" "Great Performances" presents Alicia Keys in "Landmarks Live In Concert"..." "♪ In and out of love with you ♪" " ...a new series of music specials showcasing artists performing in landmark locations of personal significance..." "♪ Sometimes you make me blue ♪" " ...hosted by Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers." "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" " Join us as the Grammy Award-winning Alicia Keys tours and performs in some of the landmarks in her hometown of New York City, including the Circle Line Harbor tour and Harlem's Apollo Theater, and reflects on how New York has influenced her career" "and inspired her songwriting." " It's my whole world, really, New York." "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "Landmarks Live in Concert,"" "a "Great Performances" special next." "♪ New Yo-o-o-rk ♪" "Red Hot Chili Peppers." "You're watching "Landmarks Live in Concert"" "in New York City!" " ♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of... ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh ♪" "♪ Oh-oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh ♪" "♪ Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh ♪" "Come on." "♪ Yeah ♪" "♪ Blood in my eye ♪" "♪ Hand on my heart ♪" "♪ Feet on the ground ♪" "♪ Head to the sky ♪" "♪ 'Cause trouble ain't ♪" "♪ No friend of mine ♪" "♪ And I'm givin' it up ♪" "♪ No more wasting' time ♪" "♪ If you had 28,000 days ♪" "♪ Who would you love?" "♪" "♪ Where would you go, what would you celebrate?" "♪" "♪ I'm tellin' you that life's too short ♪" "♪ To just throw it away ♪" "♪ So have the time of your life ♪" "♪ So have the time of your life ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "Yeah!" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "Unh!" "♪ Back from Hell ♪" "♪ With my angel wings ♪" "♪ Ain't no fear in my voice ♪" "♪ 'Cause I'm makin' a choice ♪" "♪ The devil ain't ♪" "♪ No friend of me ♪" "♪ And that clock on the wall ♪" "♪ Yeah, it's tellin' me ♪" "♪ There's only 28,000 days ♪" "♪ Who would you love?" "♪" "♪ Where would you go, what would you celebrate?" "♪" "♪ I'm tellin' you that life's too short ♪" "♪ To just throw it away ♪" "♪ So have the time of your life ♪" "♪ So have the time of your life ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ Oh ♪" "♪ Yeah ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "Unh!" "♪ There's only 28,000 days ♪" "♪ Who would you love?" "♪" "♪ Where would you go, what would you celebrate?" "♪" "♪ I'm tellin' you that life's too short ♪" "♪ To just throw it away ♪" "♪ So have the time of your life ♪" " ♪ So have the time of your life ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "Whoo!" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey, 'ey ♪" " This is "Landmarks Live in Concert."" "We're here with Alicia Keys." "And we're gonna talk about her favorite place..." "New York City." "Whoo!" "When you hear those words, what does that mean to you?" " I mean, it's like it's my whole heart." "It's my whole life." "You know, it's my whole world, really, New York." "You know, no one is exempt from New York." "Everyone belongs in New York." "Why is New York a landmark?" " For me, New York is such a landmark because it is..." "It's just the greatest city on Earth to me, you know?" "I think it's so special." "It's so alive, it's so vibrant, it's so colorful." "You can have whatever type of life you want in New York." "And I think the diversity is so incredible... the people you can meet, the way that everyone looks different and is different mixtures and different religious backgrounds and cultures that people come from and beliefs and foods and smells" "and styles of dress and countries." "It's like everyone is from everywhere in New York." " How has the city influenced you as an artist and as a person?" " Oh, man." "I mean, in every way." "In every way, New York has influenced me." "I think..." "Again, I think one of the..." "I come back to this concept of diversity because I think it's really important and it's something that is a bit of a struggle for the country," "I think, in a lot of ways..." " Yeah." "...acceptance and being able to accept people for who they are and how our differences are like kind of the