Pitchfork

"Pray" isn't the best track on a resurgent Jay-Z's most recent album, last year's American Gangster, but it introduces some of the album's many knotty internal contradictions: the romance of the criminal's tale vs. the dastardliness of his crime, the triumphant glory of great gangsta rap vs. the uncomfortable implications of its content, pusher vs. pushed (and what the hell happens when they're both the same?). The production, meanwhile, by Diddy and the Hitmen, has the kind of scorching, organic dynamism that can keep us the customers screaming for more. That's especially true in a live setting, based on the live video of "Pray" now up at the Roc-A-Fella website. Directed by Jason Goldwatch, the clip doesn't offer much more than you'd expect visually-- basically just Hova rapping, with some creative camera work-- but it's a great reason to revist what Pitchfork's Tom Breihan described as the track's "churning strings, screaming guitars, cinematic sound-effects, and a histrionic gospel choir." The dense wordplay remains present as well, sometimes taking a sweeping historical view (in mentions of Frank Sinatra or the Harlem Renaissance) and elsewhere zooming in on the American Gangster protagonist's personal details: an Al Green record playing, his mother smoking her J's, an uncle dead... "This is a tale of lost innocence." Before long, Jay's prayers have turned into pleas of forgiveness as his narrator lists his crimes-- "Move coke like Pepsi, don't matter what the brand name is"-- up until a final request, "Pray for me," and a guitar solo.

Video:> Jay-Z: "Pray" (Live)
[from American Gangster; out now on Def Jam]