Song Identification and Basic Facts
The most prominent Jay-Z song from 2009 is "Run This Town," a single featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, released on July 24, 2009, as part of the album The Blueprint 3 (Roc Nation, 2009) https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/. The track was produced by Kanye West and No I.D., and it served as the second single from the album, which marked Jay-Z's return to the top of the Billboard 200 after a short hiatus.
"Run This Town" is a hip-hop and R&B anthem with a runtime of 4 minutes and 27 seconds, recorded at Roc the Mic Studios in New York City. The song's lyrics center on themes of dominance, resilience, and urban ambition, with Rihanna providing the chorus vocals and Kanye West contributing a high-energy verse. The track's release was accompanied by a music video directed by Francis Lawrence, which premiered in August 2009 and featured Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West in a dramatic, storm-lit urban setting.
Chart Performance and Commercial Success
"Run This Town" debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached its peak at number 2, held from the top spot by Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" for multiple weeks in late 2009 https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/. The song also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and reached number 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, making it one of the most commercially successful hip-hop singles of that year.
Internationally, the track reached number 1 in the United Kingdom, number 3 in Canada, and charted in the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand https://www.officialcharts.com/. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales exceeding 1 million units in the United States, and it received multi-Platinum certifications in several other countries. Streaming data from the late 2000s and early 2010s contributed to its long-term catalog value, with the song accumulating hundreds of millions of plays across major platforms over time.
Legacy and Industry Recognition
"Run This Town" won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2010, with nominations also including Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album for The Blueprint 3 https://www.grammy.com/. The track is frequently cited in retrospectives as one of the defining hip-hop singles of the late 2000s, noted for its star-studded lineup and production quality. Its influence can be heard in subsequent stadium anthems and collaborative rap singles that blend rap verses with melodic hooks.
The song's enduring presence in sports arenas, television broadcasts, and cultural playlists has kept it relevant well beyond its initial release window. Jay-Z's catalog from this period, including "Run This Town," continues to generate significant streaming revenue and remains a reference point for discussions about his commercial peak in the late 2000s. The track's sustained performance across digital platforms underscores the long-tail economics of hit songs in the streaming era