coolest thing about us in New York." "Every religion, every color, that provided me with a lot of open-mindedness as an artist and as a musician and as a writer." "And, also, New York gave me a lot of grit, like a lot of rough, tough, you know what I mean, because it's a fast-paced city." "You know, everybody's kind of running somewhere, trying to find themselves or find where they're going or find love." "It's a tough city, and so you got to toughen up." "And I think that's been a good thing for me." "You know, it's given me a nice, thick skin, a nice strength..." " Yep." " ...and an identity, too, of who I am and who I don't want to be." "And I think that that is one of the most special things about New York that I'm really grateful that I grew up there." "♪ I-I-I keep on fallin' ♪" "♪ I-I-I-In ♪" "♪ In and out of love with you ♪" "♪ Mm ♪" "♪ Sometimes I love you ♪" "♪ Sometimes you make me blue ♪" "♪ Sometimes I feel good ♪" "♪ At times, I feel used ♪" "♪ Lovin' you, darlin' ♪" "♪ Makes me so confused ♪" "♪ I keep on fallin' ♪" "♪ In and out of love with you ♪" "♪ I never loved someone ♪" "♪ The way that I'm" "♪ Lovin' you ♪" "♪ Oh, oh, I-I-I-I ♪" "♪ Never felt this way ♪" "♪ How do you give me so much pleasure ♪" "♪ And cause me so much pain?" "♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Just when I thi-i-i-nk ♪" "♪ I've taken more than would a fool ♪" "♪ I start fallin' ♪" "♪ Back in love with you ♪" "♪ Oh, Oh, I keep on fallin' ♪" " ♪ In love ♪ - ♪ Whoa ♪" " ♪ In love ♪ - ♪ I'm in love ♪" " ♪ With you ♪ - ♪ With you ♪" " ♪ I never loved someone ♪ - ♪ Said I never ♪" "♪ No, I never ♪" " ♪ The way that I love you ♪ - ♪ Way I, Way I ♪" "♪ Come on, sing it sad ♪" "♪ I, I ♪" "♪ I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fa-a-a-llin' ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah ♪" " ♪ I, I ♪ - ♪ I-I ♪" "♪ I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fa-a-a-llin' ♪ - ♪ Oh-oh, oh ♪" "♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪" "♪ Fa-a-a-ll ♪" "♪ Fa-a-a-ll ♪" "♪ Fa-a-a-a-ll ♪" " ♪ I-I-I'm fallin' ♪ - ♪ I keep on fallin' ♪" "♪ In love ♪ - ♪ I'm fallin' ♪" " ♪ In love ♪ - ♪ I'm in love ♪" " ♪ With you ♪ - ♪ With you ♪" " ♪ I never loved someone ♪ - ♪ Said I never ♪" "♪ No, I never ♪" " ♪ The way that I love you ♪ - ♪ Way I, Way I ♪" "♪ Way I-I-I ♪ - ♪ I keep on fallin' ♪" "♪ In and out of love ♪" " Yeah!" " ♪ With you ♪" "♪ No, my baby ♪" " ♪ I never loved someone ♪ - ♪ No, said no ♪" "♪ The way that I love you ♪" "♪ I, I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fallin' ♪" "♪ I, I ♪" "♪ I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fallin' ♪" "♪ I, I ♪" "♪ I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fallin' ♪" " ♪ You got me goin' in circles baby, ohh ♪" "♪ I, I ♪" "♪ I, I'm ♪" "♪ Fallin' ♪" " Tell me about this Circle Line, the Circle." "What is this all about?" " For all the New Yorkers and, most specifically, the tourists that come to New York." "Yeah, yeah." " That probably, most everyone, myself included... 'cause I remember I had some family in when I was young, and my mother was was like," ""Ooh, let's take them on the Circle Line."" "And we all agreed it was potentially the worst idea we ever had." "You know, you basically get on the Circle Line and you go around New York, like the island of New York." "Hence the name." " When you begin, you're super excited 'cause you're like, "Wow, I'm gonna be on a boat and see the city."" "And then, three hours later... ♪ Three-hour cruise ♪" " The thing is so long and so slow." "It's the slowest boat you've ever been on in your whole life." "But when you get on the Circle Line with me performing on it," "I want you to know it was anything but boring." "And it was, in fact, one of the most absolutely wildest, coolest places I've ever performed." "Because the Circle Line is meant to carry a large amount of people, and so it's really big and huge and sturdy in the water." "And it was literally like the message went out that day for people to attend this show." "So it was a bit of a frenzy, crazy... like, literally, off the street, on the boat." "So when I tell you it was totally spontaneous and wild... the energy was nuts." "And then we're on this boat