks and Beats
Ultimate Breaks and Beats
Ultimate Breaks and Beats was a series of 25 compilation albums released from 1986 to 1991 by Street Beat Records...

 SBR 505, a seminal release much-sampled in the early days of Hip Hop. As such, the sample resonates with the song's central lyrical claim of authenticity; just as Jennifer is aware of her roots, so too is the song's instrumental backdrop.

"Jenny from the Block" also samples Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...

' 1987 "South Bronx" (known for starting The Bridge Wars
The Bridge Wars
The Bridge Wars was a hip hop rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved The South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by...

) and Enoch Light and the Light Brigade
Enoch Light
Enoch Henry Light was a classical violinist, bandleader, and recording engineer. As A&R chief and vice-president of Grand Award Records, he founded Command Records in 1959. Light's name was prominent on many albums both as musician and producer...

's 1975 interpretation of jazz flautist Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...

's selection "Hi-Jack". "J.Lo", as Lopez had also come to be called by this time, sampled the song from The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...

 1999 track "Watch Out Now
Watch Out Now
"Watch Out Now" is the first single from A Musical Massacre, a 1999 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records in 1999 in both 12 inch and CD format. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features materialistic raps by Juju and Psycho Les, as well as a...

". Unfortunately, the Beatnuts
The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...

 were convinced that the sample from "Hi-Jack" was stolen from them without credit, and they subsequently criticized Lopez on their 2004 song "Confused Rappers".

Critical reception

The song received a mixed reception from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...

 from Allmusic said that: "Jenny From the Block is silly and had laughable lyrics" but gave a track pick for the song. Sal Cinquemani from Slant
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...

 said that "Jenny from the Block is infectious". Jon Caramanica, from The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

, was more cynical with the song, saying: "Jenny From the Block" continued the conceit of "I'm Real", from her last album, J.Lo, and "I'm Gonna Be Alright". Using the same flute sample the Beatnuts flipped for "Off the Books
Off the Books
"Off the Books" is the third single from Stone Crazy, a 1997 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Relativity Records in both 12 inch and CD format in 1997. The song is produced by The Beatnuts and features raps by Juju and Psycho Les, as well as the first on-record...

", a genuine Boricua classic (really, she researched it!), as well as a steady diet of "South Bronx!" yelps pulled from the Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...

 anthem of the same name, Jenny aims to fast-talk herself into authenticity. It matters not that guest rappers Styles
Styles P
David Styles better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo...

 and Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...

 are from Yonkers, not the Bronx, or that the most humble thing about the accompanying video is, well, Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

." James Poletti from Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...

 was also negative, naming the song "agonising" and said that "this is a track so insulting in its cynical appropriation of hip-hop culture that you almost fail to notice that lyric: 'Used to have a little / Now I've got a lot / I'm still Jenny from the block.'" Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

 was more favorable, saying "On Jenny From the Block, Lopez insists that fame hasn't changed her, and seduced by the breezy pleasure of her new music, we're almost inclined to believe her".

Chart performance

On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, "Jenny from the Block" debuted at number sixty-seven the week of October 12, 2002. Six weeks later, it had already reached the top ten, finally peaking at number three the week of December 7, 2002. It remained there for four consecutive weeks, stuck behind Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...

's "Lose Yourself
Lose Yourself
"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...

" and Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...

's "Work It". Jenny From the Block also ranked #33 on VH1's list of the most awesomely bad songs of all-time. It was also listed as #93 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever by Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...

, commenting that Lopez is "just your average girl, willing to risk a national TV gig over the size of her 'dressing-room compound.'"

Music video

The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, directed by Francis Lawrence
Francis Lawrence
Francis Lawrence is an American music video and film director.-Life and career:Lawrence was born in Vienna, Austria. His father is a physicist who taught at California State University, Northridge and his mother is V.P. Technology at a PR agency. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of three...

, is meant to show the intrusion of paparazzi
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...

 into her life and her relationship with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

, by showing the two from the point of view of surveillance cameras and photographers' camera lenses.

