Jay-Z Earns First No. 1 Hit As Lead Artist With “Empire State Of Mind”

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Bauer-Griffin

Jay-Z has seen the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart before as a featured guest with Mariah Carey, Beyonce, and Rihanna, but this time it has to be just a little bit sweeter.

The New York-born rapper earns his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist with his city’s new anthem “Empire State of Mind,” from his latest album The Blueprint 3. The track, which features Alicia Keys, is still performing strongly digitally and blowing up at radio, topping the Hot 100 Airplay chart this week.

“Empire State of Mind” also marks Keys’ fourth trek to the top of the chart, joining past singles “Fallin’,” “My Boo” with Usher, and “No One.”

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
2. Owl City – Fireflies
3. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
4. Iyaz – Replay
5. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
6. Britney Spears – 3
7. Jay Sean – Down
8. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
9. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
10. Ke$ha – Tik Tok