filming these songs, and we kind of strung up all these lights to make it feel festive and..." "It was literally a boat party." "It was a party on a boat." "It was incredible..." "again, another landmark because there's not a soul that comes to this city that doesn't want to see the city from this perspective." "So that was really incredible." "It took a really funny memory that I have and made it so special." "I want to thank y'all so much for rocking with us tonight and..." "I heard them..." "There's a few crazy stories of how y'all even got on this boat." "And I'm loving it." "So this is really awesome." " It was amazing." "It was magical." "It was magical and surreal." "That's what it was." " Exactly." " We were so lucky to be in a freakin' boat in New York, to watch Alicia Keys..." " With Alicia!" "...up and personal like that." "It's crazy." "It's crazy." " Like, me and my coworkers were getting out of work." "We were walking by Irving Plaza, and someone was just like, "Hey, do you want to get on this bus to go see Alicia Keys?"" " We're like, "Yeah."" " Yes!" " It was such an unforgettable experience." " I just want to savor this moment a little bit." "I just..." "You know, like, we'll never be here in this moment ever, ever again." "This is it." "So we got to live it right now." "Right?" "Y'all feeling good?" " Yes!" " Okay." "When y'all woke up this morning, did you think you were gonna be here tonight?" "No!" "Is it good, though?" "Yes!" " It's good for me, too!" "This song is called..." "Ooh, there we go again." "I got to get my good grip." "This song is called "Pawn It All."" "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my chain ♪" "♪ I would pawn you this golden diamond ring ♪" "♪ 'Cause I need it so bad ♪" "♪ I would give you everything ♪" "♪ Just so I could ♪" "♪ Start my life over again ♪" "♪ 'Ey, 'ey ♪" "♪ 'Ey, oh ♪" "♪ Oh, oh ♪" "♪ What would you do?" "♪" "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my chain ♪" "♪ I would pawn you this golden diamond ring ♪" "♪ 'Cause I need it so bad ♪" "♪ I would give you everything ♪" "♪ Just so I could start my life over again ♪" "♪ Sometimes, you got to let it go ♪" "♪ Just to make it possible ♪" "♪ Sometimes, you gotta do it, be willin' to lose it ♪" "♪ Freedom has no price, you know?" "♪" "♪ Thinkin', "How we gonna make it now?" ♪" "♪ How we gonna feed the babies now?" "♪" "♪ But goin' make it through it, God goin' see to it ♪" "♪ Just get up and do it now ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" " ♪ Hey ♪ - ♪ I would pawn you my chain ♪" "♪ I would pawn you this golden diamond ring ♪" " ♪ I would pawn all these golden rings ♪" " ♪ 'Cause I need you so bad ♪ - ♪ So bad ♪" "♪ I would give you everything ♪" "♪ Just so I could start my life over again ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ See, I learned the hard way ♪" "♪ Now I'm doin' it my way ♪" "♪ 'Cause life is too short to fall in New York ♪" "♪ Can't get up and get away ♪" "♪ So I got to let it all go ♪" "♪ Start back from zero ♪" "♪ 'Cause I give it up, I don't give a... ♪" "♪ 'Cause love is my hero ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" " ♪ Hey ♪ - ♪ I would pawn you my chain ♪" "♪ I would pawn you this golden diamond ring ♪" " ♪ I would pawn all these golden rings ♪" "♪ 'Cause I need you so bad ♪" " ♪ So bad ♪ - ♪ I would give you everything ♪" " ♪ Yeah ♪ - ♪ Just so I could ♪" "♪ Start my life over again ♪ - ♪ Yeah ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my watch ♪" "♪ I would pawn you my chain ♪" "♪ I would pawn you this golden diamond ring ♪" "♪ 'Cause I need it so bad ♪" "♪ I would give you everything ♪" "♪ Just so I could start my life over again ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ Get on up ♪" "♪ So I ♪" "♪ Just so I could start my life over again ♪" "♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪" " ♪ Just so I could start my life over again ♪" "♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪" " ♪ Just so I could start my life over ♪" "♪ Aga-a-a-a-a-in ♪" "♪ Yeah ♪" "Thank y'all so much." "This was incredible!" "I'll never forget a boat trip tonight." " And the Apollo Theater." " Mm." " How about that?" " Big." "Big, big, big." "Huge!" " How about