The video alternates between several different scenes of Lopez and Affleck in their daily life: the two sitting around their apartment in various states of undress, out in their car, on a yacht in the ocean, Lopez shopping, and Lopez at a high-fashion photo shoot
Photo shoot
A photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief...

; in each case, the view is meant to be from a hidden camera or a photographer's lens. In addition, there are scenes of Lopez singing and dancing on a New York street corner, and of Styles P and Jadakiss rapping (perhaps ironically, the two rappers are from Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

 and Yonkers
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

, respectively).

There is also a second version of the video where Styles P
Styles P
David Styles better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo...

 and Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...

' raps are cut out. Instead, when in the original video Jadakiss and Styles P do their rap, the video changes to Jennifer Lopez and a band performing the chorus of "Loving You" in a building. Then Jennifer sees the paparazzi watching them perform, and the video cuts back to "Jenny from the Block".

The video was filmed in several cities over a month-long period from October 1–24, 2002. It was premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...

on November 5, 2002.

Track listings

U.S. CD single
  1. "Jenny from the Block" (Track Masters Remix) – 3:08
  2. "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit) – 2:48
  3. "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Instrumental) – 3:07
  4. "Jenny from the Block" (Rap a Cappella) – 2:58
  5. "Alive
    Alive (Jennifer Lopez song)
    "Alive" is the other part of the double A-side along with "I'm Gonna Be Alright" , the second and final single from Jennifer Lopez's remix album, J to tha L-O!: The Remixes . Released in 2002, the single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 due to its limited release, becoming Lopez's second...

    " (Thunderpuss Radio Mix) – 4:12


UK CD 1 (673357)

(Released: November 19, 2002)
  1. "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit) – 2:59
  2. "Alive
    Alive (Jennifer Lopez song)
    "Alive" is the other part of the double A-side along with "I'm Gonna Be Alright" , the second and final single from Jennifer Lopez's remix album, J to tha L-O!: The Remixes . Released in 2002, the single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 due to its limited release, becoming Lopez's second...

    " (Thunderpuss
    Thunderpuss
    Thunderpuss was the remix/productionteam of music producers Barry Harris and Chris Cox. Harris had previously worked as part of several music groups including Kon Kan, Top Kat, Killer Bunnies and Outta Control and had also released several singles himself...

     Radio Mix) – 4:18
  3. "Play
    Play (Jennifer Lopez song)
    "Play" is the second single from Jennifer Lopez's second album, J.Lo. Singer Christina Milian co-penned the song for Lopez before hitting the music scene herself. She has also allegedly provided vocals for the chorus...

    " (Thunderpuss Club Mix) – 8:19


UK CD 2 (673357)

(Released: November 19, 2002)
  1. "Jenny from the Block" (Track Masters
    Trackmasters
    The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R...

     Remix) – 3:09
  2. "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Instrumental) – 3:08
  3. "Love Don't Cost a Thing
    Love Don't Cost a Thing (song)
    "Love Don't Cost a Thing" is the lead single from Jennifer Lopez's second studio album, J.Lo . It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, besides being her first number one in the United Kingdom. Its Spanish-language version, "Amor Se Paga con Amor" , included on the Latin American edition...

    " (HQ2 Club Vocal Mix) – 10:54


Australian CD single (673281)

(Released: November 26, 2002)
  1. "Jenny from the Block" (Track Masters Remix) – 3:09
  2. "Jenny from the Block" (Rap a Cappella) – 2:59
  3. "Jenny from the Block" (Bronx Remix (No Rap) Edit) – 2:50
  4. "Alive" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) – 8:56

Charts

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Chart (2002) Peak
position

Certifications

Country Certifier Certification Sales
Australia ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

Platinum 70,000
Belgium IFPI Gold 25,000
France SNEP
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...

Gold 263,000
New Zealand RIANZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

Gold 7,500
Norway IFPI Platinum 10,000
Switzerland Gold 20,000


Chart procession and succession

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