that?" "When you were a little girl in Harlem, right?" "Yes." " And tell me if you remember your first time going to... or your first, like, memory of the Apollo." " I was trying to remember that the other day, actually, like, the first time I went to the Apollo." "And what comes to me when I think of it is like this vision of me walking through the halls of it, walking through, you know, the theater itself." "I don't remember being backstage, though, 'cause that wasn't, like, the first time I was there." "I remember being out in the front." "And I was trying to remember what exactly it was, and, for some crazy reason," "I can't remember the exact, like, event that I was attending." "Who was performing or..." " It was almost like the Apollo was bigger than the person." "Yeah." "What did it feel like to perform there, though?" " So, the first time I performed there, you know, it was probably around the release of my first album." "And I remember feeling just elated." "I felt so..." "And then another big thing for the Apollo, growing up, was watching "Showtime at the Apollo."" "There was the show called "Showtime at the Apollo."" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." " And everybody would come out and perform and do their best kind of performance, and you hoped not to get booed." " The audiences, though, they were either like... they would love you and go crazy or..." "Or you would get booed." "There's certain places you walk into, and you know there's a spirit." "Like, there's a spirit inside of the place because of the amount of people that have touched it and left their sweat on the floor." "You got to rub the stump?" "You got to rub the stump." "I rubbed the stump before this show." "Lauryn Hill probably rubbed that stump before the first performance she did when she was..." "I don't know... 14 or something." "Wow." " Had to." " You have to." " Yes." "Like, what, are you crazy?" " Do you how many..." "James Brown, ev..." " Exactly!" "James Brown rubbed that stump!" " One of the greatest live albums ever." " Okay!" "Mm!" " Yeah." " If that doesn't inspire you..." " Yeah." "It's amazing." "This song right here makes me want to sing." "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ Hey, I might not really be your mother ♪" "♪ But that don't mean that I don't really love ya ♪" "♪ And even though I married your father ♪" "♪ That's not the only reason I'm here for ya ♪" "♪ I think you're beautiful, I think you're perfect ♪" "♪ I know how hard it gets ♪" "♪ But I swear it's worth it, worth it ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ There ain't nothing, there ain't nothing ♪" "♪ There ain't nothing I won't do for us ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ It may not be easy, this blended family, but, baby ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" "♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey ♪" " ♪ I never knew a love, love, love like this ♪" " ♪ I know it started with a little drama ♪" "♪ I hate you had to read it in the paper ♪" "♪ But everything's all right with me and ya mama ♪" "♪ And, baby, everybody here you know adores ya ♪" "♪ And I think it's beautiful, I think it's perfect ♪" "♪ I know how hard it gets ♪" "♪ But I swear it's worth it, worth it ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ There ain't nothing, there ain't nothing ♪" "♪ There ain't nothing I won't do for us ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ It may not be easy, this blended family, but, baby ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love, yeah ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" "Come on!" "♪ For love ♪" "Unh, unh." " ♪ For love ♪ - ♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ Think it's real, my true love ♪" "♪ 'Cause you're my baby, rejoice daily ♪" "♪ I believe love could bring us closer than blood ♪" "♪ Real, my true love ♪" "♪ 'Cause you're my baby, rejoice daily ♪" "♪ I believe love could bring us ♪" "♪ Closer than blood ♪" " ♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ There ain't nothing, there ain't nothing ♪" "♪ There ain't nothing I won't do for us ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" " ♪ It may not be easy, this blended family, but, baby ♪" "♪ That's what you do, what you do, what you do ♪" "♪ What you do for love ♪" "♪ Love like this ♪" "♪ That's just what you do, yeah ♪" "♪ For love ♪" "♪ For the love of the babies ♪" "♪ For love ♪" "♪ With a blended family ♪" "♪ Love ♪" "♪ And it's all right ♪" "♪ Love ♪" "♪ Said it's all right ♪" "Yeah!" "This album is just the best album I've ever made so far because it just is..." "I've just been able to peel back my own layers and start to understand a little bit more who I am and who am I in the world and who am I to myself." "I think we're all pulling back the veil and we're all asking these really hard questions about who are we." "Like, who do we want to be?" "Who are we gonna allow ourselves to be, you know?" "And this music, more than ever, reflects the truths of that in a way that I never really could have possibly expected." " Well, you're in tune with yourself, but now it's reflecting the times we're going through." "But I think really great art comes from dark times." "You're so right, and I think that some of the best art is gonna keep coming, you know?" " Yeah." "Oh, yeah." " I really agree." " Yeah." "It has to." "It has to!" " It's necessary." "Yeah, it has to!" " Yes, it's necessary, which is so incredible." "One of the greatest things about being a songwriter and just a human being is just how connected we are, and, like, just when you think you're the only one going through whatever it is that you're going through," "when you meet that other person that's going through that same thing, man, there's no better feeling than to know you're not alone." "Well, that's what music does." "It's the power of that connection, you know?" "It's amazing!" "We might all be feeling crazy, we might all be feeling uncertain, we might all be feeling frustrated, but we can all collectively, like, not be alone." "♪ If war is holy and sex if obscene ♪" "♪ We got it twisted in this lucid dream ♪" "♪ Baptized in boundaries, schooled in sin ♪" "♪ Divided by difference, sexuality, and skin ♪" "♪ Oh, so we can hate each other and fear each other ♪" "♪ We can build these walls between each other ♪" "♪ Baby, blow by blow, brick by brick ♪" "♪ Keep yourself locked in, yourself locked in ♪" "♪ Yeah, we can hate each other and fear each other ♪" "♪ We can build these walls between each other ♪" "♪ Baby, blow by blow, brick by brick ♪" "♪ Keep yourself locked in, yourself locked ♪" "♪ Oh, maybe we should love somebody ♪" "♪ Ohh, maybe we can care a little more ♪" "♪ So maybe we should love somebody ♪" "♪ Instead of polishing the bombs of holy war ♪" "♪ What is sex was holy and war was obscene ♪" "♪ It wasn't twisted, what a wonderful dream ♪" "♪ Living for love, unafraid of the end ♪" "♪ Forgiveness is the only real revenge ♪" "♪ Oh, so we can heal each other and feel each other ♪" "♪ We can break these walls between each other ♪" "♪ Baby, blow by blow, brick by brick ♪" "♪ Keep yourself open, yourself open ♪" "♪ Yeah, we can heal each other and feel each other ♪" "♪ We can break these walls between each other ♪" "♪ Baby, blow by blow, brick by brick ♪" "♪ Keep yourself open, you're open ♪" "♪ So maybe we should love somebody ♪" "♪ Ooh, ooh ♪" " ♪ Oh, maybe we can care a little more ♪" "♪ So maybe we should love somebody ♪" "♪ Ooh, ooh ♪" " ♪ Instead of polishing the bombs of holy war ♪" "♪ What if love was holy and hate is obscene?" "♪" "♪ We should give life to this beautiful dream ♪" "♪ 'Cause peace and love ain't so far ♪" "♪ If we nurse our wounds before they scar ♪" "♪ Nurse our wounds before they scar ♪" "♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪" "♪ Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm ♪" "♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪" "♪ Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm ♪" " Can you talk a little bit about "The Gospel"..." " Yeah." " ...according to Alicia?" " "The Gospel" is one of my favorite songs on this new album, called "Here."" "Yeah, yeah." "And I've really been able to be so honest with myself on this album." "It's been very empowering..." "very freeing, actually." "You know, like a release." " Cathartic." " Yeah." "A letting go, even, you know, and an admittance." "Very difficult." "This album was really created by this idea to bring together a group of souls that were, like, so ready to break through the wall and go that much farther, deeper, that we would hold ourselves accountable to each other" "to go farther, to not just skate on the surface." "Yeah, yeah." " And so, because of that, it created this like really vibrant gumbo of sonic combustion, is the best way I can describe it." "And my husband, Swizz, who I never collaborated with before ever... and he's kind of known for very frenetic, crazy drumming style." "Like, this is his kind of... thing." "All of that put together just created "The Gospel,"" "which is basically an ode to New York." "You know, it's an ode to New York about the New York I know, about who lives there, what they look like, what's their story, the doors that revolve them in and out and revolve us in and out and our dreams and wishes" "and the things we're trying to escape and where we end up and how we get there and who we are." "And all you can say is, "Yeah,"" "which is why the chorus is just "Yeah,"" "'cause you're like, "That's truth."" "And that's the truth, and that's "The Gospel."" "♪ I say we all God's children, products of the ghetto ♪" "♪ Mama cooked the soup, Daddy did the yelling' ♪" "♪ Uncle was a drunk, cousin was a felon ♪" "♪ And when he got pinched, he told them he wasn't telling' ♪" "♪ Auntie was a cook, her husband was a crook ♪" "♪ 'Cause every job he had ♪" "♪ They'd be payin' him off the books ♪" "♪ Ghetto university, knowledge is all it took ♪" "♪ In a tenement, I was listenin' to the hook ♪" "♪ Change gon' come, spirit of Sam Cooke ♪" "♪ And when the Feds comin', everybody be shook ♪" "♪ Now we doin' life like Eddie Murphy and Martin ♪" "♪ On the chain gang, I was singin' into the coffin ♪" "♪ Roaches and the rats, heroin in the cracks ♪" "♪ Couldn't blame me, I'm just givin' the facts ♪" "♪ Tryin' to hit the top 'cause the bottom ain't where it's at ♪" "♪ Everybody got a past, but you can never go back ♪" "♪ Oh ♪" "♪ Oh, Oh ♪" "♪ Ohh ♪" "♪ Oh ♪" "♪ Oh, Oh ♪" "♪ Ohh, sing ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Tellin' you like it is, how we ever gon' live?" "♪" "♪ If we ain't gettin' money, how we feeding' the kids?" "♪" "♪ It's a revolving door when brothers be doin' bids ♪" "♪ I know it sound wrong, but the dope will be what it is ♪" "♪ Survival of the fittest, this poor girl's the illest ♪" "♪ Broke mirrors and black cats give me heebie-jeebies ♪" "♪ Life seems hard, but nothin' ever come easy ♪" "♪ Whatever in the dark can always become the light ♪" "♪ You ain't in a battle, how you gon' win the fight?" "♪" "♪ I've gotta speak the truth when I'm up in the booth ♪" "♪ The streets be flyin' birds, but they don't be on the roof ♪" "♪ Poverty is a pain like you're pulling a tooth ♪" "♪ Told the streets, "Don't let me go ♪" "♪ Like I'm Bishop in 'Juice'" ♪" "♪ Roaches and the rats, heroin in the cracks ♪" "♪ Couldn't blame me, I'm just givin' the facts ♪" "♪ Tryin' to hit the top 'cause the bottom ain't where it's at ♪" "♪ Everybody got a past, but you can never go back ♪" "♪ Oh ♪" "♪ Oh, Oh ♪" "♪ Ohh ♪" "♪ Oh ♪" "♪ Oh, Oh ♪" "♪ Ohh, sing ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" " ♪ Sing ♪ - ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" " ♪ You gotta sing ♪ - ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" " ♪ She's a king ♪ - ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" " ♪ Let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪" "Where did you grow up?" " I was born in Hell's Kitchen." " Mm." " My mother came to New York from Toledo, Ohio, at 19 years old to be an actress." " Oh, good." "Okay." " This was her entire dream, her entire life." "We lived in a studio apartment, no bedrooms, and my mother, you know, she was a single mother and an incredible, powerful woman." "I bet." " Has to be in that crazy city." " Has to be." " She had to teach me early to ride the subway." "I remember I rode the subway by myself from probably about 10, you know, and she knew I had to stay busy in order to not get in trouble." "Exactly." " So she was really, really smart for that." " Downtime is the devil's playground." "Yes, it is!" " I already was in the devil's playground, and I was busy!" " And then you moved to Harlem, right?" " Moved to Harlem." "I was 16 years old." "I moved out of my mother's house, actually, and I moved in with my boyfriend." "At 16?" " You know, I had just gotten signed to Columbia Records, and I had also graduated high school early." "My first boyfriend was who I created that first record with." "We actually created the music together for many of the albums." "Oh, great." "There was so much music, so much energy, and it was everywhere." "'Cause, again, in New York, you can get anywhere on a train, you know?" "For $1, $1.25, you can get anywhere." "At the time, you could get anywhere you wanted to go." "So, you know, we spent a lot of time in Union Square, downtown." "There was a lot of activity happening down there, lot of poetry that was happening down there." "Uptown, it was a lot of kind of freestyles and rhymes and rhyme circles that were happening everywhere, and there was everything." "And this energy was everywhere." "And so I think it was definitely such a prime time for me to be finding out who I was, you know, who I wanted to be, and what type of music I wanted to make and how would it sound." "And so that definitely all happened at that time, in the beginning." "You know, had my mother stopped me, maybe that whole album would've never happened." "Maybe everything would've never happened." " Yeah." "It's a life-changing thing." " Maybe, in a way, my life was her dream, you know?" "And she, like, gave that to me." "♪ What would you know, what would you do ♪" "♪ If you had no control over what you pursue?" "♪" "♪ Talk yourself, tell yourself, baby, "I'm better than this" ♪" "♪ And all that I'm fightin', I'm the one to resist ♪" "♪ And so it persists like a bottomless kiss ♪" "♪ An illusion of bliss, an illusion of bliss ♪" "♪ And so it persists like a bottomless kiss ♪" "♪ An illusion of bliss, an illusion of bliss ♪" "♪ Hey ♪" "♪ I live in a prison of blood and flesh ♪" "♪ And the easy way out is the this high, I confess ♪" "♪ So whatcha lookin' at, what you wanna see?" "♪" "♪ You can't save me, baby, I don't want it no way ♪" "♪ And so it persists like a bottomless kiss ♪" "♪ An illusion of bliss, an illusion of bliss ♪" "♪ And so it persists like a bottomless kiss ♪" "♪ An illusion of bliss ♪" "♪ Hee-hee ♪" "♪ See, my life ain't no easy road ♪" "♪ I don't know which way to go ♪" "♪ Won't somebody see me when I can't see myself?" "♪" "♪ Won't somebody listen before I need help?" "♪" "♪ I'm sick of being judged, sick of being sick ♪" "♪ Tell me where's the love, tired of bein' tricked ♪" "♪ Sick of bein' high, sick of bein' low ♪" "♪ Sick of all the lies, putting on a show ♪" "♪ And so it persists, and so it persists ♪" "♪ Like a bottomless kiss ♪" "♪ An illusion of bliss, an illusion of bliss ♪" "♪ Hee ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ Don't say I'm gone, gone ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ Don't say I'm lost, lost ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ Don't say I'm gone, gone ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ Don't say I'm lost, lost ♪" "♪ I don't wanna be a fallen angel ♪" "♪ Hoo, ooh ♪" "Being a New Yorker..." " Mm-hmm." " Take me back." "Did you go about thinking," ""I'm going to write a song about New York"?" "I didn't." " Did you have a medley and then the words?" "Or how did that happen?" " As you know, songs are mysteries, right?" " Yeah, came out of anywhere." " They are total and complete..." "They're mysterious." "They're alchemy." "They're magic." "They're surprises even to you." "Yeah." " And I know I can speak for Jay, too, even for both of us." "And "Empire," he actually brought me the original kind of concept, which had a loose idea already attached to it." "And the first time that I heard it," "I was like, "Whoa."" " "Something's in here somewhere."" "And so, you know, I went in and put part of it down and created more of it, and, really, it was the collaboration." "That song was a true, true, incredible collaboration." "It was kind of one of these magical quilts that each person put their piece onto, and, all of a sudden, it just became this cohesive, gorgeous description of what New York is." "But I know we never in a quadrillion..." "Never!" " Never thought it was gonna be that, right?" "No, I remember for a fa..." " "Cool song." "We like it."" " I've said this before, but I remember for a fact," "Jay asked me, "Do you think it's too New York?"" "Too New York?" "I knew what he meant." "Like, you know, meaning, "Would the rest of the world be able to relate to it, you know, because it was so New York-centric?"" "But somehow, by the alchemy of music, you know, it ended up being this monster..." "I mean, this super monster magnificent thing." "And you know it doesn't happen often." "You hope..." "You wish it did." "You hope." " But it doesn't happen often, and when it hap..." " If you get one of those, you get one of those..." " Yay!" " Right?" "You're like, "Oh, my God." "How did that happen?"" "No, seriously, you never know." "But what I do know is I'll never forget, like, when I was in Paris." "I remember being in Paris, and they were just losing their mind, like going cra..." "top of their lungs." "And I was..." "Like, it dawned on me that day." "I was like, "Oh." "Oh." "It's not about New York." "It's about hope."" "And that's what New York represents." "It represents hope, you know?" "Like, you could have a chance." " Yeah." " And it just..." "it was the most beautiful..." "Right now I have chills." " Yeah, goose bumps." "That's amazing." " Because it's just the most beautiful thing." "And that's when I really got it, why everybody loved it so much." " Wow." " Yeah." " ♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪" "♪ There's nothing you can't do ♪" "♪ Now you're in New York ♪" "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "♪ Big lights will inspire you ♪" "♪ Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York ♪" " ♪ What, I'm a hustla, I'm a hustla ♪" "♪ I'm a hustla, yeah ♪" "♪ Ooh ♪" "♪ New York ♪" "♪ Ooh ♪" "♪ New York ♪" "♪ Grew up in a town ♪" "♪ That is famous as a place of movie scenes ♪" "♪ Noise is always loud, there are sirens all around ♪" "♪ And the streets are mean ♪" "♪ "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere" ♪" "♪ That's what they say ♪" "♪ See my face in lights ♪" "♪ Or my name on marquees found down on Broadway ♪" "♪ Even if it ain't all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams ♪" "♪ Baby, I'm from New York ♪" "♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪" "♪ There's nothin' you can't do ♪" "♪ You're in New York ♪" "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "♪ Big lights will inspire you ♪" "♪ Hear it for New York, New York, New York ♪" "♪ On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew ♪" "♪ Ladies work so hard ♪" " ♪ I'm a hustla, I'm a..." "I'm a hustla ♪" " ♪ Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock ♪" "♪ Preachers pray to God ♪" "♪ I'm in New York ♪" "♪ Hailed a gypsy cab ♪" "♪ Takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge ♪" " ♪ I'm a hustla, I'm a..." "I'm a hustla ♪" "♪ Someone sleeps tonight ♪" "♪ With a hunger for more than an empty fridge ♪" "♪ I'm in New York ♪" " ♪ I'ma make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams ♪" "♪ Baby, I'm from New York ♪" "♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪" "♪ There's nothin' you can't do ♪" "♪ You're in New York ♪" "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "♪ Big lights will inspire you ♪" "♪ Hear it for New York, New York, New York ♪" "♪ One hand in the air for the big city ♪" "♪ Streetlights, big dreams, all lookin' pretty ♪" "♪ No place in the world that can compare ♪" "♪ Put your lighters in the air, everybody say ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ Yeah, yeah ♪" "♪ In New York ♪" "♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪" "♪ There's nothin' you can't do ♪" "♪ Now you're in New York ♪" "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "♪ Big lights will inspire you ♪" "♪ Here it is, New York ♪" "♪ Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪" "♪ There's nothin' we can't do ♪" "♪ We're in New York ♪" "♪ These streets will make you feel brand new ♪" "♪ Big lights will inspire you ♪" "♪ Hear it for New Yo-o-o-o-o-rk ♪" "♪ New York, New York ♪" "♪ Yea-a-h ♪" ".srt Extracted and Resynced by Dan4Jem, AD.MMXVII.II"